Derrike Cope #10 Purolator Chevrolet

    Derrike Cope went from being virtually unknown in NASCAR, to rising superstar seemingly overnight, thanks to his victory in the 1990 Daytona 500~ Fate dealt another blow to Dale Earnhardt on the final lap, as he ran over a piece of debris, cutting his tire in turn #3~  Cope narrowly escaped the debris, and held on for his first of 2 Cup wins during the 1990 season~ His victory put him directly in the spotlight, and onto the stage of the Late Night with David Letterman show~ He also won at Dover in the 1990 Budweiser 500~
       
                                                     Custom Derrike Cope hero card~
                                                                   Click to enlarge~

    But the future was not so bright for Cope, as his team (Bob Witcomb Racing) closed down after the 1992 season~ He next drove the un-sponsored #66 car for Cale Yarborough, later in the season picking up sponsorship by Bojangles, the car # was changed to #98, reflecting the restaurant's "98 cent menu"~ Partially through the 1994 season, Cope was replaced by Jeremy Mayfield, and began racing for Bobby Allison in his #12 Sraight Arrow Ford~

    Also during the 94 season, Cope picked up his first and only BGN win at New Hampshire, driving the #82 FDP Brakes Ford, fielded by  Ron Zock~ In 1995, Cope had 8 top ten finishes, and ended the season 15th in points~ His Cup career ended in 2009 @ Martinsville, after 25 seasons on the circuit~  In 409 career starts, Cope finished his career with 2 wins, 32 top 10's, and 1 pole~ He continues to run the Nationwide series on a regular basis, where as of this post, he has had 241 starts in 21 seasons, driving his own #70 Chevrolet~ *Updated 7-8-2016 - He now has 268 starts in 22 seasons*

                                                  Derrike Cope #10 Purolator Chevrolet~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

    This car is by far one of my favorites, and always has been~ The checkerboard pattern, the colors.. just everything about it is appealing to my eyes~ I always wished that Cope would have had more success in this car, and in NASCAR in general~ I'm sure he did the same~ It's hard to tell if he could have done better with a well funded team, but I tend to think he would have~ Below, I have attached some videos from his career~ Enjoy~

                                                               Cope's 2 Cup wins~

                                
                                                            2002 Dunai 250 Hard Crash~

                                                              2011 All-Star Showdown~