Born in
Gastonia, North Carolina, 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 third-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 (16.4). He tied his career-best finish of third place at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds that season. He ended that season ranked 21st in the standings after competing in 39 of 62 races and was named the
NASCAR Rookie of the Year for 1964. Cooper would compete regularly on the Grand National circuit for the next three seasons following his 1964 Rookie of the Year campaign, finishing a career high 19th in the standings in 1965. He would also compete in three NASCAR Modified races in 1965 and 1966, posting two top ten finishes, including a fifth-place finish at
Daytona International Speedway. Having competed for his own team for much of his career, Cooper ran eight races for two-time Grand National champion
Buck Baker in 1967, posting a best finish of eighth place at
Asheville-Weaverville 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. ==Death==