Cody Coughlin, No. 2 JEGS.com Chevrolet Silverado
Pocono Stats
2 starts, Best Finish: 8th (2017)
Season Stats
13 starts, 6 top-10 finishes
Notes:
– The No. 2 team will unload chassis no. 307 this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Coughlin has raced this chassis three previous times in 2018, collecting two top-10 finishes and three top-15 finishes. This is also the same chassis that Coughlin secured a career-best qualifying effort of second at Kansas Speedway back in May.
-In combination with two previous NCWTS starts at the “Tricky Triangle,” Coughlin also has three previous ARCA Racing Series starts at Pocono. In those three starts, Coughlin had two top-10 finishes and never finished worse than 12th.
– After the mid-week race at Eldora Speedway, Coughlin is 10th in the NCWTS driver point standings.
Quote:
“I expect us to be really competitive this weekend at Pocono (Raceway), honestly I think we should be a top-five truck. I’ve been there a few times both in ARCA and the Camping World Truck Series, it’s one of the tracks I have the most experience at. I feel like I can usually hold my own in the Tunnel Turn. The turn that I feel like I always need to be better in is the last one, Turn Three, so that’s the one I’ll work on the most this weekend.
“Pocono is one of the tracks that I’ve had circled on my calendar all year. This weekend and Michigan (International Speedway) in two weeks actually, are two of the races I had circled. We’re competitive every race, but these next two races should be some of our best.”
Johnny Sauter, No. 21 ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado
Pocono Stats
8 starts, 3 top-fives, 5 top-10s
2018 Season Stats
13 starts, 4 wins, 10 top-fives, 10 top-10s
Notes:
– Sauter will pilot GMS chassis no. 304 at Pocono Raceway. This chassis has been raced a total of four times since debuting at ISM Raceway (Phoenix) in 2017. Sauter picked up his second win of the season at Dover with this Chevrolet and last raced it at Chicagoland Speedway to a third-place finish.
– Sauter is locked into The Playoffs with four wins and has 22 Playoff Points. He holds a 32-point lead over Noah Gragson in the driver championship point standings.
Quotes:
“Pocono is a tricky place – obviously the name has a meaning there. It’s been good to me over the last couple of years. I used to struggle there early in my career, just overanalyzing it. The Tunnel Turn to me is the hardest part and trying to carry big momentum there. You’ve got to be comfortable turning off the wall and committing to the bottom of the racetrack without getting free. Then you’ve got to have good speed off the corner.
“Track position really comes into play at Pocono (Raceway). I think any year where I’ve had a decent finish, and there was a green-white-checkered, I was in the outside groove. If you’re in the bottom sitting in the second, third, fourth row, you’re kind of easy prey for the guys behind you. That’s just part of it, you have to make sure you have track position earlier in the day.”
Justin Haley, No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Silverado
Pocono Stats
1 start, Best finish: 10th (2017)
Season Stats
13 starts, 1 win, 4 top-fives, 9 top-10 finished
Notes:
– Haley will climb behind the wheel of chassis no. 314 this weekend at Pocono Raceway. The No. 24 team has raced this chassis one previous time, earlier this season at Gateway Motorsports Park, where Haley qualified fourth and went on to secure his first NCWTS win.
-Aside from one previous NCWTS start at the “Tricky Triangle,” Haley also has two previous starts in the ARCA Racing Series at Pocono, including a win in last year’s race.
– With his ninth top-10 finish of the 2018 season at Eldora, Haley is eighth in the NCWTS driver point standings, but is locked into The Playoffs after his win at Gateway.
Quote:
“This is one of my favorite weekends on the schedule. Pocono (Raceway) has always been on the top of my list of favorite tracks since I made my first ARCA start there. It’s not a traditional track, having only three corners makes it dicey and fun. The aspect of having three differently banked corners also makes it difficult to finely tune the truck to be good everywhere.
“I’ve had success at Pocono in the past and our Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevy was fast last year, but we had some bad luck. Qualifying up front will be key, and staying there will be tougher, this is a track where the truck likes clean air. I’m excited to head back with the 2FOE guys and grab another trophy. We’ve been working really hard on this truck for this race specifically.”
Dalton Sargeant, No. 25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet Silverado
Pocono Stats
This will be Sargeant’s first NCWTS start at Pocono Speedway.
2018 Season Stats
13 starts, 3 top-10s, 8 top-15s
Notes:
– Sargeant will pilot GMS chassis no. 308 at Pocono Raceway. This chassis has been raced once before, at Iowa Speedway in June.
– While this is Sargeant’s first NCWTS start at Pocono, he has three top-five and four top-10 ARCA Racing Series finishes in four starts at the Tricky Triangle.
– The 20-year-old is currently 11th in the driver championship point standings after 13 races.
Quote:
“I’ve had some great results at Pocono in the past in the ARCA Racing Series, so I’m looking forward to going there in the Truck Series. It’s going to handle a little differently. The trucks have more drag so we’ll be carrying a little bit more speed through the corners than what we had in the ARCA cars. It should be a lot of fun. The side-by-side racing has always been fun there, especially with the three different corners so I’m excited about going back there.
“In the ARCA car you always wanted to be the best off Turn Three because you were wide open for so long down the frontstretch, but I think with these trucks, you’re almost able to hold it wide open off Turn Two so you may want to be better off Turn One, or at least that’s what Johnny (Sauter) told me. You’ve got to be on your game to get through Turn One at Pocono. It’s so fast and it’s going to be really crazy on these restarts with all the side force these trucks have and how spread out it gets.”
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
