Career
Cooper made his Grand National debut in 1963 at South Boston Speedway, starting and finish in last place in the 22-car field after a head gasket failure on the opening lap. He came back the next race with a career-best 3rd-place finish at Occoneechee Speedway, a position in which he would finish on two more occasions in his Grand National career. Cooper would have his best season in 1964, as he posted career highs in top fives (4), top tens (11), and average finish (164).
He tied his career-best finish of 3rd place at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds that season.
He would also compete in three National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing Modified races in 1965 and 1966, posting two top ten finishes, including a 5th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway. He would compete in just one race in 1968, driving for owner/driver Henley Gray at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing in 27th place after a ball joint failure just 206 laps into the 500-lap event.
He quietly retired from racing afterwards at age 29, having earned 11 top fives and 29 top tens in 113 career starts on the Grand National circuit. Cooper died on September 3, 1987, just six days shy of his 49th birthday.
