Cody Coughlin made his first laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday afternoon in an open test session for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and was immediately fast. At one point during the test, Coughlin’s name appeared at the top of the time sheet. While it’s always good to be fast, speed wasn’t necessarily the name of the game on Tuesday, as learning how to race a challenging track was of utmost importance.
“I thought our test went pretty well,” said the 21-year-old Coughlin, driver of the RIDE TV / JEGS.com No. 13. “I felt like I learned a lot about the race track, and that’s good. We race here in just a few weeks, so it’s good that I’m not going into that weekend with no idea about how to run around here. I also feel pretty confident that I can use what I learned here today at other intermediate tracks on the schedule as well.”
Coughlin and his ThorSport Racing team will return to Charlotte for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Friday, May 19th. Tuesday’s test session let Coughlin and his his team, led by crew chief Michael Shelton, experiment with multiple setups in an effort to come up with a strong baseline setup for the race.
“I thought we had pretty good speed. We should definitely have a top-five truck when we come back in a couple of weeks. I know Michael and the guys will give me a great Toyota Tundra. After that it’ll just be up to me to guide it to the front of the field. I can’t thank Michael, the entire team and Duke and Rhonda Thorson enough for all of their support and everything they’ve done for me this year.”
In addition to hitting the race track for real on Tuesday, Coughlin has spent two days in the Toyota Racing simulator in North Carolina this week in preparation for the race at Charlotte, as well as the upcoming Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, May 12.
Coughlin will also hit the track this weekend in his Super Late Model on Saturday, May 6 at the Anderson Speedway in Indiana. Coughlin is the defending winner of this ARCA/CRA Super Series event at Anderson Speedway. Coughlin is also the reigning ARCA/CRA Super Series champion.
For more information on Cody Coughlin and Team JEGS, visit codycoughlin.com and follow Cody on Twitter, @Cody_Coughlin. Follow Team JEGS on Twitter, @TeamJEGS, and “Like”JEGS Performance on Facebook. Follow ThorSport Racing on Twitter, @ThorSportRacing, and visit them online at ThorSport.com. If you need more information regarding ThorSport please contact Kate Fegley via email at kate.fegley@gmail.com. Any other inquiries for Cody Coughlin can be sent to Bob Dillner via email at bd51sports@gmail.com.
About JEGS Automotive, Inc.
In 1960, Jeg Coughlin Sr. founded JEGS as a small speed shop. It has grown into a high-performance powerhouse that includes a race team (Team JEGS), 250,000 square foot warehouse, retail store, mail order and website. The 350+ employees at JEGS still strongly believe and practice our simply business philosophy: Customer Care is #1. For more information about JEGS Automotive, Inc. visit JEGS.com.
About Ride Television Network, Inc.
Ride Television Network, Inc. is a privately held corporation based in Fort Worth, Texas. The company was formed in 2011 for the purpose of launching a 24-hour, high definition, television network. RIDE TV launched on October 1, 2014 in the United States and is now available internationally. The network features high-quality television programming showcasing both English and Western disciplines and lifestyles and includes live events, reality shows, talk shows, children’s programming, documentaries and more. For more information about RIDE TV, please visit www.ridetv.com.
About ThorSport Racing
ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport Racing, which has competed in the NCWTS since 1996, will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by two-time NCWTS drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 13 JEGS/RIDE TV Toyota Tundra driven by Cody Coughlin, the No. 27 Tundra driven by Ben Rhodes, and the No. 98 RIDE TV/Champion Power Equipment/Jive Communications/Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Grant Enfinger. For more information visit www.ThorSport.com.