|| *Comments on the 1990 Daytona 500:* View the most recent comment <#104> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Chris Cadiz posted: 03.20.2004 - 2:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) After dominating the event, Dale Earnhardt suffered a heartbreaking defeat after cutting a tire while leading in turn 3 of the final lap. Derrike Cope inherited the lead and scored his first Cup victory in what was an amazing upset victory at the World Center of Racing. 2. dalesdead posted: 04.23.2005 - 6:51 am Rate this comment: (5) (2) wtg cope! 3. Aaron Levin posted: 07.01.2005 - 5:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Derrike Cope was a great driver but this was the only thing that Cope really did... 4. larry spencer posted: 10.06.2005 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) one 5 letter word gomes to mind when i hear Derrike Cope and that is FLUKE 5. B4il3y posted: 11.19.2005 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) Not a fluke..sorry. He was in position to get the win. He couldnt have passed Big E but he still was running 2nd and that's the position to be in to take advantage of anything. 6. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.15.2005 - 3:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) The only thing that could have beat Earnhardt on this day did beat him: bad luck. His car was untouchable. Besides having to wait another eight years for a win in the 500, the flat tire also cost him the opportunity of being the second winner of the Winston Million (as he won the Winston 500 at Talladega and the Southern 500 at Darlington) and it also prevented him from sweeping all four plate races, which has never been done. 7. Chicago posted: 02.11.2006 - 1:36 am Rate this comment: (6) (0) Cope also dominated a race at Dover later in the season - say what you will about the shock of seeing an unknown like Cope taking the flag but it was no fluke. As Richard Petty once said, all you can do is put yourself in a position to win and let circumstances dictate the outcome. Cope and Earnhardt both did that. 8. brandon posted: 02.25.2006 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) cope has admitted that he was racing for second place then he saw something come off of earnhardt's car and it went sliding up the hill 9. Brett posted: 03.09.2006 - 4:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Well, a fluke to me means coming out of nowhere...which Cope didn't necessarily do, because he was at the front all day...just not the lead all that much. But nobody else was sans the black number 3. 10. Cole Trickle posted: 03.13.2006 - 10:09 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) There were two special camera cars in the race to film footage for the upcoming "blockbuster" film, "Days of Blunder"...er, I mean "Days of Thunder". They ran 40 laps and pulled in and not counted as actual starters. I forget who drove them tho. 11. Dalejrfan14 posted: 04.05.2006 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) shrader and wallace were the drivers.they didnt pull off they were showing footage of the 1990 gatorade 125s 12. mmartinfan posted: 06.04.2006 - 6:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) No they were showing footage of the Daytona 500. And this from IMDb "Some footage for the movie was shot during the 1990 Daytona 500. Two additional cars, driven by Bobby Hamilton and Tommy Ellis, were added to the rear of the field for the purpose of filming them. These cars were not officially scored and left the race track after 100 miles (40 laps) were completed." 13. Steve posted: 06.07.2006 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) Larry Spencer, a 5-letter word to describe Cope in this race is: LUCKY No one was going to beat Earnhardt on this day. Derrike Cope was the second best driver in the race, and Dale cut a tire. A little luck on Derrike's part, but he still put himself in position. 14. Kevin posted: 08.12.2006 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Everyone need to keep in mind that Cope really did not have good cars. Put him in a top ride he would have won more races! 15. Steve posted: 11.27.2006 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) alot of people are over seeing the ken schrader factor. schrader had the pole for this race but wrecked in happy hour and started dead last, he felw through the field and was in 2nd by the first caution flag, his crew screw up the first stop and he fell back to 20th or so before getting back into the top 5 before the engine let go, to bad for schrader who could have given earnhardt a run for his money 16. Canadian Fan posted: 01.03.2007 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIxNDFtOauM 17. biffle16 posted: 01.28.2007 - 3:37 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) The burning question is...had that last caution not come out, and Earnhardt still would have had a 27-second lead, would he have been able to coast around to the checkers? That car was going extremely slow after it blew that tire. 18. Nascar Man posted: 02.03.2007 - 1:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would there have been a different outcome without the "Days of Thunder" car? 19. Mike posted: 02.19.2007 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was the first time in six tries that Mark Martin actually managed to finish the Daytona 500--he had DNFs in his first five tries. 20. myself posted: 03.15.2007 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) I love this race! I LOVE IT!!!! 21. myself posted: 05.17.2007 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Famous words from Tim Harbin after Earnhardt cut his tire...."Labonte's gone win it!" 22. SK posted: 12.09.2007 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmy Spencer's first career laps led came in this race. 23. Zed--3_8fan4eva posted: 01.21.2008 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yeah I just watched this race agian on ESPN Classic, Cope's win was not a fluke....he was runnin top three behind Earnhardt all afternoon....he was right place at right time. When Rick Wilson blew up was that the car that the piece of bell-housing came from?? 24. myself posted: 02.22.2008 - 11:38 am Rate this comment: (3) (3) Love Ned Jarrett. So shocked about the glorious cut tire, the first words out of his mouth were, "Dope Cope....!" 25. Scott posted: 05.05.2008 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I am ashamed of myself. When he cut the tire, I must've said every word in the book. HE WAS SOOO CLOSE, I COULD TASTE THAT VICTORY! 26. Willy on Wheels posted: 08.21.2008 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Neither of Cope's wins were flukes. He was in the top five all day at Daytona, but nobody could beat Dale that day, and he just dominated at Dover. 27. JCS posted: 08.28.2008 - 8:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Derrike Cope ran good all day, one of the few times his Bob Whitcomb machinery was right on the money. 28. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.15.2008 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (4) (4) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) 29. Anonymous posted: 09.30.2008 - 3:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) On top of circumstances working out for him, keep in mind that Derrike Cope is still one of the best "underdog" drafters (along with Kevin Lepage, Mike Skinner, and Mike Wallace). 30. b4il3y posted: 11.09.2008 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Good points day for Dale, still finishing 5th. :) Great points day for Cope, finishing first :) 31. Clayton posted: 11.27.2008 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No one mentioned how Bobby Hillin and Dale Earnhardt had some contact during the last yellow flag. Richard Childress and Dale were furious at Hillin as they thought the damage to the LEFT REAR was going to affect Dale's handling. According to Hillin, NASCAR had told him to go around Earnhardt for position and Earnhardt "claimed" he didn't get the message. The contact between the two had no big time effect on the 3 car as Dale blew a RIGHT REAR tire after he ran over debris. However the Hillin story is quite interesting! 32. Clayton posted: 11.27.2008 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ps. This was by far the greatest begining of the Daytona 500. CBS came in with Chris Economacki and he started the broadcast with an absoultly FABULOUS start. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ibhdXuAx4U 33. Ryan posted: 12.16.2008 - 2:45 am Rate this comment: (4) (9) This race is still sickening to watch to this day. I gag every time I almost see it. I can't fully watch it. I was in total shock when it happened. ESPN came out not long ago with its top ten heart stopping moments in sports and this was #4, wow... Dale had a 42 second lead at one time during this race. Unheard of for restictor plate racing. Man that car was awesome that day. What was even more impressive is that he saved the car from crashing. A lot of people don't even notice that. I still blame stupid ass Geoff Bodine for spinning out by himself with eight laps to go to bring out a caution. It was all over but the crying before that, unfortunately there was a lot of crying after this race. And yeah, he ran over debris from a car blowing up... how come there wasnt a caution for it way before that? hmmm... maybe this race is tainted? Dale actually ran over it on the back stretch, the tire was going down in the back sretch. 34. Anonymous posted: 01.26.2009 - 1:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why NASCAR chose not to score the Days of Thunder cars in this race? Compared to the 1989 Phoenix race, the cars were offically scored as finishing 32nd (the #51 car) and 38th (the #46 car). 35. myself posted: 02.13.2009 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Derrike Cope was a great driver but this was the only thing that Cope really did... Aaron Levin | 07.01.05 - 5:59 am" Reading this just made me spew Dr. Pepper all over my computer monitor. Thanks, Aaron Levin!! 36. myself posted: 02.13.2009 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "No one mentioned how Bobby Hillin and Dale Earnhardt had some contact during the last yellow flag. Richard Childress and Dale were furious at Hillin as they thought the damage to the LEFT REAR was going to affect Dale's handling. According to Hillin, NASCAR had told him to go around Earnhardt for position and Earnhardt "claimed" he didn't get the message. The contact between the two had no big time effect on the 3 car as Dale blew a RIGHT REAR tire after he ran over debris. However the Hillin story is quite interesting! Clayton | 11.27.08 - 8:16 pm" Good for Crash Hillin! 37. Turn 4 posted: 02.18.2009 - 9:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Huh?, that has to be an error. There's no way that Rick Hendrick owned the #68 car driven by Hut Strickland. 38. jp posted: 03.02.2009 - 10:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) This should have been Earhardt's 3rd Daytona 500. The other two should have come in '81 and '86. 39. stricklinfan82 posted: 03.14.2009 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Turn 4, Hut crashed his primary car in his Twin 125 qualifying race, and his #68 team leased a backup car from Rick Hendrick to race in the 500. So while technically it was a Tri-Star Motorsports entry, it was actually a Rick Hendrick owned car. 40. Evan posted: 05.15.2009 - 8:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) What else can you say? Cope put himself in a position to win and he did it. Earnhardt was in position but wasn't to be, unfortunately. But they used the loss as motivation to do well that year and they ultimately won the championship and I think its all that matters. 41. Matthew Lewis posted: 08.23.2009 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR Man: No. The "Days Of Thunder" cars started behind the actual (scored) field and were specificly instructed NOT to interfere with any other cars under any circumstance. They stayed pretty close together behind the last running car. I know they were lapped by the leaders at least once & stayed out on the track, although well below the racing groove. The drivers & "team" also attended the drivers meeting & all as well. I'm not sure as to how "legal" the cars were. AFAIK, their precense played no part in the race whatsoever. In the Daytona 500, Tommy Ellis drove the #18 Hardees Chevrolet & Bobby Hamilton drove the #51 Mello Yello Chevrolet. I believe there were also non-scored "movie cars" in one or both of the Twin 125's, I presume with the same 2 drivers. However the cars had #46 Superflo & #51 Exxon livery for that race. Greg Sacks actually raced in (and almost won) the Busch Clash in a #46 City Chevrolet that was also used in the movie. But that was a legitimate entry as Sacks had won a pole in the 1989 season. He drove an identically painted entry (although on an old Monte Carlo body) in the Busch race @ Daytona. The movie cars were allowed to be on the track (but not scored) at Daytona because, well, its NA$CAR and they wanted it that way. They thought that the movie would be a blockbuster hit and saw Hollywood as a good promotional tool. It also gave NA$CAR's biggest race at a track that the France family owns lot of extra media exposure. As stated earlier, Stricklin used a backup Hendrick Chevy in the Daytona 500 as he crashed Tri-Star's only Pontiac in the Twin 125. Tri-Star had some type of small partnership with Hendrick at the time. The car was painted black and possibly used as a "stunt double" car for some of the movie shots, doubling for the #51 Exxon movie car. The producers of the movie wanted to get as much "real" race footage as possible so they coughed up the cash to officially enter some Hendrick "start & park" cars in a few other races. The #51 (Bobby Hamilton) & #46 (Greg Sacks) legitimitely entered and competed in the 1989 Phoenix race. In 1990, Greg Sacks failed to qualify the #46 Superflo Chevrolet in the spring Atlanta race. Greg Sacks qualified the #46 City Chevrolet 7th at Darlington & Hut Stricklin drove the #51 Exxon Chevrolet. 42. myself posted: 08.26.2009 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (2) (5) This is *STILL* one of my all-time favorite races!!!! 43. Sébastien posted: 09.20.2009 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bickle #02 was sponsored by Aarco. 44. WillG46 posted: 10.26.2009 - 10:00 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "And yeah, he ran over debris from a car blowing up... how come there wasnt a caution for it way before that? hmmm... maybe this race is tainted? Dale actually ran over it on the back stretch, the tire was going down in the back sretch." That doesn't make any sense. What good would a caution would have done on the last lap? They raced back to the flag back then. Earnhardt would have still cut down the tire. 45. 18fan posted: 12.06.2009 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) myself, who is Tim Harbin? 46. Clayton posted: 01.10.2010 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Something a miss on the Earnhardt Car...Something a Miss!!" 47. Ryan posted: 01.31.2010 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Because WillG46 the car blew up a few laps before and left debris, not on the last lap... 48. Ryan posted: 01.31.2010 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) Only one driver led laps in double digits this race. WOW!!! He was so dominant. What a shame he didn't win this race. 49. myself posted: 02.09.2010 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (5) (7) I *still* laugh & get giddy when I see clips of this race! 50. 18fan posted: 02.10.2010 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) You know who led the fourth most laps in this race? Jack Pennington, that's right, Jack Pennington! 51. 18fan posted: 02.19.2010 - 12:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Debut of the Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac of Rusty Wallace. He ran it from 1990-1993. 52. RaceFanX posted: 03.01.2010 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) While "Cole Trickle" and his #51 aren't scored, Dick Trickle and his #66 finish 12th one lap down 53. Jeff posted: 05.03.2010 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As for Stricklin's car, the story (as per George Bradshaw of Tri-Star Motorsports, who was interviewed for the book /American Zoom/) is this: during the Twin 125s, Hut was running in a transfer spot when Kenny Schrader wrecked and took out Hut. Bradshaw asked Hendrick if there was any way they could borrow one of the movie cars to run the race, and as a goodwill gesture, Hendrick lent Tri-Star a backup movie car at no charge, a road-course Lumina that was supposed to be used for crash scenes. They managed to get it race-ready and "painted" just in time for the race. 54. If I Could Turn Back Time... posted: 10.23.2010 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (2) (4) ...I would travel to February 18, 1990 and ensure that someone other than Derrike Cope wins the 1990 Daytona 500. The purpose? Ridding the world of the Angela & Amber Cope's pitiful excuse of a racing career. 55. NazRacePhan posted: 12.11.2010 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) A.J. Foyt listed as "quit"... indeed he did... he admitted in the interview that it was a new helmet and he was getting loopy off the glue from the helmet... And rather than hurting himself or the other drivers, he called it quits... good call! 56. Anonymous posted: 01.02.2011 - 12:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was driving down the highway listening to the finish of this race on MRN. Allen Bestwick was the commentator on the backstretch that day, and I remember him screaming "EARNHARDT BLOWS UP!!" when Dale blew the tire like it happened yesterday. 57. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2011 - 9:42 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) "What was even more impressive is that he saved the car from crashing. A lot of people don't even notice that." Exactly. He blew his right rear going 200 mph, saved it, and still finished 5th. This race was 21 years ago today. I never realized this race was on February 18. I guess compared to what happened in turns 3 & 4 on this day in this race on the last lap 11 years later, blowing that tires wasn't that big of a deal. 58. Chris posted: 10.20.2012 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Isn't this the race where Earnhardt said in the post race interview, "It's the Daytona 500. I guess I'm not supposed to win the damn thing!!"? 59. nascarfreak88 posted: 09.27.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) AJ Foyt had the line of the day when he said, "I had a new helmet, and the glue in it was making me completely drunk." 60. Thomas posted: 01.05.2014 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 58. Chris posted: 10.20.2012 - 1:32 pm Isn't this the race where Earnhardt said in the post race interview, "It's the Daytona 500. I guess I'm not supposed to win the !@#$%^&* thing!!"? I'm almost positive that it wasn't this one. He had come close before, but this was his most agonizing loss to this point in his career in the 500. I'm pretty sure the quote was from after the 1991, 1996, or 1997 race. 61. Evan posted: 04.10.2014 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) * Interestingly my uncle said it was Earnhardt's race, but Derrike Cope won instead of him. He never really liked to talk about this race too much, it was one of his least favorite moments. This was back before the internet had racing results you could look up. * Despite what many people say about him as a driver, we need to think about how big this win is in human perspective. Sometimes you have be prepared to be lucky and Cope certainly was. This win is a special moment in Derrike Cope's life that he will always remember. You think about how tough it is to win one single race, at least Derrike Cope won 2 in 1990, some people are great but never get to taste victory in NASCAR, at least he got a couple of victories. 62. 23andJoe posted: 04.28.2014 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #96 owner: Philip Duffie 63. 23andJoe posted: 05.02.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #48 owner: Lily Lusty (one L) 64. CBASS posted: 06.20.2014 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) sponsor update #13 N.Y.-N.C. Mansion Dec. 65. Cp posted: 11.28.2014 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #58 that was after the 1995 race 66. Anonymous posted: 04.10.2015 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #58, He said that after the '97 race. 67. joebev910 posted: 04.22.2015 - 11:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why are the two car are here in the race of 42? 68. RaceFanX posted: 06.05.2015 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The makers of "Days of Thunder" used 28 Panavision cameras to film at Daytona during this race. Afterward the filmmakers won an award from Panavision for having the most cameras in use at one location, for one film to that point in the company's history. 69. MvG Sports posted: 06.18.2015 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't believe they let the 2 "Days of Thunder" cars actually race with/along side the "real" cars in the actual live running of the 1990 Daytona 500...that's just insane! 70. Ryan W posted: 09.12.2015 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Just horrible Easily the top most hated sports event of my life being a sports fan. Will always sting btw, jp 38... I'm one of the biggest Earnhardt fans you'll ever meet, but he didn't have the best car in '81. That distinction goes to Bobby Allison. 71. Josh posted: 01.10.2017 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Neil Bonnett's final Daytona 500. 72. Maverick19 posted: 04.20.2017 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Something crazy I just thought of... Mark Martin had a 46 point penalty and lost by 26, if that hadn't happened he would have won by 20. If the racing gods don't give Dale Earnhardt a flat tire in the final turn of this race, he scores 185 points instead of 165 and gains 20. That means that if Dale won the 500 and Mark wasn't penalized, they would have TIED! 73. M posted: 11.17.2017 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Watching Earnhardt lose this race and Cope swooping under him to take the win was awesome. Earnhardt could never close the big races when they really mattered, except for a handful. Cope was flying at Dover and won that one too. The best of times for Whitcomb Racing. I always thought that bright pink and white #10 was one of the best looking cars. It's a shame what happened to the team. 74. myself posted: 02.06.2018 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #73....I believe the Purolator #10 car was a shade of orange. Pink was more the Superflow car in Days of Thunder. 75. TeamDCR fan posted: 02.06.2018 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's more of a rorange (red orange) 76. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.02.2018 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First Daytona 500 starts for Jimmy Spencer, Rich Bickle, Hut Stricklin, and Jimmy Horton. Only Daytona 500 starts for Butch Miller, Jack Pennington, Jerry O'Neil, and Rob Moroso. Last Daytona 500 starts for Larry Pearson and Mike Alexander. 77. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.02.2018 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Last 500 start for Bonnett as well 78. Matthew Lewis posted: 06.04.2018 - 10:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to this article, Dick Bahre brought a Pontiac for Doug Heveron to attempt the Daytona 500. Slick Johnson had already qualified for the ARCA race but wrecked his only car during final practice for the ARCA 200. He borrowed Dick Bahre's Winston Cup Pontiac for the race and unfortunately lost his life in a wreck made most famous by a paramedic getting hit by a spinning Ron Keselowski and flung through the infield while attending to a driver, before being run over again... But since this was Dick Bahre & Doug Heveron's only car as well, they withdrew their entry unable to post an official qualifying time. http://articles.dailypress.com/1990-02-12/sports/9002110085_1_charlie-glotzbach-horton-arca-winner-mike-staley 79. Ryan posted: 08.20.2018 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @73 Really dumb comment. He ran over some debris. It was more bad luck than anything. It had nothing to do with closing. The best part about this was is that Earnhardt and his crew mounted the flat tire at their shop to use as motivation for the rest of the season. They ended winning the most races and won the championship with a big win at Phoenix in the next to last race to take the points lead for the first time in a long time that year. So much for not being able to close races when they mattered. Lol. btw, He clinched his 2nd and 7th championship by winning the race. 80. 34McDowellFan #PrayForWickens posted: 08.20.2018 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Derrike Cope won the Daytona 500 before Dale Earnhardt did, therefore he's cleary the better driver 81. Ryan posted: 08.20.2018 - 11:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @80 I guess with that logic Pete Hamilton was better than David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. 82. 34McDowellFan #PrayForWickens posted: 08.21.2018 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @81 Woooooooosh 83. Jake posted: 09.04.2018 - 7:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I often wonder why people praise Earnhardt's effort in a car that was obviously "cheated" up, but condemn another driver's success for the exact same thing. Double standards much? Let me say, all teams try to "cheat" up their cars, so I see no issue with it, but seems unfair to praise one driver and condemn another for the exact same thing. 84. Turd Ferguson posted: 10.05.2018 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to the CBS broadcast, the two movie cars ended their day on lap 41, and were off the track for several laps before that. All cars in the race received an additional $2000 as prize money 85. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.27.2018 - 3:55 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Something nobody has mentioned in this thread and that nobody in history ever talks about because they like to believe that Derrick Cope was some fairy tale thing. It was a crazy unexpected ending but Cope was no surprise winner, as his win later at Dover should've proved. Nobody goes back and talks about how Cope, a start and park, back marker, whatever you want to call him, all of a sudden started running outstanding from the Michigan race in 89 all through the rest of that season and 90. What changed? They made a deal right before that race in Michigan to run Rick Hendrick motors in the #10 car. Go back and watch the Michigan race where Cope magically runs in the top 5 for the first time in his life to the shock of Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett, until they see Rick Hendrick go over and talk to the #10 team. They send a pit reporter to talk to Hendrick, find out about the new deal and they no longer treated it as a shock that Cope kept running up front, on the lead lap, late in races for the remainder of the year. After he wins the 500, well, all bets are off, everybody loves a good underdog fairy tail story. 86. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.27.2018 - 4:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @15 Steve, there is no "Schrader factor". He didn't wreck in happy hour, he wrecked in a Twin 125, had to go to a backup car and the back of the field. Somehow, Schrader didn't know when he and others pitted for a splash of fuel that there were drivers that stayed out to try to make it all the way. After Geoff Bodine had already taken the checkered flag, here came Schrader racing way too hard, thinking it was for the win and caused a wreck. He already had the pole locked up for the 500 so what he was thinking and why his crew wasn't saying anything to him is a mystery. 87. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.27.2018 - 7:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) After watching every single race available from 85 on to now 1990 over the last month I have gotten used to exactly what did and didn't merit a caution at that time period. Nascar threw that caution for the Bodine "spin" (he didnt spin, got completely sideways, didn't hit anything, immediately got it straight and right back up to speed with no cars behind him during the incident) because this race was the biggest race of the year on CBS and it had become very boring. They never would've thrown that caution under any circumstances for a normal race that was being broadcast on ESPN or TBS that was being dominated in this fashion. There was no debris from his car, no contact, anything. Ned Jarrett actually said, Nascar used to throw some cautions late to make things exciting. Then immediately backs of it and Ken Squier and he both try to get him out of what he just said. 88. John G posted: 12.27.2018 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @87 That is really interesting. I among others didn't think this was an occurance during the "good old days". 89. Joshua posted: 12.27.2018 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The third and final caution wasn't only for Bodine's spin. Rick Wilson had been smoking for two laps and possibly putting down oil. This checks out because he blew his engine the lap after the caution waved. Bodine's spin was very indicative of an oil spin as he lost control in the middle of the corner. NASCAR didn't want to manufacture excitement here, they thought there was an issue with the race track due to the 75 blowing up. 90. BVCN posted: 12.28.2018 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @87 I have also been watching every single race from the 80's and just started 1990. I agree that it felt a little suspect after watching races where a caution probably should have been thrown, but wasn't. But, I really don't see a problem with the caution being thrown because they had to see what made Bodine slip Anyway, this race epitomizes 'The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.' Dale Earnhardt's losses are as legendary as his wins. Out of all the 7-time champs (and Jeff Gordon who I consider a GOAT) he is BY FAR the most interesting. If he didn't have this loss, the '98 win where everyone on pit road shakes his hand wouldn't have happened. It would have just been another win. 91. Wenter posted: 12.28.2018 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cope winning was the definition of a fluke. People mentioning his one other win as proof he was a "great driver" is strange. Keep that same energy for Kyle Petty and his 8 wins (including his first win in Richmond '86 which he won after Waltrip and Earnhardt spun). Cope always had bad cars? So, he won the Daytona 500 with a bad car? Beating veterans like Bill Elliott with a bad car? You can't have it both ways. He was an ok driver having a good day and benefitting from Earnhardt cutting a tire. Nothing wrong with saying that. There's nothing wrong with benefitting from luck. Earnhardt won a race in 1987 where Bill Elliott ran out of gas on the last turn of the last lap. 92. Corey posted: 12.28.2018 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @91 I agree with most of your statement except for calling it a fluke. Cope was having a good day and the team worked hard to put him in that position. That's why I can't call it a fluke. An example of a fluke win is David Reutimann's victory in the Coke 600. Caution comes out, everyone else in front pits, he stays out and the race never goes back to green, handing him the victory. 93. Ryan posted: 01.06.2019 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Being an Earnhardt fan this race was by the far the hardest and most painful loss. I agree that the Bodine "half spin" didn't merit a caution. There was a long green flag run of 142 laps and it's possible that NASCAR wanted to "shake" things up. Derrick Cope put himself in good position to get lucky. He ran well all week. To this day it's still agonizing to watch Dale drift up turn 3. It was a sickening feeling then and it always will be. Probably one of the most amazing things though that doesn't really get noticed was that he saved the car from hitting the wall when he got the flat going into the turn at 200 mph. I remember in 1986 when he ran out of gas at the end that David Hobbs talked about how much bad luck Dale had had in the Daytona 500. And the sad thing was, he was no where near the half of it yet. 94. LJTolitoYouTuber posted: 04.02.2019 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) This is a race to never forget: Dale Earnhardt could have won his first Daytona 500 Derrike Cope ended up being a bust 95. Me. posted: 04.02.2019 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @94 Wrong, Cope won again that season, on a non-plate track I might add. I don't consider race winners to be busts in general, and especially when they win on non-plate tracks. Plus the 10 car was the best equipment he ever had, although he did nicely driving for Bobby Allison as well. 96. James posted: 12.01.2019 - 2:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I kinda look at it this way: If you're one of the 30-35 Full Time Drivers in NASCAR Winston Cup in the 80s or 90s you're one of the best stock car drivers in the world at the time. In 1989 Dale Jarrett in the 29 Hardees car and Ernie Irvan in the 2 Kroger car were dog meat most of the year. Neither one of them had ever won a race. They couldn't even finish in the Top 20 in points. However, by mid-1990 both were much improved due to racing for better (more $) teams. They went on to become two of the biggest names in NASCAR. Similar drivers that came to Winston Cup at the same time never got the opportunity to drive for a top flight team: Rick Mast and Hut Stricklin And that opportunity, more than anything else, was probably the difference in their careers. Derrike Cope wasn't some awful driver running around with Winston Cup guys. When he had Rick Hendrick engines in his car, he could compete. And absolutely no one is surprised by that. 97. Jacob posted: 02.04.2020 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) During the yellow flag laps following Richard Petty spinning out in front of Phil Parsons on Lap 27; Davey Allison hit the pit wall while pitting. No injuries were reported and it took several minutes for CBS to notice, though Mike Joy reported that the car suffered left front toe damage and Allison, 6th at the time of the incident, ended up in the middle of the pack at 20th. 98. SweetRich posted: 03.05.2020 - 12:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The commentators for the race were Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Chris Economaki with Dave Despain, Mike Joy and David Hobbs on pit road. 99. sting72 posted: 05.15.2020 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The ironic part about this race was it wasn't shown live on TV in Western Washington, which includes Spanaway, Cope's hometown. The local CBS TV station decided to show a Seattle Sonics NBA game that day instead. A lot of folks headed south to the Portland area to watch the race live. The TV station was swamped with calls all day, they missed one of the biggest sports stories for this area in years to show a basketball game with 2 of the worst teams in the NBA. I listened to the race on a short wave radio, some guy in Alabama was broadcasting the radio call for the race over his radio. He could only broadcast the race for about 5 minutes then shut down for a couple to keep the FCC from tracking his signal. He went off air with about 10 laps to go and didn't come back till right as the white flag was waved at Earnhardt. 100. BOBO83329521 posted: 05.29.2020 - 9:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Second straight race that the 3 car dominated. They were able to close out the 1989 Atlanta finale but unfortunately they had an issue on the last lap here and lost to Derrike Cope 101. SweetRich posted: 07.06.2020 - 10:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was not the beginning of Cale Yarborough Motorsports, but it was literally starting from scratch with a new sponsor, new number and new driver all in one new season. Gone was Hardee's, gone was the #29 and gone was Dale Jarrett. In came TropArtic, in came the #66 and in came Dick Trickle. After all of that, Trickle finished a very strong 12th to start the 1990 season. 102. BadBooking posted: 09.24.2020 - 7:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big props to Morgan Shepherd. Wrecked in the Busch race the day before, and broke some ribs on top of other injuries. A complication of the injuries was that he could only drive the car with his left hand in the 500, and even that gave out late. Somehow Morgan battled for 10th. One tough customer! 103. Anonymous posted: 10.23.2020 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mickey Gibbs' crew chief was David Ifft. 104. Rich posted: 01.10.2021 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Along with being in the commentating booth, Chris Economaki was the host. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: