Cody Coughlin knew going into the Battle at Berlin 100 last Friday night that this would be a challenge for himself and his team.
Team JEGS was able to put together a solid and competitive racecar until Coughlin was the victim of a multi-car wreck on lap 23. Coughlin suffered severe right front damage, but the team did a great job to repair the car for him to go back out to complete more laps and get a 24th place finish.
He is now co-leader in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour standings.
After a night that tested himself and his team, Coughlin is more confident about the remainder of the season.
“Even though we didn’t finish where we wanted too, just the fact that we were fast at Berlin Raceway speaks a lot about how great this Nick Easton led team is,” Coughlin said. “Along with the help of my crew, I am going to say this right now, we are going to win the championship.
“If you can have a good handling racecar at Berlin Raceway during the race, there isn’t anything we can’t overcome. I am confident we are going to win this championship.”
Coughlin said that his team, which includes Freddie Query (consultant) and Nick Easton (Crew Chief), worked very hard to make the right adjustments to his no.1 JEGS Chevrolet in order to make it very competitive for the 100-lap event.
“The team did a great job of making the right adjustments for the race,” Coughlin said afterwards. “As soon as the green flag dropped, we were passing cars. My spotter, Daniel Hemric, was telling me we were running the same speed as the leader. That told me to save my stuff and keep picking off the spots one at a time. I felt like we could get up there and contend for the win, and to do that at Berlin Raceway would have been a huge step for us.”
As noted, Coughlin was able to have defending JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion Daniel Hemric as his spotter for this event. His normal spotter Scott Wimmer had a family commitment.
Cody is already thinking ahead towards the next JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour event on Saturday, June 22 at Salem Speedway in Salem, IN.
“We had a challenging night but we rose to the occasion. We will now focus on Salem and look for a top five finish,” Coughlin exclaimed. “We tested at Salem last week and we were really fast. It can be hard on parts, so we will need to take care of our car throughout the event. We are looking forward to going back there with the overall goal to get the pole and win the race.”
Overall, it wasn’t the finish they expected or hoped for, Coughlin and Team JEGS is grateful for the support they receive at each event.
“I really need to take a moment to thank my entire crew for their hard work this past weekend,” Coughlin said. “We really appreciate the fans for coming out to see us race. It was great meeting many of them throughout the weekend.
“Thank you to my parents John & Di and my biggest fan, my little sister Kennedi for being there for me this weekend.
“Special thanks to everyone at JEGS and the fans for their support. It is awesome to see many yellow JEGS hats in the stands no matter where we race.
“Most of all, thank God for protecting me during the race and allowing all of us to be a part of this sport.”
For more information on Cody Coughlin and Team JEGS, visit www.teamjegs.com. Follow Team JEGS on Twitter, @TeamJEGS and “Like” JEGS Performance on Facebook.