Cody Coughlin, No. 2 JEGS.com Chevrolet Silverado
Michigan Stats
3 starts, Best Finish: 20th (2015 & 2016)
Season Stats
14 starts, 6 top-10, 9 top-15 finishes
Notes:
– Coughlin will utilize chassis no. 312 this weekend at Michigan. This chassis has been run two previous times in 2018, most recently at Kentucky (12th), as well as earlier in the season at Texas (eighth).
– Aside from his three previous NCWTS starts at the 2-mile D-shaped track, Coughlin has two previous starts at Michigan in the ARCA Racing Series, collecting two top-15 finishes.
– This week, Coughlin will be named an official NASCAR ambassador of DAV (Disabled American Veterans), a nonprofit charity dedicated to providing a lifetime of help to disabled American veterans and their families. Honored to be chosen to represent DAV, Coughlin’s No. 2 JEGS.com Chevy will carry the organization’s logo, as well as #BlessAVet, DAV’s current initiative. #BlessAVet is an initiative launched in partnership with DAV, Fandango, and the film “God Bless the Broken Road” where people can contribute to send a veteran to dinner and to go see “God Bless the Broken Road,” which releases Sept. 7th, a film in which Coughlin is a part of as well. For anyone interested in contributing to #BlessAVet, please visit https://blessavet.com.
– After a weekend off on the NCWTS schedule, Coughlin remains 10th in the driver point standings.
Quote:
“There’s just so much grip with the trucks at every track we race at that it’s hard to tell if the surface at Michigan (International Speedway) has aged a whole lot since it’s repave. I don’t really know if this year we’ll be able to move around a whole lot more than in the past. I do know though that momentum is going to be big there, especially with the new engines we run. My guess is that we’ll run in the middle of the track up to the top groove. The draft is going to be big as well, especially for making moves. So if I get a big run, I’ll try make a pass on the bottom lane, but only if the timing of the run is right. My main thing is to take advantage of those in front of me who may be bogged down in traffic and make those spots up as quickly as I can so I can keep my momentum rolling.
“Since Pocono (Raceway), the No. 2 team and I sat down to come up with a game plan for moving forward. We’ve had fast trucks all season but have just come up short of the finishes that we think we deserve. Both Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) and myself are really excited about how the meeting went and the JEGS.com team is optimistic about how the last half of the season will go.”
Johnny Sauter, No. 21 ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado
Michigan Stats
9 starts, 1 win, 2 top-fives, 3 top-10s
2018 Season Stats
14 starts, 4 wins, 10 top-fives, 11 top-10s
Notes:
– Sauter will pilot GMS chassis no. 306 at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 21 team has raced this chassis twice this season, with Sauter earning his fourth win of the season in this particular Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway.
– For the final race of NASCAR’s Kids Drive NASCAR initiative, the No. 21 ISM Connect Chevrolet will feature the names of Sauter’s children (Penn, Paige, Anne and Alice), as well as the names of the children of GMS Racing and GMS Fabrication employees.
– Sauter is locked into The Playoffs with four wins and has 22 Playoff Points. He holds a 65-point lead over Noah Gragson in the driver championship point standings.
Quotes:
“I think a little bit differently than some others about Michigan. A lot of drivers say it’s starting to race like a superspeedway but I think it’s turned into more of a handling track, at least for me personally it has. Last year I felt like we went with more of a low drag package and really had speed in practice but in the race it was so loose I couldn’t drive it. I think this year we’ll err on the side of handling. I know it’s a big race track and you carry a lot of speed but it will separate especially if you get a little longer into a run, 10-12 laps, the handling issues come into play and grip is a premium. So, that’s what we’re going to focus on this year and hopefully it works out for us.”
Justin Haley, No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Silverado
Michigan Stats
1 start, 1 top-10
Season Stats
14 starts, 1 win, 5 top-fives, 10 top-10 finishes
Notes:
– The No. 24 team will unload chassis no. 305 at Michigan this weekend. Haley has raced this chassis four times during the 2018 NCWTS season, most recently at Chicagoland Speedway, collecting one top-five, two top-10 and three top-15 finishes with it.
– Collecting another solid top-five finish when the NCWTS was last on track at Pocono, Haley has moved up to seventh in the driver point standings and remains locked in to The Playoffs with his win at Gateway in June.
Quote:
“Michigan (International Speedway) is different. It’s one of those tracks that’s bumpy and you run along the wall down the frontstretch. With these new motors, they like to be wound up, so that should play in well to this weekend’s race. It’s a track that produces good racing and it’s all about timing big runs.
“I know last year we struggled a bit at Michigan and it was one of the final races before the cutoff, so we gambled to get the win and lock in. Thankfully this year, that’s not the case. We’re already locked in, so now we can focus on running this race like we would usually attack any other race weekend.”
Dalton Sargeant, No. 25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet Silverado
Michigan Stats
This will be Sargeant’s first NCWTS start at Michigan International Speedway.
2018 Season Stats
14 starts, 1, top-five, 4 top-10s, 9 top-15s
Notes:
– Sargeant will pilot GMS chassis no. 303 at Michigan International Speedway. This chassis has been used seven times this season, including mostly recently at Kentucky Speedway en route to a ninth-place finish.
– The Boca Raton, Fla., native is coming off a career-best third-place finish at Pocono Raceway.
– Sargeant has two previous ARCA Racing Series starts at Michigan, with one top-five (3rd in 2017) and two top-10 finishes.
– The 20-year-old is currently 11th in the driver championship point standings after 14 races.
Quote:
“Michigan is another track where I’ve done well in the ARCA Racing Series, but this will be my first time in a truck there. I think drafting is going to be really big in the Truck Series there. It was important in the ARCA cars but not as important as what we’ll see this week. I’ll have to time my runs really well to be able to get around guys. Like most of the tracks I’m seeing for the first time in a truck, I’ll have to rely on my teammates – Johnny (Sauter) & Justin (Haley) – and what they’ve experienced there. Johnny is one of the best when it comes to Michigan, along with some others, so their advice will be a big help.
“The Performance Plus Motor Oil team has come a long way in the last few weeks, for several reasons, and I’m excited to see where this momentum takes us.”
ABOUT GMS RACING
GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Cody Coughlin, Johnny Sauter, Justin Haley and Dalton Sargeant, and in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Since the team’s start in 2014, GMS Racing has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication.
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