Derrike Cope Racing with JP Motorsports (formerly known as Creation-Cope Racing, CFK Motorsports, Stratus Racing Group, Cope/Keller Racing and Derrike Cope, Inc, and Quest Motor Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was owned by Derrike Cope, and the team fielded the No. 70 Chevrolet Camaro in the Xfinity Series for Cope. The team closed before the start of the 2017 season.

Derrike Cope Racing with JP Motorsports
Owner(s)Derrike Cope
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesXfinity Series
Race drivers70. Derrike Cope
Sponsors70. ICE-AID
E-Hydrate
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2001
Closed2017
Career
DebutWinston Cup Series:
2002 Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 (Charlotte)
Xfinity Series:
2008 Meijer 300 (Kentucky)
Craftsman Truck Series:
2001 Silverado 350 (Texas)
ARCA Racing Series:
2012 (Salem)
Latest raceWinston Cup Series:
2003 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 (Rockingham)
Xfinity Series:
2016 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (Texas)
Camping World Truck Series:
2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)
Races competedTotal: 179
Winston Cup Series: 22
Xfinity Series: 134
Camping World Truck Series: 19
ARCA Racing Series: 4
Drivers' ChampionshipsTotal: 0
Winston Cup Series: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Camping World Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0
Race victoriesTotal: 0
Winston Cup Series: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Camping World Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0
Pole positionsTotal: 0
Winston Cup Series: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Camping World Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0

Organizational changes

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The team originally opened as Quest Motor Racing in 2001. Cope was the team's driver, and he also co-owned the team with Warren Johnson, a drag racer.[1] During the 2003 Winston Cup season, the 37 Chevrolet attempted majority of the seasons 36 races, but only made 18. The team was sponsored by Friendly's Ice Cream, but could only operate on a smaller budget compared to the competition. For 2004, Cope and team were to return with new sponsorship from Paramount Hospitality Management LLC (PHM).[2] But before Speedweeks, PHM backed off, leaving Cope heavily underfunded again. Cope and team were approached by Florida businessman Don Arnold and his team, Arnold Motorsports, for a merger.[1] Cope had attempted the 2003 finale at Homestead, but failed to qualify. The merger consisted of the 79 and 37 teams merging to create the No. 50 Arnold Motorsports Dodge. The team used Cope's 2003 Owner Points, to ensure a better chance of making races, as well as Cope's equipment. Cope successfully made the Daytona 500, but crashed and finished 30th. A few weeks later at Darlington, Cope qualified 5th, ran up front the majority of the race, but a pit road issue relegated the team to a 25th-place finish. After the Coca-Cola 600, Cope and Arnold split, with Cope taking his equipment away from the team,[1] but leaving Arnold with the points.

The team made two attempts in 2008 in Cup, rebranded as Cope/Keller Racing, DNQ'ing in both. The team also ran a partial Nationwide schedule, fielding cars for several drivers. The team returned part-time in 2009 with sponsorship from Blu Frog Energy and Flip'n Bags.com. On December 14, 2009, Cope and Keller partnered with Dale Clemons to form Stratus Racing Group in the ARCA, Nationwide, Truck, and Cup Series. The team fielded cars in all levels in 2010 including two ARCA teams and Nationwide and Truck teams. The Sprint Cup effort was part-time in 2010 but it increased in 2011.

In the Truck Series, Cope and nieces Angela and Amber Cope ran limited schedules. The sisters made their first starts in 2010 in the Truck Series at Martinsville.[3] Angela ran the No. 01 Odyssey Batteries Dodge Ram and Amber in the No. 6 Dodge Ram with the same sponsors. Angela finished 30th and Amber 26th.[3]

History

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The team originally opened in 2001 with Derrike Cope driving the No. 37 K&N Filters Pontiac, but never made a race. The team returned in 2002, this time running the Ford Taurus. In 2003, the team planned to attempt all 36 races in the No. 37 Friendly's Ice Cream Chevrolet. Stratus Racing Group was previously called Cope/Keller Racing and Derrike Cope Inc. in Nationwide.

In the past, Stratus has fielded trucks in the Camping World Truck Series. Larry Foyt and Jennifer Jo Cobb has each ran one race for the team in 2009.

The team also fielded two cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series under the name of Derrike Cope Inc. In 2009, the team has run the No. 73 and No. 78 cars for Cope, Kevin Lepage, and Chase Miller. The team also attempted to run a third car, No. 79, at Kansas Speedway for Cobb. The team missed the race, in fact only Lepage's car qualified out of the three. Former drivers for this effort include Larry Gunselman, Kertus Davis, Jason White, and Johnny Sauter.

 
Cope in his No. 73 Nationwide car in 2009

2010

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Stratus was sponsored by Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group Inc for the select Nationwide and Truck races in 2010. The drivers were Derrike Cope (Nationwide) as well as Angela and Amber Cope in the Truck Series.[4]

In their first competition of the season. Derrike Cope finished 24th in the Bud Shootout.

2011

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Derrike Cope and Stratus Racing entered the 2011 Goodys Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, but withdrew on Thursday before practice on Friday. Derrike didn't run the No. 73 Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series. Cope entered in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington. Cope has changed manufacturers from Dodge Charger to Chevrolet Impala. He was forced to withdraw from Darlington when the engine in his MAXcellence Chevrolet was tested on an engine dyno and determined to not have enough power to make the race. Cope hoped to be ready for the Sprint Showdown. When problems again plagued the team, Cope went to race for Max Q Motorsports in the 64. During the showdown race, Landon Cassill blew a tire and spun in front of Cope's Ford, causing Cope to T-bone the side of Cassill's car. Neither driver was injured.[5]

2012

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For the 2012 season, Cope changed the name of the team to CFK Motorsports. The team attempted the NNS Daytona race, but failed to make the show. Cope also drove for Robinson-Blakeney Racing. Cope also planned to enter 5-7 races in the Sprint Cup Series. Cope once again attempted to qualify at Bristol Motor Speedway, but was knocked out due to being slowest in practice and qualifying. Cope and CFK Motorsports finally made their first race in the 32nd race of the season. Cope started 36th and finished 28th.

2013

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CFK returned for a part-time schedule in 2013 under the moniker of Creation-Cope Racing in a Chevy with sponsorship from MAXallence Energy. The team attempted several races with driver Derrike Cope, and only made one with Cope, a race in which they start and parked. They also ran the Mid-Ohio race with Alx Danielsson and dropped out due to a suspension failure after 35 laps.[6]

2014

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Derrike Cope Racing competed full-time in the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, driving the No. 70 Chevrolet Camaro. Cope purchased all assets from the former ML Motorsports for the 2014 season. The team tested at Daytona in January, at the annual Daytona testing event. In February, the team went to Daytona International Speedway and qualified for the Drive for COPD 300, finishing in the 37th position after some difficulties. Charlies Soap continued to sponsor the car through round number four of the season at Bristol, where Derrike finished P28. In the following race at Auto Club Speedway, the team was sponsored by Youtheory. Youtheory continued to sponsor the car full-time until the final Texas race of the season. Charlies Soap came on board in the final Charlotte race as well. Derrike finished P13 at the Firecracker 300 at Daytona in the Summer, which ended up being his best finish of the year. Derrike ended the year P23 in the Xfinity Series standings.

2015

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The same plans are in place for 2015, with sponsorship from Charlie's Soap. 2015 was not a good season for the 70 team. The team missed the first race of the season and was plagued with several problems in the following weeks. During the California race weekend, Cope's team hauler was surrounded by African Swarm Bees.[7] Sponsorship problems also plagued the team. Cope's next DNQ came at Talladega when his car was not fast enough to make the field. Cope had originally missed the July 4th race at Daytona, but the 13 MBM Motorsports car driven by Mark Thompson was found to be illegal. Thompson, who originally qualified 33rd, was wiped from the field and his spot was given to Cope.[8] The team also ran with younger drivers who had brought sponsor dollars along. The team finished 37th in owner points.

 
2015 Xfinity car at Road America

2016

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Cope announced at the end of the 2015 season that he would again run the full schedule in 2016, in a partnership with JP Motorsports. Sponsorship for Daytona was revealed as Ice-Aid. They would serve as primary sponsor for Daytona and associate sponsor throughout the season. The team DNQ'd at Daytona. In Atlanta, the team finished 27th with Adrenalin Powersports and Ice-Aid on board. The following week in Las Vegas, with E-hydrate and Ice-Aid on the car, the team wrecked the primary in practice. They got the back up car ready, but unfortunately cleared tech just after the qualifying session ended and did not qualify. Timmy Hill was hired to drive two road courses: Mid-Ohio and Road America. Dexter Stacey drove the car in the last 3 races of season.[9]

2017

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The team announced via Facebook that they would not be returning for the 2017 NASCAR season. Cope would return part-time to the Cup series for Premium Motorsports, and later take a managerial role at the newly formed StarCom Racing, along with driving duties.[10][11]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series (primary entry)

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2001 Derrike Cope 37 Pontiac DAY
DNQ
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT
DNQ
DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
DNQ
GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR HOM ATL NHA 60th 72
2002 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT
DNQ
DOV
DNQ
POC MCH
38
SON DAY CHI NHA POC
35
IND
DNQ
GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH 53rd 250
Kevin Lepage NHA
40
DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR
Jeff Jefferson Pontiac PHO
DNQ
HOM
2003 Derrike Cope Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR
43
LVS
29
ATL DAR BRI
43
TEX TAL MAR
42
CAL
43
RCH
DNQ
CLT
DNQ
DOV
DNQ
POC
DNQ
MCH
40
SON DAY CHI
43
NHA
35
POC
42
IND
36
GLN MCH
34
BRI
DNQ
DAR
39
RCH NHA
DNQ
DOV
35
TAL KAN
38
CLT
37
MAR
42
ATL
40
PHO
DNQ
CAR
43
HOM
DNQ
43rd 1037
2008 Derrike Cope 75 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT
DNQ
MAR
DNQ
ATL TEX PHO HOM 55th 59
2009 DAY
DNQ
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR
DNQ
TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV
DNQ
POC
DNQ
MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND
DNQ
POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA
DNQ
DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 54th 144
2010 DAY
DNQ
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 62nd 19
2011 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR
DNQ
TEX PHO HOM 60th 0

Winston Cup Series (secondary entry)

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2002 Kevin Lepage 38 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT
43
DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 73rd 34

Xfinity Series (primary entry)

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NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Owners Pts
2008 Larry Gunselman 73 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO MXC TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN
41
53rd 404
Kertus Davis MLW
42
NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN
Kevin Lepage MCH
41
BRI
41
CAL
41
RCH DOV
39
KAN
43
CLT
39
MEM
43
TEX
41
PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ
2009 DAY CAL LVS BRI
36
TEX NSH PHO TAL IOW
39
GLN MCH
DNQ
46th 894
Derrike Cope RCH
22
DAR
DNQ
CLT
34
DOV NSH KEN
22
MLW
40
NHA
37
DAY CHI
36
GTY
38
IRP BRI
26
CGV ATL
DNQ
RCH
DNQ
DOV KAN
DNQ
CAL
39
CLT
DNQ
Chase Miller MEM
39
TEX PHO HOM
2010 Derrike Cope DAY
DNQ
CAL
36
LVS
DNQ
BRI
28
NSH
26
PHO
37
TEX
DNQ
TAL
DNQ
RCH
42
DAR
42
CLT
DNQ
NSH
41
KEN
26
ROA NHA DAY
38
CHI GTY
DNQ
IRP IOW GLN MCH
39
BRI
39
CGV ATL RCH
42
DOV
34
KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO HOM 46th 905
Johnny Chapman DOV
39
2012 Derrike Cope 73 Chevy DAY
DNQ
PHO LVS BRI
DNQ
CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO
24
HOM 61st 20
2013 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR
DNQ
CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN
39
DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN RCH
DNQ
CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT
DNQ
TEX PHO HOM 62nd 12
Alx Danielsson MOH
37
BRI ATL
2014 Derrike Cope 70 DAY
37
PHO
34
LVS
35
BRI
28
CAL
28
TEX
38
DAR
29
RCH
28
TAL
DNQ
IOW
37
CLT
36
DOV
24
MCH
35
ROA
33
KEN
37
DAY
13
NHA
28
CHI
30
IND
34
IOW
34
GLN
22
MOH
32
BRI
DNQ
ATL
31
RCH
DNQ
CHI
36
KEN
33
DOV
37
KAN
23
CLT
25
TEX
DNQ
PHO
31
HOM
DNQ
35th 364
2015 DAY
DNQ
ATL
36
LVS
33
PHO
33
CAL
31
TEX
36
BRI
37
RCH
35
TAL
DNQ
IOW
29
CLT
DNQ
DOV
28
MCH
37
CHI
35
DAY
38
KEN
33
NHA
32
IND
30
GLN
27
MOH
25
BRI
30
ROA
30
DAR
32
CHI
31
KEN
24
DOV
32
CLT
32
KAN
39
TEX
30
37th 349
Matt Frahm IOW
31
Matt Waltz RCH
33
PHO
DNQ
Garrett Smithley HOM
28
2016 Derrike Cope DAY
DNQ
ATL
27
LVS
DNQ
PHO
34
CAL
34
TEX
31
BRI
34
RCH
30
TAL
DNQ
DOV
35
CLT
32
POC
37
MCH
31
IOW
34
DAY
DNQ
KEN
35
NHA
35
IND
32
IOW
33
GLN
31
BRI
29
DAR
25
RCH
34
CHI
37
KEN
29
DOV
29
CLT
36
KAN
38
38th 236
Timmy Hill MOH
29
ROA
23
Dexter Stacey TEX
37
PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ

Nationwide Series (secondary entry)

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NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Owners Pts
2008 Nick Tucker 78 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO MXC TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI
DNQ
58th 248
Johnny Sauter Chevy CAL
42
RCH
Dodge DOV
40
CLT
DNQ
MEM
41
TEX
DNQ
Jennifer Jo Cobb KAN
30
Jason White PHO
DNQ
Derrike Cope HOM
DNQ

Nationwide Series (third entry)

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NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Owners Pts
2009 Jennifer Jo Cobb 79 Dodge DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN
DNQ
CAL CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 64th 0

Camping World Truck Series (primary entry)

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Owners Pts
2001 Damon Lusk 37 Ford DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX
11
LVS PHO CAL [N 1]
2002 Matt Mullins DAY
16
DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP NSH RCH TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM [N 1]
2008 Jennifer Jo Cobb 74 Dodge DAY CAL ATL MAR KAN
33
KEN
26
38th 396
Derrike Cope CLT
36
MFD IRP
33
NSH BRI GTW NHA LVS TAL
Larry Gunselman DOV
34
TEX
35
Nick Tucker MCH
31
MLW
33
MEM MAR
35
ATL TEX PHO HOM
2009 Larry Foyt DAY
20
CAL ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX MCH MLW MEM KEN IRP NSH BRI CHI IOW GTW NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 68th 103
2010 Derrike Cope DAY
DNQ
ATL MAR NSH KAN DOV CLT TEX MCH IOW GTW IRP POC NSH DAR BRI CHI KEN
DNQ
NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 66th 95

Camping World Truck Series (secondary entry)

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Owners Pts
2008 Michelle Theriault 73 Dodge DAY CAL ATL MAR KAN
35
45th 284
Nick Tucker CLT
DNQ
MFD DOV
35
TEX
33
IRP
32
NSH BRI GTW NHA LVS TAL
Rick Markle MCH
33
Larry Gunselman MLW
34
MEM KEN
Robert Bruce MAR
DNQ
ATL TEX PHO HOM
2009 Jennifer Jo Cobb DAY CAL ATL MAR KAN
26
CLT DOV TEX MCH MLW MEM KEN IRP NSH BRI CHI IOW GTW NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 72nd 85
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b unknown

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Information about Derrike Cope from historicracing.com". www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  2. ^ CAIN, HOLLY (October 29, 2003). "Motor Sports: New sponsor will let Cope compete at full throttle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  3. ^ a b MacWatters, Sandra (May 13, 2011). "NASCAR: Can Twin Blondes Amber and Angela Cope Become Contenders?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  4. ^ "Connectyx, Co-Sponsors Daytona 500 Winning NASCAR Driver Derrike Cope and Stratus Racing Group in this Year's Daytona 500 Race Week". PR Newswire. January 19, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  5. ^ Hlas, Mike (June 3, 2011). "Hlas column: Landon Cassill's Sprint Cup boss in a hurry to see improvement". www.thegazette.com. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  6. ^ Hembree, Mike (August 17, 2013). "AJ Allmendinger dominates Nationwide race at Mid-Ohio". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  7. ^ "Swarm of bees invades Derrike Cope's trailer in Fontana". FOX Sports. March 20, 2015. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  8. ^ Ifeguni, David (2015-07-04). "Daniel Suarez Wins Pole for the 2015 Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona". Frontstretch. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  9. ^ Nguyen, Justin (2023-01-27). "Dexter Stacey enters Daytona Xfinity, first start since 2016". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  10. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2017-02-08). "1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope to run limited 2017 Cup schedule". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  11. ^ "StarCom Racing to compete In MENCS, withdraws from Dover". ESPN.com. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
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