Gov Cup a Chance for Cody Coughlin to Beat the Chill & Top Racers at Once
2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion ready for return to Florida (Special from Team JEGS)
November 18, 2014
Delaware, Ohio (November 18, 2014) – The arctic blast going through Ohio this
week isn’t a concern to Cody Coughlin and his Team JEGS crew this week. Instead
of spending more November days in the snowy conditions around their race shop,
the group is heading south to the Sunshine State to compete in the 49th Annual
Florida Governor’s Cup 200 Super Late Model event at New Smyrna Speedway in
New Smyrna Beach, Florida on Sunday, November 23rd.
Before the temperatures dropped, Coughlin ended the regular-season portion of his
2014 on a hot streak with top five finishes in his last four starts between driving in
the ARCA Racing Series and in the ARCA/CRA Super Series powered by JEGS.
Now the Joe Gibbs Racing development driver is looking at continuing his streak
into the big-money late-season events such as the Governor's Cup. If he's able to
do it this Sunday at New Smyrna, he will add his name to a list of famous short
track stars that have won the historic Governor's Cup in its nearly five-decade
history.
“I can’t wait to go back to where I got my first win,” the 18-year-old Delaware, Ohio
driver said. “I think Nick (Easton, Crew Chief) and Kevin (Hamlin, Team Manager)
have a good game plan going into this weekend. We are going to practice to find the find the perfect balance and drive hard in the race. I know if we do that, it will put us in a position like where we have been all year.”
That position has been consistently in the top five with any car that he has driven this year. Since Labor Day, Coughlin has visited victory lane once and has three fourth-place finishes between running the ARCA Racing Series and a CRA Super Late Model.
Overall this season, he has one win, six top-fives and 12 top-10s in 15 starts.
Coughlin will be making his 19th feature start at New Smyrna Speedway, a track he has visited since 2011 driving his Pro Late Model and Super Late Model. In those 19 starts, he has one win (Pro Late Model), six top-five’s and nine top-10 finishes.
“New Smyrna Speedway is a racy place,” Coughlin said. “You can move around a bit, race in two grooves and it provides some exciting racing for the fans. Plus, it will be warm down there.”
The Florida Governor’s Cup 200 is one of the top historic short track events in the country with a great history of drivers winning the event. Coughlin is hoping to add his name to the list that is among the who’s who in short track racing.
“We treat every race with the same effort and take the same pride in every win,” Coughlin said. “But, it definitely would be special to join that list of winners of this prestigious event.”
Along with Hamlin and Easton, Scott Wimmer (spotter) and Dave Holt (crew member) will make up the Team JEGS crew for this weekend.
Coughlin will also have the support of his parents, John & Di, and his sister Kennedi.
“Our entire family is looking forward to returning to Florida and appreciate the hospitality that the Hart family (owners of New Smyrna Speedway) provides to our family,” Coughlin said. “My family has given me a lot of support this season and it is paying off on the track.
“God has blessed our family with the help and support from everyone that has helped us this season. We stepped up this season and are very thankful for what God has done for us. He does work in amazing ways.”
Coughlin will be on track on Friday, November 21st with practice from 5-9pm. He will be back at the track on Saturday, November 22nd for practice from 1:30-2:30pm. Qualifying is scheduled for 5pm. The Florida Governor’s Cup 200 is scheduled to start at 1pm Eastern on Sunday, November 23rd.
Speed51.com will have live Trackside Now coverage all weekend long.
For more information on Cody Coughlin and Team JEGS, visit www.teamjegs.com and follow Cody on Twitter, @cody_coughlin. Follow Team JEGS on Twitter, @TeamJEGS and “Like” JEGS Performance on Facebook.
