Fro's Florida
Travis Cope keeps winning and winning and winning...
By Norm Froscher

Now here's this young Florida stock car racer whom family and friends are starting to call an emerging "Iceman" because of his coolness under pressure.      

Shoot, at age 17 and 5-6, 125, let's just call this Travis Cope "Ice Cube" for now.      

Yeah, he's already won, not once, but twice, in the Goodyear Late Model Challenge Series, he's won poles and finished second, been in a shunt, but that's in barely two years, since he switched from riding dirt bikes.      

Zoowie. Dirt Bikes, more on that in a minute, but first let's get to know Travis the person -- driver of the black No. 26 Monte Carlo -- a little better.     

His dad, Mike Cope, two-time All-Pro Series Champion and former competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The senior now owns what has been aptly described as a "Racer's Race Track" and also as Florida's "Little Bristol" because of its high banking on the third mile asphalt. 

Quite naturally, Cope's dad is his crew chief, but there's other family involved because uncle Jimmy Cope, the veteran short tracker from Pinellas, is his engine builder. 
     
Enough already. What about the recollections of this fourth generation driver -- after the dirt bikes? 
     
"It was a limited late model at DeSoto Speedway in 2005, but I went there and qualified sixth. I'm not sure where I finished, but I think it was sixth or seventh in a series they have. 
     
“Actually, we started practicing in cars at Bronson the year before, after I left motorcycles." 
     
Cope figures he's raced at half-a-dozen race tracks, all in Florida. His first win, quite appropriately, came there at dad's track in the Goodyear Late Model Series. He then won at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness and moved into the points lead in the series.
     
Since he is graduating from high school, Cope says he'll not continue book learning, at least for the present.  
     
"I will be working fully on race cars, but I've made good enough grades that I can get into college, if I change my mind. 
     
"My biggest goal for 2006 is already accomplished, but my goals now are to maybe get into some kind of "Gong Show" or if we get some good sponsorship, maybe move up into like a Hooter's Pro Cup or an ASA Late Model Series. 
     
"Long term, as many young racers, I want to one day be a contender in the most prestigious racing organization in the nation, NASCAR". 
     
Notice the word motorcyle was never mentioned. 
     
Now, about those two wheelers. 
     
Instead of following his dad's and uncle's lead at age 12, Travis took off on two wheels, in motorcross. He competed around the state of Florida, picked up any number of trophies, but in the end, was breaking more bones than he was records. 
     
"I broke my leg and that was the last straw for my parents," he said. 
     
Mom Jane is now happy to have Travis carrying on in the family tradition. 
     
"She's fine with it, especially with our whole family involved,” Cope says. “Uncle Herbie does the lettering on the car and uncle Jimmy does the motors and my dad serves as crew chief. My mom has been around it all life. 
     
"Derek Ochsenwald is also our right hand man."

Sister Megan has no aspirations to follow in those tire tracks, but let's get a couple of other comments on young Cope. 
     
First, FASCAR's promoter Don Nerone: "Travis Cope showed up to race with us. He doesn't have a whole lot of experience, but he's been fast, set fast times and up front all the time. He's the most competitive car on the outside passing cars from the beginning. 
     
“His dad's done a great job training this young gentleman and I really see a future for him". 
     
Now, let's get an observation from even closer to the scene and a fine judge of talent. Right, Mike Cope. But we insisted that Cope look on this driver as though it was a ‘Gong Show’. Forget completely that he's your son! 
     
"The talent is definitely there,” Cope says.  “He has more natural ability than I've seen in a long time. I've picked a few of them that have made it to the big time. I've raced against them and know 'em well. Scott Riggs, back in '98. I said when he was driving an All Pro car and I was in a Busch car I said if I was going to hire a driver I'd hire him right now because he's going to make it. 
     
"And I think we have a talented individual here. We won our first Goodyear Late Model race with good racers, guys like Mike Franklin and Florida hot shoes in it. That was in his 11th start. 
     
"Mark Martin got in his car and drove it our race track and ran the same speed Travis did, when we were working on some chassis things. Yes, that was THE Mark Martin. 
     
"Natural ability and feel, he has it and we'll keep working on it and good things are gonna happen," ‘Gong Show’ Cope says. 
     
And the Cube is growing. 

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