Joe Gibbs Racing development
driver Cody Coughlin will team with Kyle Busch Motorsports for his next start
in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 54 Tundra in the
Careers For Veterans 200 at the Michigan International Speedway on Saturday,
August 15.
“Kyle Busch Motorsports is on
top of the game in the Truck Series,” said Coughlin, a 19-year old native of
Delaware, Ohio. “It’s an honor to be able to race for this team.
Kyle has helped me with some knowledge of some tracks this year and that has
really helped me. I think this is a great opportunity and I’m expecting a
great run.”
“Joe Gibbs Racing has called
upon us the last few seasons to put a few of their young drivers in our trucks
and help with their development,” said team owner Kyle Busch. “This year
the extra seat time that Daniel (Suarez) has received by running our trucks has
really seemed to help speed up his learning curve in the XFINITY Series.
Cody’s another one of their young guys and we’re looking forward to the
opportunity to work with him.”
Coughlin has been a stand-out
in the Late Model ranks in the Midwest. Coughlin won the JEGS/CRA
All-Stars Tour championship in 2013, and has won races at prestigious tracks
such as Indiana’s Winchester Speedway and Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway.
While still running Late Model
races when he can, Coughlin has also competed with the ARCA Racing Series on a
part-time basis. He has won poles at Chicagoland Speedway and Talladega
Superspeedway, had a career-best second place finish at Talladega in the spring
and nearly won in his first attempt on a road course. The Delaware,
Ohio native has scored five Top-5 and 11 Top-10 finishes in 17 career starts.
“I’ve been able to watch Cody
progress as a young driver in the Late Model ranks and be able to pick up some
wins along the way, including a big one in the Super Late Model at Winchester
(Speedway) last year. Then he moved up into ARCA where he has had some
strong runs the last few seasons and continued his progression earlier this
year when he made his first Truck Series start at Kentucky,” said Busch.
Coughlin has one NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series start under his belt so far. Rain washed away
all practice and qualifying, but Coughlin was still able to score a Top-20
finish even after having never run a lap in a truck before taking the green
flag.
Coughlin has seen a lot of
success at the bigger race tracks in his ARCA career, and expects to run
strongly on the two-mile track in Michigan.
“Obviously I want to contend
for the win,” said Coughlin. “But I’ll be satisfied with a good, solid
top-10 finish after being up around the front all day long.”
I really like what Kyle Busch does for these young drivers. Putting them in great equipment and sharing knowledge with them is invaluable.
ReplyDeleteI hope the kid does well.
Or does Cody bring sponsorship / $ with him? Granted I hope the best for him but a source inside told me over 50% of the Xfinity drivers currently racing in that series all got their opportunities by bringing in sponsorship or $. I'm sure the Camping World Truck series is no different.
ReplyDeleteKyle said in an interview a couple of years ago that all of his trucks were paid-for rides, meaning someone either brought money or sponsorship. He said it was why most will not reach Cup level because of what a Cup ride costs. Everyone knows NASCAR transferred Camping World money to Bubba at KBM. It is just the way NASCAR racing works and only the television announcers want to keep everyone thinking it is all about talent.
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