JACKSONVILLE, NC – Mike Cooper is returning to New River All-American Speedway to race in the Gary Rochelle Memorial on Saturday – a race that will be sentimental for the veteran racer.
Cooper, 50, from Plymouth, North Carolina, is a former Street Stock champion at Carteret County Speedway and the now-defunct East Carlina Motor Speedway. This weekend, he hopes he can get his first win at New River All-American Speedway, a track that’s been difficult for him throughout his career.
“If there’s any track that has bit me harder than anywhere, it’s New River,” Cooper said. “At a time, I couldn’t even finish a race there. We’d crash the car, tear the transmission, break the engine, anything that could go wrong did. But I’ve got that behind me, just never been good enough there to win.”
The Street Stock division is returning to New River for the first time in over a year on Saturday night for the Gary Rochelle Memorial, which pays $2,200-to-win. Cooper is one of several drivers who competed with Rochelle, who won the 2022 Street Stock division championship at New River, and remembered him fondly.
“It’s definitely sad, but it’s going to bring back some good memories racing together,” Cooper explained. “The first time we met, I didn’t even know who he was. It was my first race at Carteret and we got together, and he retaliated under the red. We raced later on, three or four years later, and never would have thought that was him. We put that under the bridge and we raced hard for several races after that, raced clean, and had good conversations at the track. He had three beautiful little girls and it’s just sad for them to lose their father.”
Rochelle passed away tragically in August 2023.
“My favorite memory was when we were racing with him for the win at Carteret,” Cooper continued. “We both went into turns three and four. We barely touched but we were both on the ragged edge and spun out. None of us won the race, but it was such a good, hard, fun race.”:
A win on Saturday night would be a sentimental one for Cooper.
If he is able to take home the checkered flag in the 75-lap race, it would be his first win at the 4/10-mile track in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It would also be an emotional one as he pays tribute to a fallen friend.
“A win is a great thing any time,” Cooper stated. “I guess we have a little extra motivation, this being the first Gary Rochelle Memorial, so we’re definitely going to dedicate it to him if we happen to win it. We’re excited about coming to New River. We haven’t raced there in over a year. It will be our second race with the new car. We missed it the first race so I’m looking to redeem myself and I think we’ve got a good shot.”
Cooper will also race with familiar competition – such as Hubert’s James David Horner, North Carolina Street Stock legend Gary Ledbetter, Jr., and Virginia standout Kyle Lynch.
“You never know what to expect with James Horner,” Cooper commented. “He’s going to do everything he can to win. He’s either going to win or wreck trying. Gary, you can’t ever count him out. Kyle’s going to be good. He’s run good there a couple times, but he wrecked his car pretty bad at Tri-County. He’s amazing though, he can get it back together and running as good as it did before. They’re all going to be tough.”
Saturday’s Gary Rochelle Memorial, which is headlined by the Street Stock feature, will also feature racing for Bandoleros, Bombers, Champ Karts, Legends, Mini Stocks and U-CARs. Gates open at 5:00pm, qualifying will get underway shortly after, and the race will commence at 7:00pm. Tickets are available online and at the gate for $15 for adults while kids five (5) and under are admitted free.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook, follow @newriverswy on Twitter, or follow the track on Instagram.
