CRA All Stars - Quick Test Introduces Coughlin To Plymouth Speedway

PLYMOUTH, April 18, 2012: Reigning rookie of the year Cody Coughlin and the JEGS.com team tackled Plymouth Speedway on Tuesday in preparation for this weekend's season-opening JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race.

Coughlin, 16, has never raced at the .375-mile track and he and crew chief Butch VanDoorn made several adjustments to the No. 1 JEGS.com Chevrolet throughout the day in anticipation of Coughlin's first real foray into Plymouth.

"It’s a very tricky track. You have to use more brake than I am used to in the crate-(engine) car," Coughlin said. "It's very short, very small. You can't mess up that much, as it's not very forgiving. You've got to be smooth, and you can't overdrive the corner."

Coughlin made about 20 laps in his first session in the track, getting down to the 13.8-second range. After adjustments and more time on the track, he improved to 13.6 seconds on older tires. Searching for the right line around the Indiana bullring, Coughlin ended up with a best lap of 13.5 seconds.

But Coughlin and the team want more.

"We're working on it," Coughlin said. "We're not quite as strong as we have been at other initial test sessions before, but we're going to work on it."

Plymouth is similar to Coughlin's home track, Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio, so the team will practice there Friday before heading to Plymouth for an open practice on Saturday.

"We'll try to fine tune it a little more and then we'll go Saturday to Plymouth to test with everybody" Coughlin said. "I'm excited about getting the season going, and I'm happy my family will be with me this weekend. We're all praying for a good, safe race, and I thank the Lord for the chance to do this."