ODYSSEY® Battery Co-Primary Sponsor of Cope Twins as They Make NASCAR History in Martinsville Speedway Truck Series Race
Twin Nieces of Daytona 500 Champ Derrike Cope Ready to Show They Belong in one of NASCAR’s Top Series
READING, Pa. October 12, 2010 – ODYSSEY® Battery byEnerSys® announced today that it will be a major co-primary sponsor of the Cope Twins – Amber and Angela – who will become the first twins in history to compete in the same race in one of NASCAR’s top three series.
Twins have never competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series race, but that will change when the 27-year-old sisters will get behind the wheel in the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 23.
Twin nieces of 1990 Daytona 500 Champion Derrike Cope, both Amber and Angela have guaranteed starting spots in the No. 01 Dodge and the No. 6 Dodge. Both will have identical paint schemes – solid black with white ODYSSEY® Battery logos, which will adorn the hoods as well as the TV panels. Having the twins compete in the same race – their debut in the Truck Series – is a joint effort between Derrike Cope Racing, Stratus Racing Group, Daisy Ramirez Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing.
“The teams and the twins have been waiting patiently to get to this historical occasion,” said Derrike, a two-time winner in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series who now competes in the Nationwide Series. “The opportunity to showcase their driving talents will happen in Martinsville soon.”
“This is what we have strived for since we started racing go-carts at age nine,” said Angela, who along with Amber, are originally from Puyallup, Washington. “We successfully ran go-carts for years across the Northwest, then moved to North Carolina over five years ago with a dream to race stock cars or trucks. We will now get the opportunity to earn the respect of our competitors.”
The Twins’ resume includes countless go-cart victories and multiple championships. Since moving east they have competed in super late models and ARCA, although be it on a limited basis. While they haven’t been in an ARCA car in more than a year, their Uncle Derrike has had them testing at various venues, preparing for this – their shot.
“I know female racers come and go in our sport, but it all comes down to driving on a consistent basis,” said Derrike. “The twins are smart, attractive and have talent. They understand that there is a learning process associated with becoming successful. Angela and Amber will commit their time and energy to the sport. We are pleased to have ODYSSEY® Batteries as co-primary for this historic race. Their support has been crucial to our success.”
Opening practice for the Martinsville Truck race is set to begin at 10 am on Friday, October 22, followed by final practice at 1:10 pm. Qualifying for the 36-truck field will be at approximately 4:40 pm, immediately following time trials for the Sprint Cup Series cars. The Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Series Truck race gets the green flag at 1 pm on Saturday, October 23.
The co-primary sponsorship of the Cope Twins continues a motorsports effort by ODYSSEY® Battery, which has been with Richard Childress Racing since 2009.
For more information about ODYSSEY® Battery,visit www.ODYSSEYbattery.com.
ABOUT ENERSYS
EnerSys®, the world leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, manufactures, distributes and services reserve power, motive power and starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries, chargers, power equipment, and battery accessories to customers worldwide. SLI batteries are used for trucks and buses, passenger cars, boats, personal watercraft, ATVs, motorcycles and garden tractors. The company also provides aftermarket and customer support services to its customers from more than 100 countries through its sales and manufacturing locations around the world. For more information about EnerSys and its ODYSSEY® batteries, visit www.enersys.com or www.ODYSSEYbattery.com.
