NASCAR Throwback: When Derrike Cope's car suffered a tire explosion that blew the hood of his car

NASCAR driver Derrike Cope was once involved in a terrifying crash during an Xfinity Series race. Cope hasn't retired from racing and can be seen competing in the top three divisions of NASCAR occasionally.

Derrike Cope made his NASCAR debut in the 1982 Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway, piloting the #95 entry. In a career spanning 32 years, Cope has secured three race wins (two in the Cup Series and one in the Xfinity Series.

Cope is widely known for his win at the 1990 Daytona 500, where NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt had a tire puncture in the last lap, which Cope took full advantage of.

In 2016, Cope was piloting the #70 Chevrolet for Derrike Cope Racing. On August 6, the Xfinity series was scheduled to race at Watkins Glen International in the Zippo 200 At the Glen.

During the race, Cope had radioed his team about an issue with his breaks. Shortly after his message, the front end of the car exploded, and black smoke blew from the car. Here's a look at the incident (via NASCAR on NBC on X, formerly Twitter).

Following the explosion, Cope's car was taken away by NASCAR officials to figure out what led to the incident. After the investigation, it was discovered that the explosion was caused by tire failure triggered by excess heat from a broken spindle. NASCAR VP Elton Sawyer shed further light on the incident (via USA Today):

“So he lost a bead, then basically you’ve got all the fabric in the side wall that is starting to deteriorate and as soon as the vehicle came to a stop you’ve got all that radiant heat that’s basically just sitting there, the soft point of the side wall is where it basically explodes,”

The last time NASCAR witnessed Derrike Cope compete in an event was at the 2021 Daytona 500, where he piloted the #15 Chevy for Rick Ware Racing. However, his race came to an untimely end after his Chevy had made contact with the wall in the third lap.

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Derrike Cope recalls inside story behind beating Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 1990 Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is infamous for a race full of drama and passion. A win at Daytona is on the bucket list for every driver that competes in the Series. Derrike Cope secured his win at the 1990 Daytona 500 after Dale Earnhardt Sr. had suffered a tire puncture in the final lap.

Looking back at the race, Derrick Cope shared an untold story about a tactic set by his then crew chief Buddy Parrot to unnerve "The Intimidator". In an episode of the Dirty Mo Media podcast, Cope said:

"Here's what I (Parrott) want you to do, every practice session when Dale goes out, you go out with Dale. I want him to see you all the time. If he goes in the bathroom. I want you to follow him in the bathroom. I want him to see you all the time.

He added how it was Buddy's way of trying to get into the head of Dale, who he called the 'guy you had to beat'.