Team Information:
Crew Chief: Michael Shelton
Manufacturer: Toyota
Engine: Triad Racing Technologies
2017 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Contender
Sounding-Off: Cody Coughlin:
You’ve joined ThorSport Racing in 2017. How do you feel about your first full-time season in the Truck Series?
“I’m super excited to be joining ThorSport Racing. They’ve had a lot of success over the past couple years and being located in Ohio really fits well for me, since I also live in Ohio. It’s a lot easier for me to be at the shop more, and that alone seems to be a big positive already. I know that I can get the job done from a driver standpoint and we all know that ThorSport Racing can get the job done from a team stand point. So together, I believe good things will come in 2017.”
Heading into Daytona, what are your thoughts about the season opener?
“I’m looking forward to getting down to Daytona for the first race of the season. We are competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, which is something I’d really like to win. We’ve had some really great people that have joined our team this season, and we’re building some really fast Toyota Tundras, so I’m feeling pretty confident that this team is going to perform really well this year.”
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 13 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 64 for Friday Night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). This chassis is brand new for the 2017 season and will make its debut at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
- Cook & Coughlin… Terry Cook, former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driver, will serve as Cody Coughlin’s driver coach and spotter for the 2017 season. Cook is also credited with making ThorSport Racing’s first start (and Cook’s) in 1996 in the No. 88 SealMaster truck at The Milwaukee Mile. In a career that spanned 14 seasons, Cook made 298 consecutive starts including six wins, 33 top-five and 112 top-10 finishes.
- Big Screen Debut… Coughlin, who played himself, will make his big screen debut in “God Bless the Broken Road,” which is coming out this fall. The movie, which was directed by Harold Cronk, produced by Andy Fraser, and stars NFL great LaDainian Tomlinson, pop stars Jordin Sparks (American Idol), Arthur Cartwright, Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood) and Andrew Walker, tells the story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter on her own. The film combines elements of faith, country music and stock car racing while paying tribute to those who serve in the U.S. Military.
- Truck Series Stats… Coughlin has made 12 NCWTS starts since 2015, including one start at DIS, with a career-best start of seventh at Talladega (Al.) Superspeedway (2016), and a career-best finish of 12th at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth (June, 2016).
- Rookie Stripe… Coughlin will be competing for NCWTS Rookie of the Year honors in 2017.
- Catch Cody at Daytona… Cody will host a Facebook Live via the ThorSport Racing Facebook page on Friday Feb. 24 at 12:30pm. In addition, Coughlin, along with his TSR teammates, will be at Toyota Pit Pass in the Fan Zone at 1:30pm and will also participate in the series autograph session from 3-3:45pm in the Fan Zone at DIS.
Race Information:
Date: Friday, February 24, 2017
Time: 7:30pm ET on FOX Sports 1
Track: 2.5-mile oval
Distance: 100 laps/250 miles