Mike Cope adds young talent to Lime Rock roster
May 21, 2015
Team Release CLEARWATER, Fla. (May 21, 2015) – As the Mike Cope Racing Enterprises (MCRE) team heads north to serene Lime Rock Park for the 3-Dimensional Services Muscle Challenge, Round 4 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship, it does so with another key injection of young talent— Scott Heckert.
Heckert, a 21-year old native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, will join MCRE’s TA2 team for his first ever Trans Am Race and first outing with MCRE. However, Heckert, a member of HScott Motorsports’ K&N Pro Series East team, will find in the MCRE paddock, a familiar face in fellow HScott driver JJ Haley.
“I think JJ has really shown the way so far this year for young, talented drivers looking to refine their road racing skills,” said Mike Cope, Owner of MCRE. “While Lime Rock will only be JJ’s fourth road race, he’s done well; he has two top-ten finishes in 30-plus car fields and is currently seventh in the points. Both JJ and Scott (Heckert) have very bright futures ahead of them in motorsports and in the stock car realm, and in TA2 and MCRE they’ve found a platform to hone their road racing skills.”
Both Haley and Heckert will join the rest of the MCRE team in plying their talent around the 1.5-mile road course at Lime Rock Park, an environment far removed from the usual venues of the K&N Pro Series East—but in some ways the future stock car stars will find some rather familiar surroundings within the independent TA2 class race.
“A TA2 race car is essentially a modified circle track chassis,” said Cope. “Pair that with the tires, the feel and drive of the platform… it’s nothing they haven’t seen before and nothing they will not see again. When you take that into consideration, along with the cost controlled environment within the TA2 rules package… every driver eyeing the upper echelons of stock car racing should be seriously considering TA2. I can say with confidence that within TA2 and MCRE we have one of the best environments for road racing centric driver development in North America.”
In total seven MCRE built cars will participate in the Lime Rock race, resulting in over a quarter of the 25-car TA2 field running the MCRE TA2 platform. Included in those seven entries are five MCRE “Arrive and Drive” members, including: Keith Prociuk, Tony Buffomante, Scott Heckert, Kevin Poitras and JJ Haley.
Going into Round 4 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship, drivers sporting MCRE chassis hold seven of the top 15 positions in the TA2 point standings— with over 75% of all MCRE chassis currently in the top 15 of the 35-plus car point standings.
The MCRE team and all MCRE built cars will take to the track in several TA2 only sessions throughout the weekend, all times Eastern:
Friday, May 22
10:35 – 11:00 AM – Trans Am TA2 Practice 1
1:40 – 1:55 PM – Trans Am TA2 “Fast Five” Qualifying
4:20 – 4:40 PM – TA2 Practice 2
5:05 – 5:20 PM – Second Chance to Qualify
Saturday, May 23
1:00 – 2:15 PM – 3Dimensional Services Muscle Car Challenge (TA2 Race)
Fans can keep up with MCRE throughout the weekend on Twitter at @MikeCopeRacing and keep track of each session at www.gotransam.com/live-timing or on Race Monitor.
A complete list of this weekend’s competitors who chose Mike Cope Racing Enterprises racecars: Keith Prociuk*, Dillon Machavern, Tony Buffomante*, Scott Heckert*, Tony Ave, Kevin Poitras* and JJ Haley*,
* MRCE “Arrive and Drive” customer
About Mike Cope Racing Enterprises:
Perhaps no other team has worked so diligently to achieve success over the course of 30 years as MCRE. Over the years, they have successfully launched corporate sponsorships in national series, developed short track and SCCA Road race champions and mentored young upcoming drivers. Lead by Mike Cope, he brings the same enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge to his race team that made him victorious in his own racing career.
MCRE offers a variety of services for drivers interested in the Trans Am Series’ TA2 program, including custom builds, arrive and drive programs, maintenance programs, consulting, driver mentoring, set-up and shock dyno. Learn more at www.mikecoperacecars.com.
Mike Cope Racing Enterprises is based in Clearwater, Florida.
Mike Cope Racing Enterprises partners include: Quarter Master, Hawk Performance, Schoenfeld Headers, Wilwood, Port City Racecars, ButlerBuilt, Integra Shocks and Keyser Manufacturing.
MCRE Sponsors:
Bestline Superior Lubricants, www.bestlinelubricants.com
Since its incorporation, BestLine has developed a new line of full synthetic lubricants and lubricant additives that dramatically reduce friction, heat and mechanical wear to an extent never before seen or tested. BestLine refers to its proprietary technology as "Micro Lubrication Technology, (TM)" or "MLT."
