They often compare the Pocono triangle to the Bermuda triangle. Mysterious things happen in both places. But, Joe Gibbs Development driver Cody Coughlin is hoping the third time is a charm for him when he makes his third start at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA with the ARCA Racing Series.
The 19 year-old feels that experience and strategy will lead him and the Venturini Motorsports team to victory lane Saturday in the Pocono ARCA 200.
“Pocono Raceway is a cool place to race with its unique layout. We have been decent there with a legitimate top-five car. Strategy hasn’t gone our way a couple of times, but that is something we have learned from,” recalled Coughlin. “I have been keeping a close eye on this date because I want to go back there and prove how strong we are. I’m looking forward to trying different things as a driver.”
The Delaware, OH native competed in both of the ARCA Racing Series events at the 2.5-mile tri-oval racetrack in 2014. He finished ninth in both events, but was a contender each time driving the #55 JEGS.com Toyota Camry prepared by Venturini Motorsports.
One of the things that Coughlin likes about Pocono Raceway is the unique triangle design where each corner is different. Some feel it is like driving on a road course with just left turns.
“Each corner has its own unique quality and challenge,” explained Coughlin. “One of the things I will be focusing on is to get better going through the tunnel turn (turn two).”
This will be Coughlin’s 15th start in the ARCA Racing Series. He has an impressive five top-five and 11 top-ten finishes along with one pole in his career. He has also completed 99.54% of the laps in those events.
“I am very pleased with those statistics,” Coughlin responded. “As I look over my stats in the first 14 races, I still have one column that has nothing in it. I hope to get the win at Pocono this weekend to fill in that column.”
Joining Coughlin and the Venturini team this weekend will be his Team JEGS crewmembers Kevin Hamlin (Team Manager), Scott Wimmer (Spotter) and Dave Holt (crew member).
He will also be joined by his family, which includes his parents, John & Di and his sister, Kennedi, who recently graduated from primary school and is now getting ready to be a high school freshman in the fall.
“It was a big week for my sister last week and I am proud to be her big brother,” Coughlin said. “It would be awesome to extend her graduation celebration in victory lane along with my entire family and friends.
“Our family has been very blessed by God with everything we have done in our lives. He is a very big part of our family and we are grateful for the benefits he bestows on us every day.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing Development driver will be on track on Friday, June 5th with practice from 2:15 – 4:15pm. Qualifying will get underway at 10:05am on Saturday, June 6th. The green flag for the ARCA 200 will wave at 1pm ET.
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