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NASCAR Truck Series is about to get a
double injection of style Amber and Angela Cope
hoping to blaze a new trail. 
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Profile
Cornelius, NC
The first Twins of NASCAR!
Biography Twins will show their talent behind
the wheel…Get Ready!
Amber and Angela Cope, the nieces of 1990
Daytona 500 Winner Derrike Cope are determined to
make their mark in motorsports.
They began racing at the age of 9 in Go karts
and quickly made names for themselves by winning
poles and races year after year. At the young age
of 15 they step up to late model race cars even
before they had their license to drive. They
instantly acquired national attention when they
were featured on Bryant Gumble “Good Morning
Today”.
After numerous feature wins and pole position
these two attractive and dynamic young women are
ready to take the next step towards to the most
elite form of
motorsports…”NASCAR”.
Twins will show their talent behind the
wheel…Get Ready!
Amber and Angela Cope, the nieces of 1990
Daytona 500 Winner Derrike Cope is determined to
make their mark in motorsports.
They began racing at the age of 9 in Go karts
and quickly made names for themselves by winning
poles and races year after year. At the young age
of 15 they step up to late model race cars even
before they had their license to drive. They
instantly acquired national attention when they
were featured on Bryant Gumble
Results
Awards Fifty first place wins between the
twins.
2011
NASCAR Nationwide Race Stats
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Date
|
Track
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Status
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May 22
|
Iowa
|
43
|
32
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203
|
Too slow
|
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Jun 4
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Chicago
|
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|
|
|
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Jun 18
|
Michigan
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|
|
|
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Jun 25
|
Road America
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|
|
|
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Jul 1
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Daytona
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|
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Jul 8
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Kentucky
|
|
|
|
|
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Jul 16
|
Loudon
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Jul 23
|
Nashville
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|
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|
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Jul 30
|
Lucas Oil Raceway ?
|
|
|
200
|
|
|
Aug 6
|
Iowa
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 13
|
Watkins Glen
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|
|
|
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Aug 20
|
Montreal
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Aug 26
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Bristol
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Sep 3
|
Atlanta
|
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|
|
|
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Sep 9
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Richmond
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|
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Sep 17
|
Richmond
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|
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Oct 1
|
Dover
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Oct 8
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Kansas
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Oct 14
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Charlotte
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Nov 5
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Texas
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|
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Nov 12
|
Phoenix
|
|
|
|
|
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Nov 19
|
Homestead-Miami
|
|
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|
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Schedule
Snippets
Amber tested for the 2010 ARCA
Racing Series at Daytona. She was the 9th
fastest woman and 53rd out of 60 drivers.
News
Truck Series is about to
get a double injection of style. Amber and Angela
Cope hoping to blaze a new trail
When cosmetologists graduate from beauty school,
naturally they go to the salon for employment. But
that's not always the case. According to a
particular pair I spoke with, they're going truck
racing instead.
Angela and Amber Cope, twin sisters and the
nieces of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, are
on a mission to show NASCAR that you can beat and
bang on the race track and look hot at the same
time.
* Female drivers
How so?
Think Christina Aguilera before motherhood and
then put her in a fire suit. You now have an idea
of what the Cope twins, who started racing go-karts
at age 9 across the Northwest, look like.
Their stock-car racing began nearly five years
ago when the sisters left Puyallup, Wash., and
moved cross-country to Mooresville, N.C., upon
their uncle's request. He knew they had an interest
and wanted to turn them into hard-core racers. But
first he would have to make some concessions about
their glitzy exteriors and learn how to be a
surrogate father.
"I can put up with the platinum hair and makeup,
but I told them we can't do heels or holes in the
jeans at the track," said Derrike Cope, who
divorced years ago and never had children of his
own. "Angela and Amber -- any female racer for that
matter -- they come with a unique set of challenges
but the girls know I have a strong work ethic and
we've become close over the years."
A veteran of 409 Cup Series starts, Cope
recently launched Stratus Racing Group Inc. and
will compete in the Nationwide and Truck series.
Cope will drive in both series while the twins are
slated to drive in a limited number of Truck
races.
And there's only so much funding to go around,
therefore, the twins will be forced to share the
ride. Fortunate for them, sharing is not a new
concept. Outside of their go-kart days, the twins
have split seat time in every ride they've ever
campaigned -- be it super late models or ARCA
cars.
"We trade off every other race and when Amber is
in the car I will spot for her or help her out and
when I'm in the car she helps me get buckled in and
will give me pointers on track conditions," Angela
Cope said.
Looking to secure sponsorship and start NASCAR's
approval process for superspeedways, Amber and
Angela attended the highly-publicized ARCA test on
Dec. 18-20 in Daytona where Danica Patrick and six
other females all made laps.“
I think the obstacles we run into is that we are
girly girls, we are blonde and everyone thinks that
we are out to be models not racers. We will make
our mark in this sport, earn everyone's respect and
look great. There has to be a woman driver that
will have it all.”- Angela Copea
Amber and Angela didn't top the speed charts,
nor were they the fastest of the females, but
gaining notoriety or capitalizing on Patrick's
entry into NASCAR is not their focus.
"We were out there to just get some laps, we are
not looking to run ARCA, we just needed to get back
in a car after being out for over a year and we
were out there for our sponsors," Angela said.
But the Copes do admit the timing can only help
generate buzz and media attention for their truck
debut, which may be at Martinsville, the same track
Chrissy Wallace debuted
at in 2008.
However, Wallace, like so many other aspiring
talents -- female or not -- doesn't have
sponsorship and, therefore, no ride for 2010.
Strategic and mindful of how important long-term
financial support is, the Cope twins fear their
careers will stall out as well.
"We've been trying for a long time now and
that's why we both went to cosmetology school and
both had jobs," Angela said. "The funding was never
there for us and we never found anyone to back us
up."
In addition to financial pressures, Angela said
she fears the NASCAR community will not take the
twins seriously.
"I think the obstacles we run into is that we
are girly girls, we are blonde and everyone thinks
that we are out to be models not racers," she said.
"We will make our mark in this sport, earn
everyone's respect and look great. There has to be
a woman driver that will have it all."
Yes, and Danica hopes
it is her. The open-wheel star has already
established her total package status in the IndyCar
Series. Time will tell how far her talents and
charm will take her in the NASCAR community. So
it's still anyone's guess as to who will be
NASCAR's next great female racer or how long she
will stay.
The Cope twins want a shot. And with some
stock-car racing under their belts and
round-the-clock guidance from their uncle, it could
happen.
"I know female racers come and go, but it just
comes down to driving on a consistent basis,"
Derrike Cope said. "These girls are going to go
through the process and build from there. We are
going to show up and serve our time."
One thing is certain, the twins are going to
stand out among the seasoned, rough-and-tumble
truck drivers.
"We'll be hard to miss with our platinum blonde
hair and big Dior glasses," Angela said.
Source: www.nascar.com/2010/news/opinion/01/15/splash.go.rswan.acope.amcope.truck/story_single.html
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