Mike Cope

Mike Cope (born May 8, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. A two-time champion of the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series, he also competed in the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is no relation to Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope.

Early career Cope began his NASCAR career in 1989, competing in the Slim Jim All Pro Series, a regional touring series centered on the southeastern United States. He won two series championships, in 1994 and 1996, as well as being voted Most Popular Driver three times. In addition, he won the prestigious Winchester 400 three years in a row, from 1993 to 1995.

NASCAR touring series Cope made his debut at the major-league NASCAR level in 1996 in the Busch Series at the Milwaukee Mile. Driving the No. 58 he finished 25th, three laps down. In 1997, he attempted to move full-time to the Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 15 for Billy Ballew Motorsports. His first race was at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished 22nd. He ran in five other races over the course of the year before being released from his contract, with a best finish of 12th at New Hampshire International Speedway.

In 1998, Cope attempted to move full-time to the Busch Series, driving the No. 30 for Team 34. Running in 17 races, his best finish was seventh at Hickory Speedway, however inconsistent performance led him to be released by the team following the series' race at Myrtle Beach Speedway, being replaced in the No. 30 by Todd Bodine.

Cope ran a single race in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1999, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he finished 14th, before once more attempting the full series schedule in 2000 for Impact Motorsports in the No. 86, with sponsorship from R.C. Cola. Despite the team having had good performance the previous year with Stacy Compton driving, Cope struggled, posting a best finish of 12th in six races with the team, that coming in the first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway. At the seventh race of the season, at Gateway International Raceway, Cope did not accompany the team to the track; he was subsequently released, being replaced in the No. 86 by Scott Riggs.

Post-NASCAR career Following his departure from Impact Motorsports, Cope moved to the American Speed Association, starting his own race team in Hudson, Florida and running the No. 25 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Manheim Auto Auctions. He ran in the series, building and driving his own cars, through 2005 when he retired, planning to focus on the racing career of his son, Travis Cope as driver, competing in Super Late Model events. Mike Cope Racing presently fields five cars in SCCA pro Trans Am 2 road racing with multiple wins and pole awards. In 2013, Cope became an authorized chassis builder for the TA2 series.

Track owner In 2001, Cope bought Bronson Motor Speedway, a paved oval track located west of Gainesville, Florida which he owned and operated for ten years before selling the track in 2011.

Motorsports career results

Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Pts Ref 1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB sGLN MLW TAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NA 0 1996 KEL Racing 58 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 90th 88 1998 Team 34 30 Chevy DAY42 CAR34 LVS40 NSV40 DAR40 BRI15 TEX24 HCY7 TAL18 NHA38 NZH30 CLTDNQ DOV33 RCH33 PPR9 GLN35 MLW26 MYB31 CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR ATL HOM 40th 1292