| Travis Cope Hunting Win Number Four | By Jack Smith
Rookie Leads Goodyear Challenge Series In Wins
Any late model fan in Florida has of course heard of Jimmy Cope, and Mike Cope is a notable veteran of the old ASA Series.
Well, race fans there is a new Cope making news in 2006 and his name is Travis Cope. A soft spoken young man who celebrated his 18th birthday in May of this year, won his first race on April 1st of this year, at his home track at Bronson Motor Speedway.
He has also won at Citrus County Speedway and Columbia Motorsports Park. All three times he started on the pole or was near the front, got the lead and kept it.
This weekend Cope will again face the Goodyear front runner Joe Winchell, who leads the points with 625 over Rookie Dustin Deschamps who has 601 points. Right behind Deschamps is the 2005 Goodyear Challenge Late Model Champion Rich Clouser who has led the points longer than anyone thus far this year. Then Travis Cope follows in fourth only 12 points behind Clouser.
We spent some time recently with Travis Cope for a segment of Short Track America's Inside Florida Racing, an On demand Internet broadcast. The interview is one-half hour long and  Click Here To Listen!. , or by going to the Short Track America home page.
Travis learned this week that the current issue of Stock Car Magazine has a feature called something on the order of "Nineteen Racers You Haven't Heard of but Will Soon", and Travis was pleasantly surprised to hear his name is on that list.
Oh yes, besides those well known Florida racers Mike and Jimmy Cope in Travis Cope's family tree, there is also Grandpa Cope. James Lee Cope drove the number 26 in the old days and that is the number you see on the Travis Cope late model race car.
 With the support of car builders and racers like Uncle Jimmy and his father Mike Cope, we asked Travis if he felt he has an advantage. "I would say around Florida, my Uncle Jimmy is more known than my Dad, but I think they are both amazing race car drivers, and yeah i guess I can say I have an edge over most people". He said without hesitation.
"Everything they tell me and all the advice they give me I really try to take in because I know exactly how good they are". The young Cope explained.
Cope feels he has a shot at the combination Rookie and Championship title in the Goodyear Challenge, if he can be consistent the rest of the year. "As long we go with our game face on going to these races knowing what we can do and what we have done, I think we can do it this year", he stated confidently.
Four races are left on the 2006 season schedule, with two of them at New Smyrna Speedway, so this weekend's race looms large of Cope can make a serious run at catching either Winchell or Deschamps.
New Smyrna Speedway's pit gates will open at 2 PM on Saturday with practice for the Goodyear Challenge Late Model drivers only from 3 to 4 with division practice to follow.
Qualifying will begin at 6:30 PM with racing action at 7:30 PM.
Click Here To Listento Travis Cope Interview (30 minutes)!
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