When he was in high school, Derrike Cope was planning on being a professional baseball player for a living.
The Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles were scouting Cope during his high school days, but Derrike's father Don insisted he take the scholarship that Whitman College offered.
In 1978, Derrike was playing catcher in a collegiate game when his plans changed. He tried to retrieve a wild pitch and when he turned to throw, his knee gave way. Cope was told his medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments were severed.
During his recovery, he helped his brother with his race car. Cope's father was an engine builder for some of the best drivers in Winston West competition. Cope started to become interested in racing and after driving a few times, decided racing would be his new career.
"I had just started racing at Spanaway (Washington) Speedway when the throttle on my race car stuck and my car hit the wall, flipped and hit the embankment," he said. "I was blinded in my right eye for several weeks following that accident.
"An injury like that could have altered my whole life. I had to do a lot of thinking before my sight came back about what I would do. Once my eye had recovered, I went on with my career, and rarely do I think of what could have happened."
In 1984, Cope was named rookie of the year in the Winston West Series with two wins.
In 1990, Cope scored the biggest win of his career in the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt absolutely dominated the race, leading 155 of the 200 laps, but when his car had a tire problem on the backstretch on the last lap, Cope scooted through to grab the win.
Cope's victory, in which he averaged 165.761 mph, was his first in the series and was followed less than four months later by his second score, at Dover (Del.) Downs International Speedway. The victory was his first top-five finish in his Cup career, which began with his first start in 1982. He became the fourth driver to score his first Cup victory in the Daytona 500, following Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967) and Pete Hamilton (1970).
"Not in my wildest dreams did I think we could come here and win this race," said the Spanaway, Wash., pilot, who won $188,150 for his victory.
He got his lone Busch Series win in 1994 at Loudon.
When Cope is not racing, he presents motivational talks to children about the importance of education and the dangers of drug abuse. He is also actively involved in the March-of-Dimes, the DARE program, and supporting various charities.
Cope enjoys golfing in charity tournaments and racing remote control hydroplane boats during the summer. In the winter, he hunts duck and pheasant with his father.
