COUGHENOUR COMPETING IN LA STREET RACE

Returning to LA with a car that was fast in the inaugural LA Street Race is car owner, Ed Coughenour. Last year Coughenour had road racing ace, Butch Gilliland in the cockpit. But not even Gilliland could get the car through the traffic jam and he and other drivers, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, Chad Little to name just a few, had to park their cars.

This year Coughenour himself will brave the streets. Considered the NASCAR Southwest Tour's most prestigious race of the season, the competition will be strong. But with a car that is fast and a crew that is good and a driver that is ready to go fast, the No. 98 Memorex/Wherehouse Music Chevrolet will be the car to watch.

On the subject of watching, don't miss your chance to see this car! With a paint job that changes under the sun thanks to the technology of ChromaFlair/ColorShift pigment technology provided by associate sponsor Flex Products, Inc. this car goes from bronze to blue to deep purple. Fans will be asking "Is it real, or...", well I'm sure you get the picture. Come on out to the Streets of LA for a look at this car and a one of a kind street race.

RacingWest: What is it like to turn right?
EC: Road racing is a lot different that oval tracks in terms of technique and setup, especially for a street circuit which is flat and rough. Correct shifting is more of a challenge than turning right.

RW: How much of a difference is there to the chassis set-up when you have to turn both ways?
EC: The setup is totally different. The L.A. layout is different than most "road courses" because it consists of mostly left turns and runs counter clockwise. The setup will be different than Sears Point.

RW: With this being a completely different "road course" than Sears Point does your set up differ from Sears Point to LA?
EC: Totally different setup. Flat street course with left turns verses hilly road course with mostly right turns.

RW: Since you are not going flat out and turning left, do you need to beef up the transmissions or change the ratios in some of the gears?
EC: We typically run a Jerico two speed on the ovals, and we run a Jerico four speed on the road courses and Phoenix. Gear ratios vary depending on track configuration. Everyone will be guessing on the right gear for L.A. this year since no one will be able to test.

RW: How do you set the car up to avoid spinning the tires?
EC: We use a DPI Black Gold Trac rear differential among other things. A lot of it is technique, too. It is going to be critical to get out of the two hairpins at L.A. without a lot of tire spin.

RW: At the race last year we saw a lot of the cars were extremely loose coming off the last turn onto the front straight. Will you try to do something to alleviate that this year?
EC: The track was extremely tough, especially where it had the dip in the corner just past the main grand stands onto Figeroa. We are hoping that the new course configuration is better.

RW: Would it mean more to win this race than another race the Tour runs? Why or why not?
EC: Our car was extremely fast at last years race with Butch Gilliland driving. We had terrible luck blowing two engines and wrecking the car. We have worked very hard the past several months to put a very competitive car on the track. We have had mechanical gremlins at both Sears Point and Irwindale, so we are due to have a very strong run. Plus, both Memorex and Wherehouse Music are based in the Los Angeles area and it would be great to put the #98 in victory lane.

RW: How many spotters will you use at this event?
EC: We will most likely utilize at least two. We will decide once we see how much visibility we can get from several different vantage points.

RW: Will you use any additional crew for this race?
EC: Yes, about the same as at Sears Point. Any race with pit stops requires a few additional bodies, and L.A. requires at least one more spotter.

RW: Do you have any special plans while in LA?
EC: Yes, to bring the car, engine and driver home in one piece with a strong finish. We will be 100% focused on the race.