July 13, 2018

Date: Thursday, July 12, 2018

Event: Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (Round 12 of 23) 

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 

Location: Kentucky Speedway (1.5-mile) 

Start/Finish: 11th/12th (Running, completed 149 of 150 laps) 

Bluegrass Battle: Cody Coughlin Finishes in the 12th-place at the Kentucky Speedway

STATESVILLE, N.C. (July 13, 2018)—Cody Coughlin, driver of the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing, finished in the 12th-place in Thursday night’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Coughlin fought an ill-handling Chevrolet Silverado and rallied from the 21st-place to score a hard-earned finish as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to action from a week hiatus. It was the eighth top-12 finish of 2018 for the driver of the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing.

“It was a rough night for our No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado team,” Coughlin said. “We couldn’t seem to get everything quite right. Our JEGS team worked tirelessly throughout the night on adjustments.

“We will regroup, and head to the Eldora Speedway next week.”

Coughlin, part of the four-truck GMS Racing contingent, set the 11th-fastest lap in qualifying for the 225-mile race, and turned a lap of 29.941 seconds at 180.355 mph around the 1.5-mile track in the final qualifying round.

After starting in the 11th-place, the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado was presenting Coughlin with tight-handling conditions. On Lap 2, the first of three caution flags waved while Coughlin held position, and by Lap 10 of the 150 lap event, Coughlin was inside the top-10 in the running order. The adverse handling conditions of the yellow and black Chevrolet continued to prove challenging to control, causing Coughlin to make minor contact with the wall, and by the end of Stage 1 on Lap 35, he was scored in the 14th-place.

Under caution, crew chief Jerry Baxter called Coughlin to pit road for four fresh tires while other teams opted to take right-side tires only, and also called for fuel and chassis adjustments on the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado. This strategy shuffle forced the JEGS team to restart in the 13th-place. Building on the momentum from the opening stage, Coughlin held position as he continued to battle an ill-handling machine, and posted his quickest lap of the race on Lap 50. Even though this is only his second full-time year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, he worked his truck like a veteran to combat the aero-sensitivity of the track in short order, Coughlin began running his best laps of the race. Coughlin held his place in Stage 2, finishing the second round in the 13th-place on Lap 70.

Baxter once again called Coughlin to pit road aiming to provide relief to the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet driver by swapping in four fresh tires with an air pressure adjustment, as well as chassis adjustments and fuel. Coughlin restarted in the 14th-place when the green flag waved on Lap 77, and the final stage ran green for nearly its entirety as Coughlin battled traffic and continued handling conditions as the laps ticked away. Coughlin persevered through the long green-flag run. He steadily made his way toward the front, and when another round of pit stops began under green at the Lap 111 mark, Coughlin found himself in 17th-place just before he was ready to pit. On Lap 120 Coughlin was scored one lap down. Heading to pit road on Lap 124, stopping for right-side tires, fuel and another round of adjustments. As the green-flag stops cycled through, Coughlin was scored in the 14th-place. In the closing laps Coughlin delivered aggressive advancement and was able to gain two more positions to finish in the 12th-place.

The next event on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the Eldora Dirt Derby on Wednesday, July 18, at the Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. The FS1 and Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race at 9:00 p.m. (ET).

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, visit Cody Coughlin on his personal Twitter and Instagram page - @Cody_Coughlin, and on the official Facebook page at /CodyCoughlin2/. For more information on Cody Coughlin visit CodyCoughlin.com. Also, follow Team JEGS’ Twitter page - @TeamJEGS, and on Instagram at @team_jegs. You can also “like” Team JEGS on the official Facebook page at /TeamJEGS/.

For media relations / public relations, contact Courtney McGarry at Courtney.McGarry@JEGS.com.

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Johnny Sauter, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Haley and Cody Coughlin, and also in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Spencer Gallagher. Since the team's start in 2014, GMS Racing has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.