Much like Michigan native and rock and roll legend Bob Seger sang, it's time for Cody Coughlin to "Turn the Page" when he pulls his No. 55 JEGS.com Toyota onto the two-mile Michigan International Speedway this weekend.
After seeing his streak of top-10 ARCA Racing Series top-10 finishes snapped at six last Saturday at Pocono, Coughlin is now focused on success to come in the Corrigan Oil 200 on Friday, June 12. Aligned with his Venturini Motorsports team, the Joe Gibbs Development driver will be focused on starting a new streak of strong ARCA finishes while aiming for a first career series victory.
"I'm looking forward to getting to Michigan to put Pocono in our rear-view mirror and go after the win we've knocked on the door for a win at just about every race we've been to," said Coughlin. "I think the Venturini Motorsports guys have prepared a good piece for us this weekend and I'm excited to get on track with all the notes we gained in my first trip to Michigan last year."
The Delaware, Ohio native made just his second career ARCA speedway start at Michigan in 2014 behind the wheel of the Venturini Motorsports No. 55. In that event, Coughlin qualified a solid sixth, but a loose-handling race car kept him from challenging for victory. He ended up 13th on that day, but it gave the 19-year-old driver and his crew a useful notebook to know what they will need to do with their Toyota Camry this time around.
"The car was just too aero loose last year, but the guys worked really hard to do their best with it at the track," added Couglhin. "They brought it back to the shop and did some work to it and it showed with some good finishes on speedways later in the year. I think some of the things we've learned in the starts we've made since then, plus what we learned at the track that weekend, should allow us to have a good package when we get to Michigan this weekend."
Following last Saturday's Pocono race, Coughlin's sights have been set on Michigan. With only six days in between races, Coughlin used the short turnaround to put his focus directly on a first win in Michigan's Irish Hills.
"I don't mind the short turnaround, especially because when you leave a race bummed out with the result, you want to get back out there the next day and run where you want to run. I'm happy that the Michigan race is coming and I think we have a direction we need to go in to leave there with a strong finish."
Coughlin's Venturini Motorsports crew will be led by veteran ARCA crew chief Dave Leiner, with whom the 19-year-old driver has developed a great rapport in their nine races together to date. Also, Coughlin will have the at-track knowledge of spotter and longtime racer Scott Wimmer, as well as longtime NASCAR crew chief and Team JEGS team manager Kevin Hamlin as well as crewmember Dave Holt assisting things in the pits. Rounding out Coughlin's support team at Michigan will be his dad (John), mom (Di) and sister (Kennedi), who rarely misses one of his events.
"My team has a lot of past success at Michigan in ARCA and in NASCAR, so I know we've got a good starting point on things when we get to the track," added Coughlin. "Plus having my family there always means a lot. God has blessed to have such great support from so many great people in my life."
The Corrigan Oil 200 race weekend for Cody Coughlin will kick off with ARCA Racing Series practice from 1-3pm ET on Thursday, June 11. Pole qualifying will be held at 10am ET on Friday, June 12 with the green flag flying on the event at 5:45pm ET. The race will air live on FOX Sports 2 and Coughlin will be spotlighted with an in-car camera for the broadcast.
For more information on Cody Coughlin and Team JEGS, visit www.teamjegs.com and follow Cody on Twitter, @cody_coughlin. You can also follow Team JEGS on Twitter, @TeamJEGS and “Like” JEGS Performance on Facebook.
Contact: Bob Dillner, Executive Director, Cody Coughlin / Team JEGS – bd51sports@gmail.com