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NASCAR BGN: Cope and Xpress Team to Atlanta

1 October 1998

CONCORD, N.C. - Derrike Cope, Busch Pole winner for Sunday's UAW-GM 500 Winston Cup Series race here at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will drive the IWX Motor Freight Pontiac Busch Series, Grand National Division car at the upcoming STIHL 300 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 7.

"We've got a Busch car ready as we prepare for next season," said Dave Fuge, crew chief and team manager for Xpress Motorsports. "This will give us the chance to do some testing there and be totally prepared for qualifying and running the race. The testing and race will also give us a head-start on next season when we will be running a limited Busch Series schedule with Derrike."

Xpress Motorsports recently announced the limited campaign in 1999 with Cope. Cope and Fuge have a long history both beginning their career in the northwest. Cope and Fuge came east together in 1987 at the beginning of Cope's Winston Cup career. While both have enjoyed considerable success in different directions, the timing was right for them to get back together.

"I'm looking forward to going to Atlanta with this team," said Cope. "Dave and I have always talked about the chance to work together again. Finally, that has come together and I couldn't be happier. All the resources are in place for us to get back together and run competitively."

The taupe-colored Pontiac will hit the track on Friday, November 6 for qualifying determining a starting spot in Saturday's race at the state-of-the- art Georgia facility. The STIHL 300 is the next-to-last race of the 1998 Busch Series campaign.

IWX Motor Freight is a Springfield, Mo. based trucking firm having a fleet of 400 trucks. IWX serves 48 states and annually the trucks will log more than 98 million miles.