Cope (Unabridged‪)‬

It’s an underdog story everyone thinks they know. Derrike Cope, an unheralded outsider from Spanaway, Washington, was running second to Dale Earnhardt on the last lap of the 1990 Daytona 500. As Derrike followed Earnhardt into the final corner, “The Intimidator” cut down a tire, handing Derrike his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory in just his 72nd start.


As Derrike’s win fell into legend, it became impossible to separate the man from that moment. How did he find himself at the right place at the right time, running second in “The Great American Race?” How did he handle the pressure of becoming NASCAR’s newest challenger? And how has he continued to race more than three decades later?


These and other questions are answered in Derrike’s biography, “Cope,” the second book by LASTCAR.info’s Brock Beard, NASCAR historian and author of “J.D.”