Ernie Cope
Cope in 2025
Born	(1969-07-17)July 17, 1969 (age 56) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
NASCARCup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	71st (1995)
First race	1995Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
10 races run over 4 years
Best finish	49th (1999)
First race	1996Craftsman 200 (Portland)
Last race	1999Dodge California Truckstop 300 (Mesa Marin)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Ernie Cope (born July 17, 1969) is currently the competition director atHyak Motorsports. He is a former Americanstock car racingcrew chief and a former competitor in theNASCARWinston Cup Series,Craftsman Truck Series andWinston West Series. He is also the cousin of1990 Daytona 500 champion,Derrike Cope.

He began his professional career at the age of nineteen in the NASCAR Northwest Tour, winning the series' most popular driver award in 1994. In 1995, he moved to theWinston West Series and won Rookie of the Year honors as well as the Most Popular Driver award. Also that year he attempted to make hisWinston Cup debut atSears Point Raceway, as part of acombination race between the Winston Cup and Winston West series,^[1] but failed to qualify. He was able to qualify for the fall combination race atPhoenix International Raceway; however, he qualified last in the 44 car field, taking a provisional,^[2] and was the first car out of the race, retiring after nineteen laps due to engine failure. It would be his only Cup Series start.^[3]

In 1996 he raced in fourCraftsman Truck Series races, all in the western United States with a best finish of nineteenth atPortland International Raceway. He finished 57th in points. He made one start each in 1997 and 1998 and made four starts in 1999 with a best finish of 22nd atEvergreen Speedway; he finished 49th in points that season, his best points finish in the series.^[4]

Cope retired from full-time racing at the end of the 1995 season and accepted a position atGeoff Bodine Racing to crew chief the No. 7 in the Truck Series. He wasSadler Motorsports' crew chief in 2004 and served in various capacities withRobert Yates Racing in 2005. In 2006 and 2007 he was the crew chief forWood Brothers/JTG Racing's No. 59 team in theBusch Series. In 2008, he moved toKevin Harvick Incorporated to crew chief the No. 2 Truck Series entry driven byJack Sprague. In 2009 and 2010, he was the crew chief for KHI's #33 Nationwide Series entry.^[5] For 2011, Cope remained with KHI, being the crew chief forElliott Sadler; he remained with the team when it was sold toRichard Childress Racing, acting as crew chief for the No. 33 with a variety of drivers in 2012 and 2013. In addition, he substituted forLuke Lambert as crew chief forJeff Burton in theSprint Cup Series in early 2013.^[6] In October 2013 he left RCR, being replaced byNick Harrison.^[7] On December 12, 2013, it was announced that Cope would become the crew chief for the No. 5 ofJR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series in 2014.^[8] On August 18, 2014, Cope was announced as the crew chief of JR Motorsports' No. 9, driven byChase Elliott, in 2015.^[9] Cope left JR Motorsports at the end of the 2015 season to become the Competition Director at JTG Daugherty Racing beginning in 2016.^[10] He substituted for Randall Burnett as crew chief forA. J. Allmendinger at the June 2016Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 race atPocono Raceway.

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by time.Italics - Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

• Ernie Cope driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Ernie Cope crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1969 births
• People from Spanaway, Washington
• Sportspeople from Pierce County, Washington
• Racing drivers from Washington (state)
• NASCAR crew chiefs
• NASCAR drivers
• Cope family
• Sportspeople from Tacoma, Washington

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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