Derrike Cope, the winner of the 1990 Daytona 500, is back in NASCAR for the 2025 season. He will return to an ownership role with the newly formed Cope Family Racing (CFR).
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According to a Jan. 2 announcement, the team will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series while featuring two different drivers. The team will use cars from Richard Childress Racing and engines from ECR Engines during this debut season.
Leland Honeyman Jr. will kick off the schedule as he drives the No. 70 Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona International Speedway. Thomas Annunziata will make his first start of the season at Circuit of the Americas in the third week of the season.
Cope Family Racing did not provide the full schedule for each driver after announcing its move to the Xfinity Series. However, Honeyman said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he will make 17 of the 33 starts.
Pumped to announce I’m teaming up with Cope Family Racing for 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2025. Proud to join the Cope Family legacy as we fire it up at Daytona to kick off the season. Let’s get to work. 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/B9svjRYNz6
— Leland Honeyman Jr (@Lelandhoneymnjr) January 2, 2025
"I'm excited to join Cope Family Racing as they launch their NASCAR Xfinity Series program," Honeyman said in a press release.
"It's an honor to be part of a team with such a racing legacy, and I can't wait to contribute to this new chapter in their history book. I'm ready to take on 2025 and continue chasing success on the track."
Honeyman has made 41 starts in the Xfinity Series. He made eight starts in 2023 while driving for multiple teams and then he competed full-time last season for Young's Motorsports. He posted one top-five finish and two top-10s.
Annunziata, a two-time Mazda Spec MX-5 Champion, dipped his racing shoes into NASCAR last season. He made five Xfinity Series starts split between JD Motorsports and Joey Gase Motorsports.
Annunziata also made four ARCA Menards Series starts for Jeff McClure. He finished second at Daytona in his first-ever start and then he added two more top-10 finishes to his resume. This includes a fourth-place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
"I'm super excited to be racing part-time with CFR in 2025," Annunziata said. "Derrike Cope and the Cope Family are rich in NASCAR experience from his driving days and running the team for StarCom Racing in the Cup Series.
"Although it's a new team, CFR has assembled an experienced group to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. I'm ready and more motivated than ever to be a part of this exciting project. Time to go to work."
