NASCAR Touring Series
Cope made his debut at the major-league NASCAR level in 1996 in the Busch Series at the Milwaukee Mile. Driving the No. 58 he finished 25th, three laps down. In 1997 he attempted to move full-time to the Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 15 for Billy Ballew Motorsports. His first race was at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished 22nd. He ran in five other races over the course of the year before being released from his contract, with a best finish of 12th at New Hampshire International Speedway.
In 1998 he attempted to move full-time to the Busch Series, driving the No. 30 for Team 34. Running in 17 races, his best finish was 7th at Hickory Speedway, however inconsistent performance led him to be released by the team following the series' race at Myrtle Beach Speedway, being replaced in the No. 30 by Todd Bodine.
Cope ran a single race in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1999, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he finished 14th, before once more attempting the full series schedule in 2000 for Impact Motorsports in the No. 86, with sponsorship from R.C. Cola. Despite the team having had good performance the previous year with Stacy Compton driving, Cope struggled, posting a best finish of 12th in six races with the team, that coming in the first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway. At the seventh race of the season, at Gateway International Raceway, Cope did not accompany the team to the track; he was subsequently released, being replaced in the No. 86 by Scott Riggs.
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