StarCom Racing will run two cars at this weekend’s Dover NASCAR Cup Series race, with 59-year-old team manager and 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope returning to driving duties.
Cope competed in selected races in 2017 as StarCom prepared for its first full year but stepped back from the driving role when Jeffrey Earnhardt was signed for ’18.
Earnhardt and StarCom parted ways after five difficult races, and Landon Cassill, who had been dropped from Front Row Motorsports at the end of 2017, then stepped in as driver of the #00 Chevrolet Camaro.
StarCom had previously made it known that it could run the #99 Camaro for a driver with significant sponsorship during 2018, but Cope will now drive at Dover.
“It’s hard to believe we are this far into the season already,” said Cope. “I am pleased with the progress that our team has made.
“I have been consumed with the team manager duties up to this point but am excited to get back into the #99 Chevrolet and especially at Dover, one of my favourite tracks.”
Cassill will return to the line-up having sat out Talladega as Joey Gase, the team’s third driver of the year, ran the #00 Chevrolet there.
The StarCom driver added that Dover will be a race of “survival”.
“I’m excited to be back in the car, especially at such a challenging place like Dover,” said Cassill.
“It will be a race for survival, like always, and I’m anxious to see what kind of progress we can make on the car in practice.”
StarCom’s best result in 2018 came at Bristol with a 20th place finish for Cassill.