Michael Waltrip will run in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. Credit: Autostock

Waltrip buys Cope's car; will take spot in 600

CONCORD, N.C. -- Michael Waltrip couldn't qualify his way into Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, so he bought his way into it.

Michael Waltrip purchasing Derrike Cope's car in order to run the Coca-Cola 600 was... ? Perfectly fair Questionable Dirty pool View Results

Officials with Michael Waltrip Racing confirmed Friday that Waltrip has purchased the No. 74 Dodge of Derrike Cope, who had taken the final spot in the 43-car field during Thursday night's qualifying for the longest race in the Nextel Cup Series.

The car will be repainted bearing Waltrip's No. 55 and all of his sponsors, including primary sponsor NAPA.

Speculation is that Waltrip would receive any driver points earned Sunday while Cope would receive the corresponding owner points.

This is not the first time a Waltrip has bought his way into the 600. Michael's brother, Darrell, purchased Carl Long's ride in 2000, his last season in NASCAR's premier series.

Had Cope not given up his car it would have been the first time since 1975 that neither of the Waltrips made a Cup race. That also allows Michael to extend his streak of consecutive races to 262.