CRA All Star Series - Cody Coughlin Stays Strong, Posts Sixth-place Finish In Winchester

WINCHESTER, Aug. 22, 2011: Cody Coughlin continued his impressive rookie season on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour with a solid sixth-place finish in the Winchester 100 presented by JEGS.com at historic Winchester Speedway.

But the 15-year-old from Delaware, Ohio, wanted more, much more, out of his JEGS Chevrolet.

"I'm not ecstatic with that finish, but considering it's Winchester, it's still a pretty good day," Coughlin said. "We were one of the fastest cars here, so we wanted a better finish, of course. We were the fastest in the first practice, second-fastest in the second practice and qualified third."

After officials inverted the top cars for the start, Coughlin began the 100-lap race sixth, but he moved up to challenge for the lead before the halfway point.

"I was catching the leader about the middle of the race," Coughlin said. "I was second and running up on him. But the car had been a little too free in the beginning of the race and we eventually wore out the right-rear tire, and then the right-front started getting the abuse. The car got really tight at the end, and we started to fall back a little bit.

"It's definitely not what we're capable of, but it's still a good finish."

Coughlin started the weekend off by turning a lap of 110.885 mph around Winchester's high-banked, half-mile oval to lead the first practice. Then he went 110.572 mph to place second in the second practice.

"When you're doing a lap around Winchester, you're going 126 mph going into the corner on the high side – and not using any brake," Coughlin said. "And you need to get back in the gas as soon as you can, full throttle. It's definitely an adrenaline rush. It's always go, go, go."

Coughlin then posted the third-fastest qualifying run and started sixth in the race after the inversion.

"Thank the Lord for all he's done for us," Coughlin said. "He's allowed all my family to be here with me and support me all year. It was a fun weekend."

Coughlin was the highest-finishing rookie at Winchester and padded his lead in the Howie Lettow Rookie of the Year standings.

"I'd say we should be in good shape for that," Coughlin said. "We were the highest-finishing rookie, so we're looking pretty good for that for the moment."