NHRA News: Two-time NHRA champion Larry Kopp passes away (7/12/2004)

Two-time NHRA champion Larry Kopp passes away

7/12/2004

Larry Kopp

Larry Kopp, who won the NHRA Modified Eliminator Championship in 1976 and the Pro Stock Truck title in 1998, passed away Monday, July 12 after a long battle with cancer. He was 56.Kopp had won 13 NHRA national events in both Modified and Comp eliminator, and five truck events during his championship season of 1998.

Long associated with small-block Chevrolets, Kopp relied on various versions of the popular engine to propel him to success in both his Sportsman and Pro careers. His first national event victory came at the 1976 NHRA World Finals in Ontario, Calif., a most opportunistic triumph since the Sportsman category World Champions at that time were determined by the winner of that event. Having already clinched his second consecutive Division 1 championship earlier in the season, Kopp earned the national title by driving his H/Gas Corvette to a .04-over 10.84 win over the .14-over 10.64 of Tony Christian's G/Gas '63 Corvette.

Kopp was a prolific winner in the Sportsman classes of Modified and Comp. This Modified Corvette carried him to his first wins and national championship.
(Auto Imagery photo)

Kopp went on to score two wins each in 1977 and 1978, and then enjoyed his finest season ever as a Sportsman campaigner in 1981 with five NHRA national event victories in eight final-round appearances with his Wayne County-backed C/Gas Opel GT. It was the first year that a points system was employed for the NHRA Sportsman categories, and oddly enough, Kopp did not win the title that year. He ended up third with 6,117 points behind first place Mike Edwards' 6,812 and second place Paul Mercure's 6,745.

Beginning in 1982, Kopp switched to Comp eliminator by running his Opel GT in C/Altered and reached the final in his first outing as runner-up to Bill Maropulos' D/Econo Dragster at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals. Kopp went on to win a total of four Comp national event titles in 10 final-round appearances.

Kopp won five events and the 1998 championship in the Pro Stock Truck class.

When Kopp decided to move to the Pro ranks with the introduction of Pro Stock Truck in 1998, he made a pivotal decision to become Bill Jenkins' first small-block Chevy customer for the new category. The move that gave him a decided edge in horsepower for the duration of the season as Kopp not only won five of 12 national events that year, but he qualified No. 1 at six different events and set a national record with his season-best clocking of 7.594. At the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals, Kopp produced a wire-to-wire victory by running the quickest elapsed time in all four rounds of qualifying, and all four rounds of eliminations as well.

During this period, Kopp was sponsored by longtime friend Albert Clark, whose relationship goes back to when Clark loaned Kopp some badly needed engine components during his 1976 World Championship campaign.

Services will be held at the Laasahn Funeral Home at 7401 Belair Road, Baltimore, MD 21236. Viewing will be held on Wednesday, July 14 from 7 to 9 p.m., and Thursday, July 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral service will be on Friday, July 16 at 1 p.m.

Kopp is survived by his wife Susan and daughter Sherry. Cards and letters can be sent to 5511 McCormick Ave., Baltimore, MD 21206.

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