The C & C Racing #98 Chevrolet will be returning to NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series competition on May 29 at Mesa Marin Raceway. The team will compete in selected events during 1999, and plans to run the entire schedule in 2000. The team has recently named Terry O'Donnell as Crew Chief. Veteran driver Ed Coughenour will be the driver.

C & C Racing has relocated from St. Charles, Illinois to Petaluma, California. The team has moved it's engine program from Wegner Automotive Research to Ron Grose Racing. Coughenour finished 33rd in points in 1998 with only three series starts. 1997 NASCAR Winston West Champion Butch Gilliland drove the C & C Racing Chevrolet twice in 1998. Gilliland finished tenth in the Yahoo Sports 200 at Sears Point, and again drove the Iomega sponsored entry at the L.A. Street Race.

C & C Racing is seeking primary and associate sponsorship for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, and is represented by Phillips Motorsports Marketing. The team is also seeking additional crew support for the 1999 season. C & C Racing can be contacted via e mail at ccracing98@aol.com or at 707-781-3064.

RacingWest Questions

RacingWest: What are you impressions of the facility by either seeing it or hearing about it?
Ed Coughenour: The facility is spectacular! First class all the way from the entrance, parking lot, grandstands. Great race track, wide with graduating banking. Should make for a heck of a race!

RW: What do you expect from the fans at Irwindale Speedway? With they know the SWS drivers or not?
EC: I expect a lot of the old Saugus crowd, in addition to many of the fans who come to Mesa Marin. The NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series has a good following, and we should also attract many new fans. Ray Wilkings will certainly do a great job in promoting the event.

RW: How has your team prepared for this new track?
EC: I visited the facility last week for a visual look around. We will be testing at Altamont Raceway Park for the Irwindale races.

RW: Being that Irwindale is new and smooth and shocks play a big part in the balance of the cars, what will your plans be for shock combinations soft, stiff? Will you start with a set up from another track that has similarities?
EC: The racing surface is very smooth, and I tend to like a soft setup at most tracks. We will most likely take a base line from Mesa Marin, and perhaps a softer shock and spring combination for the lower banks and surface.

RW: Did you have time to take advantage to utilize the test days at the newtrack and what did you think?
EC: No. We are just getting the team back on track after losing both of our engines and crashing out at the L.A. Street race.

RW: What changes do you regularly make between practice, qualifying and the race? Will this new track be any different?
EC: Typically, you have to practice on sticker tires since we also have to qualify on them. The first lap of qualifying is usually quite interesting, as you don't know quite what to expect. The second lap is almost always much faster. Most tracks tighten up quite a bit in the evening as the track temperature drops. We always loosen up the car a bit, how much depends on how cool it gets. We also change gear ratios for the feature.

RW: Rumor has it there are 3 grooves and typically to win you must start up front, can any car win from the back with three grooves?
EC: The track certainly is very wide, as for 3 grooves, well, we'll have to see. The tour is so competitive, it is would be very difficult to win anywhere starting outside the top ten.

RW: Does it work better for your team to race in LA as opposed to other destinations on the SWS?
EC: I started out racing at Saugus, and the Los Angeles market has desperately needed a facility like Irwindale for many years. I am really looking forward to competing at Irwindale. It will be an easy tow from Petaluma, with major freeways all the way. The only downside is that there is not any major lodging close to the track.

RW: Will your team be doing any special promotions for sponsors during this weekend?
EC: We are not planning any promotions at this time. We are still seeking primary sponsorship for 1999 and 2000. Our reorganization and late start have complicated getting adequate funding together.

RW: Where can the fans find you for autographs? (Which hotel are you staying at, with room number?)
EC: We will be available in the pits and hopefully Ray Wilkings will do some sort of autograph session like they do at Mesa Marin. The ASA series really does a nice job of this, as the grid the starting field and have the fans come down on the race track prior to the feature for autographs and pictures.

RW: How has your team progressed this year? Are you on track with you goals?
EC: Again, first race out for us. We have completely revamped our engine program, and are now exclusively with Ron Grosse Racing for our motors. Joey Grosse, who is our engine builder, attends all the races and this will improve our results, especially qualifying where we struggled last year. We have also promoted Terry O'Donnell to Crew Chief after several years with the team. We will see how things go at Irwindale.

RW: What do you see as most challenging about Irwindale Speedway?
EC: Qualifying will be the top priority. There will most likely be at least fifty cars show up for this event. With a brand new surface, tires should stay under the cars pretty well throughout the race, so it ought to be quite a battle from green to checker.

Source: C&C Racing / RacingWest
Posted: 5/9/99