A natural mechanic who loved to tinker with cars and get the most out of them, Cooper was a stalwart in the days of the old Langford Speedway in the 1940s. He learned the game on the dirt and by the time the speedway closed to make way for a school expansion in 1950, he was one of the highest winning drivers at the track. After further success in the northwest, Cooper and a group of drivers and builders started the new Western Speedway 1953. In the first season he won both the sprint car and big car points race. In 1957 and '58, he won five feature events and captured his third and fourth season points championships. His overall win total was more than 200 races at the new track. He shifted gears and moved into the super stock division after that and retired as a driver in 1974. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame.