Like most racecar drivers that compete at the highest levels, Cody Coughlin of Delaware, Ohio likes to go fast – real fast. This weekend at Pocono Raceway in Pocono, Pennsylvania, Coughlin will reach speeds unlike he has ever reached before when he competes in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Pocono 200 at the 2.5 mile tri-oval that they call “The Tricky Triangle."
The 18-year-old Joe Gibbs Development Driver, who has had much success racing in the short track ranks, is looking forward to strapping into his No. 55 JEGS.com Toyota for Venturini Motorsports for the first time at a superspeedway.
“I enjoy going fast,” said Coughlin. “Obviously, you go a little faster at Pocono than you do at some of the other short tracks I’ve raced. It will be fun in that aspect. I’m also really looking forward to learning the aerodynamic side of the racing I’m getting into. Hopefully everything goes smooth, we run well and it’s a good weekend.”
Despite never tackling a superspeedway before, Coughlin remains very confident that he and his team will have enough practice throughout the week to get the car dialed in for Saturday’s 200-mile event. In addition to the practice session on Saturday morning, Coughlin and the Venturini Motorsports team will also participate in the ARCA Racing Series test session at the track on Wednesday.
“I’m really looking forward to getting out on the track and having the chance to work with the Venturini Motorsports team during the test session on Wednesday,” said Coughlin. “For me, I go into the weekend with the same goals as any other race because I feel like we have enough practice that we can get the car dialed in.
“I still shoot for a top-five finish and hopefully we can be there at the end to contend for a win. My goals are the same, we’ve just got to execute and have a little luck on our side.”
Saturday’s start at Pocono Raceway will be Coughlin’s fourth career ARCA Racing Series start. Throughout his previous three starts, Coughlin has shown steady improvement by improving his finishes in all three starts. After a 13th place finish in his debut at Mobile (AL), Coughlin recorded his first top-10 finish at Salem Speedway (IN) with a ninth-place finish. He followed that up with a career-best finish of sixth at Toledo Speedway (OH) in May.
After a string of solid finishes, Coughlin is hoping that this will be the week that he can crack the top-five and compete for the win.
“I want to continue learning more about these race cars and continue to compete for top-five finishes,” Coughlin said. “We can take positives out of things, but at the end of the day that’s what we want to have when all is said and done. I know we’ve got it in us; we’ve just got to get some luck going. I’ll keep working with (Crew Chief) Jeff McClure and we’ll continue to learn about each other to get the car dialed in better each week.
"God has blessed me with a great opportunity to work with Venturini Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. Combine that with 110-percent support from my family, and I am more excited than ever to get to Pocono and see how we can do."
Coughlin will kick off his weekend racing schedule at Pocono Raceway on Friday with ARCA Racing Series practice for the Pocono 200 scheduled for 10:00am ET. Pole Qualifying will begin at 2:30pm. The green flag will wave on the Pocono 200 on Saturday afternoon at 1:00pm. The race will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports 1.
For more information on Cody Coughlin and Team JEGS, visit www.teamjegs.com and follow Cody on Twitter, @Cody_Coughlin. Follow team JEGS on Twitter, @TeamJEGS and “Like” JEGS Performance on Facebook