Travis Cope ready for Trans Am debut at Circuit of The Americas
November 5, 2015
MCRE heads to Austin, Texas with full roster
AUSTIN, Texas. [November 4, 2015] – As the Trans Am Series prepares for its debut appearance at Circuit of The Americas for Round 11 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship, Mike Cope Racing Enterprises (MCRE) is preparing for a much anticipated debut of its own with Travis Cope slated to make his first career appearance in the TA2 class, as he steps behind the wheel of the No. 26 Bestline Superior Lubricants Ford Mustang.
Travis Cope, while only 26 year old, is a long-time veteran of Super Late Model Racing despite his young age. A fourth generation racer, Cope has been racing in one format or another since the age of 12 and has collected a sizeable array of honors and titles in the southern states region. Now Cope is ready for a fresh challenge, one that comes in the form of Trans Am’s TA2 class and the Series’ 100-mile road racing format.
“Travis is extremely excited for this opportunity,” said Mike Cope, Owner of MCRE and Travis’ father. “While he does not have what you would call a wealth of experience in road racing, he has as much experience as anyone in this paddock behind cars of the same ilk as the TA2 platform. His experience in the driver’s seat is going to allow us to take our development and onsite preparation to the next level for both the “Arrive and Drive” program and the MCRE TA2 platform. He can sit behind the wheel of one of these cars and, because of his intimate knowledge with the feel and handling of these cars, turn a few laps, come back in and know exactly what we need to do to improve them for the tracks we race on.”
For Mike Cope, Travis’ entry into TA2 is just another step in what has been an incredible family experience.
“When Travis made the switch from motorcycles to late model racing, I hung up my racing shoes,” said Mike Cope. “But watching him, helping him and running the team he races for—it has been a truly incredible experience. People ask me if I miss driving, I really don’t. I’m having more fun working with him and our other drivers than I ever had behind the wheel. And while we’re focused on the continued development of these cars and figuring out how to best prepare them for these tracks, Travis wants to do well and win. He has a huge task in front of him—29 entries with some of the best road racers in North America amongst them, but we just finished testing over the weekend, and I’ll tell you what, I think he’ll surprise more than just a few of them.”
The foray into the driver’s seat, expected to continue in the 2016 Trans Am Season, does not mean less work for Travis Cope though. He will continue with his duties as Crew Chief for MCRE, as he usually does at each event.
“Travis plays a big role in everything we’ve done at MCRE,” said Mike Cope. “He works hard, and this weekend will be no exception; he’ll jump out of the car and get straight to work on them right away. His ride will be the last to be prepared and he knows that; and while it’s a tough task, I’m sure he will be up for it.”
Alongside Travis will be five additional TA2 cars in the MCRE paddock; with Kevin Poitras, Lawrence Loshak, Keith Prociuk, Matt Parent and JJ Haley all in attendance— setting a record entry for the MCRE “Arrive and Drive” program.
“Everyone is raring to go,” said Cope. “COTA is one of those tracks everyone looked at on the schedule and circled; it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m confident we’ll be ready to go. We’ve got more than a couple of drivers on our list that are ready and more than capable of getting onto that podium—our job is to make sure that the car is ready to help them get there.”
JJ Haley makes his return to the Trans Am paddock once more, fresh off of an appearance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway; as he continues his development throughout the ranks of the racing world.
“When it’s all said and done, people are going to talk about how they raced with JJ Haley in the Trans Am Series when he was just a kid,” said Mike Cope. “He’s an incredibly talented young man with a lot of character and a desire to learn. He’s taken to road racing, and rain racing, somehow, with incredible ease; and we’re excited to have him back in the paddock at COTA. He loves Trans Am, and even says he wants to own and run a Trans Am team later on!”
While Matt Parent is making only his second TA2 appearance, Cope is confident that Parent will continue to climb up the class ranks after an impressive debut at Mid-Ohio earlier this year where he finished 18th in a 32-car field.
“Matt had a great first race at Mid-Ohio,” said Cope. “We’re going to see what he can do at COTA in his second outing, but so far he’s really taken to these cars and the whole team has been encouraged by his progress.”
For the trio of Lawrence Loshak, Kevin Poitras and Keith Prociuk the bar is set even higher—albeit by their own accord.
“Lawrence, Kevin and Keith are three guys who are ready to, and have an incredible desire to, finish up at the top,” said Cope. “They have the talent, and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure they have a shot come race day. They’ve all been up there throughout the year; and hopefully with Travis’ assistance throughout the weekend, we can put together the setup to help put it all together.”
In total, eight MCRE built cars will compete in Round 11 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship with Dillon Machavern and Tony Ave also entered.
Entering the weekend, drivers sporting MCRE chassis hold six of the top 15 positions in the TA2 point standings with only two rounds remaining in the Chase for the Trigon Trophy.
The MCRE team and all MCRE built cars will take to the track in several Trans Am sessions throughout the weekend, all times Central:
Thursday, November 5, 2015
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM Practice 1
3:17 PM – 3:32 PM TA2 “Fast Five” Qualifying
Friday, November 6, 2015
10:50 AM – 11:20 AM Practice 2
11:25 AM – 11:45 AM Second Chance to Qualify
Saturday, November 7, 2015
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM Warm Up
4:00 PM Trans Am Race – 102.81 miles, 30 laps
Fans can keep up with MCRE throughout the weekend on Twitter at @MikeCopeRacing, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mikecoperacecars, and keep track of each session at www.gotransam.com/live-timing or on Race Monitor.
About Mike Cope Racing Enterprises:
Perhaps no other team has worked so diligently to achieve success over the course of 30 years as MCRE. Over the years, they have successfully launched corporate sponsorships in national series, developed short track and SCCA Road race champions and mentored young upcoming drivers. Lead by Mike Cope, he brings the same enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge to his race team that made him victorious in his own racing career.
MCRE offers a variety of services for drivers interested in the Trans Am Series’ TA2 program, including custom builds, arrive and drive programs, maintenance programs, consulting, driver mentoring, set-up and shock dyno. Learn more at www.mikecoperacecars.com.
Mike Cope Racing Enterprises is based in Clearwater, Florida.
Mike Cope Racing Enterprises partners include: Quarter Master, Hawk Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, Wilwood, Port City Racecars, ButlerBuilt, Integra Shocks and Keyser Manufacturing.
About Travis Cope:
The racing shoe doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Cope Family household. Born to former NASCAR Nationwide (Busch) and Truck Series and short track legend Mike Cope, Travis is a fourth generation driver that comes from a family filled with racing success.
At the age of 12, Travis decided to begin his racing endeavors, but not the kind his family thought. Travis preferred the two wheel nature and traveled around Florida racing in various motocross events. Competing locally, Travis captured several victories, but it didn’t take him long to realize his true passion was in four wheels and moved towards his family roots.
Since 2006 Travis has successfully made a name for himself in late model racing, most recently in the Super Late Model events in the southern states region. He has accomplished wins and titles in several prestigious races and continues to be competitive with some of the best talent on the short tracks today. Travis is proud to hang his hat on the following titles in the past few years while building and maintaining a fleet of winning Trans Am TA2 cars.
• 2012 Billie Harvey Memorial Champion
• 2012 Speedweek 100 winner
• 2012 FL State Champion
• 2013 Speedweek 100 Winner
• 2013 Triple Crown Champion
• 2013 Brighthouse Challenge Series Champion
• 2014 Red Eye Winner
• 2014 Pete Orr Memorial Winner
• 2014 Governor’s Cup Champion
As the 2015 racing season forces ahead, Travis continues his upward movement competing and winning in various short track events in the southeast. The future looks bright for this young man and with the power of BestLine Superior Lubricant products behind his race car and team; he has what it takes to get to the top of this great American sport.
MCRE Sponsors:
Bestline Superior Lubricants, www.bestlinelubricants.com
Since its incorporation, BestLine has developed a new line of full synthetic lubricants and lubricant additives that dramatically reduce friction, heat and mechanical wear to an extent never before seen or tested. BestLine refers to its proprietary technology as "Micro Lubrication Technology, (TM)" or "MLT."
