Ronald Cooper (born May 26, 1958) is a former NASCAR driver. In seventy-two career Busch Series starts, Cooper recorded one win and one career top-10 points showing.

Ronald Cooper
Born (1958-05-26) May 26, 1958 (age 66)
Statham, Georgia
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
72 races run over 5 years
Best finish8th (1989)
First race1988 Goodwrench 200 (Rockingham)
Last race1994 Goodwrench / Delco 200 (Dover)
First win1989 Big Star / Nestle 200 (Lanier)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 17 0

1988

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Cooper made his debut with his own #56 Buick, and started 1988 with the intent to run all the races. Cooper would only qualify for 25 of the 30 races, but it was a solid season nonetheless. After finishing 18th in his series debut at Rockingham, Cooper earned his first top-10 at South Boston, finishing 6th. Cooper would earn three other top-10 finishes on the year, highlighted by his first career top-5 with a fifth at Dover. His qualifying was solid, too, with an outside pole at Lanier being the best of six top-ten starts. Despite missing five races, and not finishing five more, Cooper finished an impressive 15th-place points finish in the final tally.

1989

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Cooper's best career year came in 1989, when he recorded eighth place in the series. The highlight of the season had to be his first (and only) career victory, as he paced the field at Lanier, his home track. However, Cooper was solid elsewhere, recording four top-fives and ten top-tens. Eight top-ten qualifying efforts also helped the driver to the final points effort, but five DNFs hindered Cooper's effort to move up any higher.

1990

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Cooper's team began to run out of money, as it was a small family-owned team. Cooper would only make eight starts as a result in 1990. It did not help the team's situation that they struggled early, crashing out of three out of the first four races of the year. The team was solid in the other four, finishing no worse than 16th in the final four starts, highlighted by a fifth place at Dover. The financial situation did not improve and Cooper's team folded following Dover.

1993

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Cooper got his team to restart for three races in 1993, driving the #56 Johnny Cotton Chevy late in the season. The races were solid for Cooper, as he finished 16th, 14th and then 12th at Atlanta.

1994

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Cooper's #56 team was back for only seven more starts in 1994. Cooper, whose career had been made of saving his equipment, only managed to finish two races on the year. However, they were both solid as he recorded a pair of sevenths at Rockingham and Charlotte. Cooper's team, though, had to fold again, and Cooper has not raced in NASCAR since.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NBSC Pts Ref
1988 Speedway Motorsports 56 Buick DAY HCY CAR
18
MAR
16
DAR BRI LNG
21
NZH
25
SBO
20
NSV
15
CLT
22
DOV
26
ROU
15
LAN
16
LVL
12
MYB
22
OXF SBO
6
HCY
11
LNG
12
IRP
26
ROU
8
BRI
18
DAR
19
RCH
20
DOV
5
MAR
7
CLT
15
CAR
28
MAR
14
15th 2843 [1]
1989 DAY
29
CAR
9
MAR
14
HCY
22
DAR
10
BRI
11
NZH
27
SBO
7
LAN
1
NSV
5
CLT
24
DOV
11
ROU
10
LVL
13
VOL
6
MYB
11
SBO
8
HCY
12
DUB
27
IRP
11
ROU
21
BRI
18
DAR
11
RCH
21
DOV
3
MAR
4
CLT
11
CAR
38
MAR
17
8th 3554 [2]
1990 Ford DAY
42
RCH
26
CAR
38
MAR HCY 43rd 729 [3]
Buick DAR
39
BRI
13
LAN
15
SBO NZH HCY CLT
16
DOV
5
ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NHA CAR MAR
1993 Buick DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL IRP MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV ROU CLT MAR
16
CAR
14
HCY 56th 363 [4]
81 ATL
12
1994 56 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR
7
RCH
30
ATL
33
MAR
DNQ
DAR HCY BRI
28
ROU NHA NZH
37
CLT
7
DOV
27
MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR 50th 642 [5]

References

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  1. ^ "Ronald Cooper – 1988 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Ronald Cooper – 1989 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Ronald Cooper – 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  4. ^ "Ronald Cooper – 1993 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Ronald Cooper – 1994 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
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