Nur Ali, in the No. 45 car, will be racing for 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope in Sunday’s Carolina 200 at the Rockingham Speedway. Ali and Cope announced their partnership just a week ago.
Ali is just in his second year of stock car racing, after driving open wheel racing in 12 different countries - Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Even though Ali is still a relative newcomer to the stock car world, he has heard about the upcoming difficulties awaiting him at Rockingham Speedway from his new car owner and Daytona 500 winner, Cope.
“He stressed patience,” Ali said. “I consider myself a patient driver and I’m going to be patient, I’m going to be careful. I’m going to do my best to avoid doing anything crazy. If the move is there, I’m going to take.
“I know the race isn’t going to be won on turn one in lap one.”
Cope understands the demands of racing at “The Rock” after starting 25 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with two eighth place finishes and seven Nationwide Series starts with one top 10 finish. He has been tutoring Ali on the finer points of the track, especially regarding tire wear.
“I’ve been relaying some of my experience to him,” Cope said. “At Rockingham, you have to find different grooves and you have to find one that works for you. The tires can really fall off, you just have to keep looking for the right groove for the car.”
Ali agreed his biggest concern going to the Carolina 200 is going to be managing the car and its tires.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “Tire management is going to be key. I have something like 1,000 miles on super speedways like Talladega and Daytona, but a one-mile track like Rockingham is new. But I’m hoping to be successful.”
Both driver and owner understand with the new partnership there is going to be a learning curve and Rockingham Speedway will put them under fire immediately.
“For Nur, I think just going down here, practicing and running a full 200 laps is going to be a huge barometer and a good feel for where we go from here,” Cope said. “I’m not expecting to win, I just hope he keeps the car clean and completes as many laps as possible.”
“I just want to finish 200 laps and get some valuable seat time,” Ali said. “I’m a racer, of course I want to win the race. But the main goal is to do the 200 laps intact. I know last year’s race had a lot of cautions, so I’m hoping to avoid the crashes and put us in a position to have a good weekend.”
Cope, who runs a limited schedule on the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series circuits, admitted he will have a tinge of nostalgia when he is back on the Rockingham track.
“I miss the place,” he said. “I really enjoyed Rockingham for so many years. The history of so many races dating back to NASCAR’s roots. It’s a very demanding test and I wish we were still racing there.”
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