Race Theory

We discuss the decision to try and start my own teams and the quest for sponsorship and partners to make this happen.



We find sponsorship with Friendly's Ice Cream and run a year in the Cup series only to have it come to an end with them not returning.



On to another team BAM Racing, where my provisionals from the year prior prove to be pivotal in securing this drive. It has its successes with some great runs but I am released in the middle of the year.



This time period embarks on the start n park era which is a difficult time period with only getting paid if you qualify for the races that you are entered.



We also discuss the Mexican GP Formula 1 race, and the NASCAR Cup series race at Martinsville which sets the stage for episode 11 and the championship weekend in Phoenix AZ.

This episode covers the end of Bahari Racing and the discussions with the new owner Jack Birmingham who renames the team Eel River Racing.

The next opportunity comes with Fenley-Moore Motorsports where I team up with Joey Knuckles and Bud Moore in Spartanburg, SC.



We have instant success and it looks like we are on our way to building something special. We go to the Daytona 500, run very well and the engine blows up...along with the team. They are out of money and we are dead in the water.



I go through yet another court fight trying to get paid as well as start looking for a new ride.



I am left without a ride and resort looking at opportunities in Television with FOX Sports Network.



My first live television spot is the day that Dale Earnhardt Sr is killed at Daytona. Dramatic event and the behind the scenes look at how things turn on a dime.

We start by recalling my hard decision to go to MB3 Motorsports with the Skittles Brand Sponsorship from M&M Mars Corp.



I discuss and know right away I have made a mistake and the race team crew members are over their heads and we get off to a poor start.



It is a difficult year and tension is high. There is a great deal of finger pointing at me and things continue to deteriorate.



A year goes by and no light at the end of the tunnel. We miss qualifying for races and eventually the team is interviewing new drivers to take over the seat.



I make plans to move on. I am having discussions with Bahari Racing.



The first year is great from a performance perspective, but two bad crashes leave me driving with broken ribs all year.



The bright spot is a pole position qualifying effort at Charlotte Motor Speedway in September.



The loss of the crew chief Doug Hewitt leaves the team in trouble.

Enter a new sponsor Sara Lee and a new crew chief. This combination does not work.

This leads to a decision by Chuck Ryder to sell the team.

I am excited for this episode. I discuss the best years of my career at Bobby Allison Motorsports next to winning the Daytona 500.

I go in depth about the internal workings and what made this team so productive.

My relationship with the Alabama Gang and my first win in a Busch Series car in only my third start at Loudon NH for Zook Racing with Red Farmer a future Hall of Famer.

We discuss the great sponsors we had and the relationships with them. We go into the struggles with sponsorship and getting paid that ultimately leads me to having to make a choice. Should I stay, or leave for another team and sponsor that from all indications looks like a great move.

We discuss the lead up to the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The first race is the 1990 Daytona 500. All the excitement surrounding the race is the filming of Days of Thunder movie with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

We give a complete in depth look into the preparation for the Daytona 500 the actual race with raw emotion of final few laps of the race and the eventual win against Dale Earnhardt Sr. that would catapult Derrike Cope into the limelight.



Life changing moment, my notoriety is elevated extensively and I am a household name. A guest appearance on the David Letterman Show in New York City and I am on my way.

What happens next is unexpected after winning the biggest thing that can happen to a race car driver in his career.

We discuss my meeting with a major company wanting to go racing. I am in the corporate boardroom and facilitate a sponsorship deal that leads me down a career path for the rest of my life.

I embark on my first full season in the NASCAR Wiston Cup Series. I procure major sponsorship from Purolator Products from Tulsa Oklahoma. The beginning of truly becoming a stable fixture in the highest level of motorsports and an ambassador of a major automotive brand.

After the Martinsville, VA Cup series race I get the call from my brother...my mother has passed away.

A couple of tough years, and the changes of presidents at Purolator I am fighting the good fight.

A car owner change, and Purolator goes with me...enter Bob Whitcomb Racing and a life change moment is on the horizon.

Racing difficulties occur and choices are made to change teams. Moves across the country. New beginnings with modest success. With new beginnings come premature endings. Life struggles and the constant search for a way to the big time...Winston Cup.



Car owners and people come into my life, friendships that are formed and are influential in the progression of my career.

Decision out of my control force unwanted changes, but ultimately in time pay huge dividends.

Discussing my early years in racing. Beginning to serve my apprenticeship building race cars, working on engines.



Early races with my brother and a turning point that would set a clear path for my life.

Early success and struggles with a new team owner and an ill handling car.

The ups and downs of racing, and then light at the end of the tunnel.

A turning point with a new race car that produces wins and credibility.

Major Sponsorship with 7-Eleven and Ford Motor Company.

Becoming a professional race car driver.

Discussing my Drag Racing roots from my father and his brothers and the migration to the Pacific Northwest from San Diego, CA.

Childhood development, work ethic, and searching for career paths.

Race Theory launches November 2, where Elyshia and Derrike are going to discuss a lot of diverse topics, Derrike's early roots in racing, their involvement in NASCAR, driver, owner and managerial role perspectives, as well as driver development. You name it, they're going to talk about it!

Learning what it takes to live, work and play together. Derrike will explain the nuts and bolts of racing and Elyshia will be focusing more on marketing and relationships. But they're also going to touch on some controversial subjects where they definitely have some differing opinions.

Tune in! it's going to be a lot of fun. Mark your calendars. Race Theory launches November 2.