Winn-Dixie 250 - Derrike Cope Notes

Building on solid February run, Advil team eyes Daytona
Cope credits Robinson work ethic for team’s progress

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nobody knows the thrill of success at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway better than Derrike Cope, who will drive the #49 Advil Ford in Friday night’s Winn-Dixie 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at the famed 2.5-mile speedway.

“There is nothing that tops winning the Daytona 500,” said Cope, who won the famed event in 1990. “Winning any race is great but there was absolutely something special about the Daytona 500. It’s one of those wins where your entire racing career flashes before your eyes – in a good way – and you realize why you worked so hard and so many hours all those years.”

Cope is driving the Advil Ford prepared by Jay Robinson Racing, a group known for its work ethic as well.

“You might beat us but nobody is going to out-work us,” said owner Jay Robinson. “Every single person I have on these race teams work as hard as they can, day in and day out, to make these cars as good as they can be and as competitive as they can be. Our people take a whole lot of pride in what they do.”

Because of that ethic, which certainly starts at the top with Robinson himself, the organization has been able to consistently offer sponsors a bargain as far as return on their investment. Though running with less sponsorship support than a lot of teams, some see Robinson’s cars and outfit and think they are getting greater support than they are.

“My feeling all along is if somebody gives me a dollar, I want him to look like he got two dollars in return,” Robinson said. “That’s just always been my work ethic. We’re fortunate to have two primary sponsors in Advil and Yahoo! who are good to work with and who are supportive of what we are doing. It’s our obligation to do everything we can to give them as much back as we can. This should be a very positive experience for them.”

Said Cope, “If every team operated that way, this sport would be a lot better off. Jay just insists that everything be as good as it can be, that everything represent the sponsor as well as it can, and that our effort on the track be the best we can give it. He doesn’t know of another way to run the race teams, and I really admire that.”

The Advil Ford team moves into Daytona International Speedway this week with optimism for a good weekend.

“We had a good race car there in February,” said Cope, who started 41st but roared back to finish 20th. He finished 13th in the Advil Ford in February, 2003.

“Jay’s plate cars have been pretty good cars. His Talladega stuff has always been great, and he has had some super runs there but he has been pretty strong at Daytona too,” Cope added. “We think we could do some pretty good things Friday night with this Advil Ford.”

Cope, a native of Spanaway, Wash., is a two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup race winner. A top athlete whose professional baseball career was cut short by a knee injury in college, he has become one of the top athletes in NASCAR racing, and has become one of the top public spokesmen for the sport.

Jay Robinson Racing, in its fourth season of operation, is one of the fastest-growing teams in NASCAR. Robinson, a Charlotte, N.C., native who is a successful businessman, founded the team as a high-value endeavor that offers high-end equipment and efforts, while proving to be one of the most cost-efficient teams in the sport. Robinson fields two sponsored cars fulltime on the Busch Series: the #49 Advil Ford and the #39 Yahoo! Ford, and runs a third car in many Busch Series events.