Cody Coughlin hit the dirt at Eldora Speedway in his home state of Ohio on Wednesday night for the second race on dirt in his career. He walked out of the legendary half-mile oval with a career-best finish. After starting 27th, and in front of many friends and family, Coughlin finished in the 11th position, one better than his previous career-best finish of 12th at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2016 and at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year.
“I don’t know what we found for the 150-lap feature, but it worked,” said the 21 year-old Coughlin. “I never would have thought that my career best finish would come at a dirt race, but I’m very happy about that. These two days were tough, but running through the field like that was a lot of fun.
“Plus this is Tony Stewart’s track; I’ve always admired him and what he has done. We had a chance to catch up and I told him how cool it was to race on the dirt at his place.”
The Delaware, Ohio native’s time at Eldora Speedway got off to a rough start during practice on Tuesday night. Coughlin spun around and hit the wall in turn three. His ThorSport Racing crew worked hard to fix the JEGS.com/RIDE TV Toyota Tundra for final practice.
The No. 13 machine looked good as new for Wednesday’s race. Coughlin finished second in Wednesday’s Last Chance Qualifier race to secure the 27th starting position.
When the green flag waved on the 150-lap feature Coughlin went right to the bottom of the track and started to head to the front of the field. The hard-charging Coughlin was up to 11th by the end of the first stage of 40 laps.
After a long, grueling race for all competitors on the dirt of Eldora, Coughlin found himself in the 11th position, the best finishing position of his young NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.
“I am so thankful for the hard work that all of my guys put in to get this truck fixed yesterday night in practice, and for everything they did today to help me out. We’re closing in on our first top 10 finish and once we get that one I think a lot more will come. I’m so thankful that Duke and Rhonda Thorson let me race their trucks. God has blessed me with a fun group to work with.”
Coughlin will be back in action on Saturday, July 29 at Pocono Raceway (PA) for the Overton’s 150.
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.