Derrike Cope, the winner of the 1990 Daytona 500, will wheel the No. 15 Chevrolet in another attempt to claim his second trophy at Daytona International Speedway, Cope confirmed to FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass on Tuesday.
Cope’s No. 15 car will be entered under Rick Ware Racing, though it will be built by StarCom Racing, where Cope is the team manager. Pat Tryson will be his crew chief for the Daytona 500, and Jacob Companies will be the sponsor. The No. 15 is a chartered entry, Pockrass confirmed.
It will be Cope’s 26th Cup Series race at Daytona. He has one win, one top five, and one top 10 at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
“I am really looking forward to running this year’s Daytona 500 with Rick Ware Racing,” Cope said in a press release. “I have known Rick [Ware] and his family for a long time and I am excited to have the opportunity to go to Daytona and race for another win! I am excited to have Don Perry with Jacob Company as the primary sponsor as well. I want to thank Mike and Matt Kohler and Bill Woehlemann with StarCom Fiber for making this all possible! I could not be more excited to get back to Daytona!
“We are excited to partner together with Derrike on his final Daytona 500 start,” team owner Rick Ware added. “Derrike is a former Daytona 500 champion, and has had a great career in NASCAR. I look forward to seeing the No. 15 Jacob Companies Chevrolet on track in a couple weeks!”
Cope last competed in the 2018 Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Overall, he has started 427 races with two wins, six top fives, and 32 top 10s.
Cope joins Josh Bilicki, Cody Ware, and Joey Gase in Rick Ware Racing’s Daytona 500 lineup. Bilicki will compete full-time, Ware will also run full-time, and Gase will compete in an unspecified amount of races. James Davison also remains hopeful to compete in the Daytona 500, though he definitely will compete in more Cup Series races this season.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.