For the first time in Cody Coughlin’s career, he’ll be racing in the Valley of the Sun, and he’ll be doing so with positive momentum on his side. After scoring strong finishes in recent races, including a career-best of sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Coughlin and his JEGS.com/RIDE TV team at ThorSport Racing are ready to head west again to race the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday night.
While Coughlin has never raced at the one-mile triangle in Avondale, Arizona, Coughlin is confident that he’ll know just what to expect out of the tricky track before he arrives in the desert.
“My spotter, Terry Cook, does a great job helping me prepare for each track we go to, especially the new ones,” said Coughlin. “I’ll study the notes that he usually gives me and we’ll go from there and hopefully be strong right off the truck on Friday.”
Coughlin and his team have been strong as of late, in fact, he led laps at Talladega Superspeedway a couple races ago. The 21-year-old driver said he feels like they’re in the process of ending the 2017 season on a high note.
“It’s definitely the right way to close the year out. We’ve shown good speed at most of the races this year, but we’d have trouble getting the finishes to show it. Our luck has not matched our performance, but our plan is to fight hard like we have all year long and hopefully get strong finishes at Phoenix and Homestead to end the year.”
Coughlin’s race weekend is actually just a race day in Phoenix as it is a one-day show this weekend. Coughlin’s day will begin with a one hour and 50-minute practice session at 9 a.m. MT. Pole qualifying will take place at 3:30 p.m. MT with the green flag set to follow at 6:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. ET.
Friday’s race is 150 laps/150 miles in length. The event is broken down into three stages. The first stage will end on lap 40. The middle stage will end on lap 80 and the final stage will end with the checkered flag at lap 150 unless NASCAR Overtime is required.
Race fans hoping to meet Cody Coughlin can do so at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series autograph session from 1 – 1:45 p.m. on Friday.
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 Jessica O’Brien via email at jessica@edgehillmanagement.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.