The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 - Derrike Cope Notes

Derrike Cope Notes, Quotes: SpongeBob 300

‘Fourth turn is key to the track’

Derrike Cope and the #49 Advil Ford team head to the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway, located in Harrisburg, N.C., this week for Friday night’s SpongeBob 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. Cope, a 45-year-old winning veteran of NASCAR racing, will be among that group of drivers running both the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event at Lowe’s this weekend.

Cope, a native of Spanaway, Wash., is a former winner of the Daytona 500 and a two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup race winner. A top athlete whose professional baseball career was cut short by a knee injury in college, Cope 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: Cope’s #49 Advil Ford and the #39 Yahoo! Ford, which Cope is helping mentor.

The thoughts of #49 Advil Ford driver Derrike Cope heading into Lowe’s:

“We’re coming from a mile-and-a-half track (Kansas Speedway) and heading to a mile-and-a-half track this week, so you would think the adjustment would be minimal – maybe just time zone changes. But it’s a lot different than that.

“Sure, Kansas and Lowe’s are two tracks of the same length but they are a lot different. Kansas is more like Chicagoland; Charlotte is more like a slower Atlanta.

“There are two really tricky spots at Charlotte, and they aren’t that far apart. The fronstretch, that double-dogleg they call it, is a pretty tricky area and it can be tough to get through there well. The fourth turn, as much as it changes and as temperature-sensitive as it is, is a package of Advil waiting to be opened. It’s tough.

“The double-dogleg is one of the most ironic spots in NASCAR racing. Who would think there would be a flat frontstretch where handling would be so crucial? But that deal definitely is that. You have to hit the first bend in the thing just right, barely lay your left rear off the asphalt and onto the dirt. By doing that, you are able to keep most of your momentum into the straightest part of the front straight, then cock it a hair to straighten it out before you turn left again. It’s pretty quick – boom! boom! boom! – and then you are aimed for the first turn again. The first turn is pretty tricky too but, if you get down the frontstretch pretty well, it sets you up just right for the first turn.

“That fourth turn is a creature all of its own. It can change almost every lap. Getting through the fourth turn at any track is pretty important for setting you up to go into the fronststretch. At Charlotte, being able to get through the fourth turn might be the difference as to whether or not you even make it to the frontstretch.

“That wall comes up pretty quickly on the outside. If you hit it just right, you can work through the turn and do OK. If not, you have to take that wall into some pretty serious consideration, and that can mean backing off. If you are passing somebody on the outside, it’s even hairier because you have to worry how you get through the turn and how they get through the turn. That’s an ‘action spot’ for a reason.

“Turns three and four there get a ton of sunshine, especially late in the day, and that asphalt can get really hot. That just changes it. What you see in practice on qualifying day and what you get once qualifying starts can be two totally different things. You have to take that into some pretty serious account when you are setting up the car. And you have to keep that in mind as the race goes on. What Turn Four is at the start of a night race and what Turn Four is at the end of a night race can easily be two different things, with a few other different things in between.

“It’s a challenging track and that’s what makes Lower’s Motor Speedway fun to run and fun to race. We’re excited about getting there and having a good weekend with this Advil Ford team.”