GMS Racing announced Tuesday that JEGS Automotive, Inc., a leader in the e-commerce world of high performance automotive parts, and longtime supporter of Cody Coughlin, will join Coughlin and the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado team as their primary partner.
Coughlin’s NASCAR career has accelerated again this week, with GMS Racing officials announcing the team has secured a contract with the 22-year-old driver, who will compete full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series beginning with the 2018 season.
Coughlin has traveled the country racing in a variety of Late Model races from 2011 to 2016, earning numerous wins and championships. In 2011, Coughlin was awarded the Howie Lettow Rookie of the Year Award in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour with five top-five finishes in 11 starts during his inaugural season. Coughlin was crowned the ARCA/CRA Super Series champion, and the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance champion, twice. Coughlin made Champion Racing Association (CRA) history during the 2016 season, as the first driver ever to win both the ARCA/CRA Super Series, his first championship in that series, and the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship in the same season.
In 2017, Coughlin competed full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he ran for Rookie of the Year honors. Coughlin earned his career best third-place finish at the ISM Raceway (formally Phoenix Raceway) in his first start at the at the 1.022-mile track. He posted one top-five and three top-10 finishes with 9 laps led in the 2017 season, and completed 95% of laps contested during the season.
Coughlin will run for a second full-time season in 2018 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, in the stepping-stone division to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing.
GMS Racing won the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, and placed second in 2017. Since entering the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2013, the Statesville,, N.C.,-based organization has logged 247 starts from 18 drivers, resulting in 13 victories, 59 top-five finishes, 126 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 10.7 and an average finishing position of 12.3.
In addition, Coughlin will reunite with Chevrolet as the Delaware, Ohio, native joins Team Chevy. GMS Racing teams compete with Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The move to Chevrolet represents a return for Coughlin, who raced with Chevrolet throughout his Late Model career.
For decades, JEGS and Chevrolet have combined their expertise and extensive road-tested experience to bring the durable dependability of Chevy Performance Parts to professional drivers and weekend racers. JEGS is the number one e-commerce distributor of Chevrolet Performance crate engines.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the GMS Racing family, and to be back running with Chevrolet,” Coughlin said. “GMS Racing is a team that has proven to be one of the teams to beat every time they unload at the race track, and now I have the same opportunity.
“I can’t thank GMS Racing, team owner Maury Gallagher and director of competition Mike Beam enough for this chance. I think we have the right tools and personnel in place with the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado team to run up front and contend for race wins every weekend.”
Coughlin will join drivers Justin Haley, Dalton Sargeant, and Johnny Sauter as a member of the four-truck full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operation.
Taking over as crew chief for Coughlin and the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado is veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter, who joined GMS Racing in 2017 as crew chief for Kaz Grala and the No. 33 team. Since 1999, Baxter has 139 starts with nine drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, resulting in strong performances that include 10 victories and 43 top-five finishes, as well as 78 top-10 finishes.
“I’m more than ready to get the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season underway,” Baxter said. “Last year, GMS Racing raced against Cody every weekend, so I have an idea of the type of driver he is. It will be even better to be able to work with him now, firsthand.
“We have a good group of hard-working guys on the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado that will definitely put us in the position to run well every time we’re at the track.”
Baxter has comprehensive experience at the ‘World Center of Racing,’ having one pole award and one victory (2017), one top-five and two top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the track. The Baxter-led GMS Racing team was victorious at the Daytona Beach, Fla., facility with Grala after starting in the pole position last season.
Coughlin is slated to participate in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series open test at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on January 24, which is scheduled to run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the 1.5-mile facility. The Charlotte Motor Speedway test will give the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams to gather data through the use of telemetry on the vehicles. The test will be Coughlin’s first time behind the wheel on-track with GMS Racing.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season begins on February 16 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The NextEra Energy Resources 250 will be broadcast live on FS1 on Friday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, visit Cody Coughlin on his personal Twitter page – @Cody_Coughlin. 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” JEGS Performance on the official Facebook page at /Jegsperformance.
JEGS/GMS Racing PR
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