Bristol shocker: Defending event champ Coughlin misses field (NHRA/JEGS)

Bristol shocker: Defending event champ Coughlin misses  field

BRISTOL, Tenn. (May 17) -- Defending series and  event champion Jeg Coughlin 
Jr. failed to qualify for this weekend's eighth  annual O'Reilly Thunder 
Valley NHRA Nationals, missing the elimination field by  just three-thousandths of 
a second Saturday afternoon at Bristol  Dragway.

Coughlin had qualified his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt at 70  consecutive 
events, dating back four years to the national event in Topeka,  Kan.

"It stings, no question about it," Coughlin said. "But we'll rebound  quickly 
and never look back. This is the brutal part of NHRA drag racing. You're  
only as good as your last pass."

Coughlin's last pass was his best of the  weekend, a 6.739 at 205.13 mph. It 
just wasn't enough to make the  cut.

"We really didn't get a handle on the car until Q4 and that 6.73 was  pretty 
decent," the 37-year-old Coughlin said. "We got off our game plan a  little 
and found ourselves behind all weekend. Joe Hornick and the guys from the  
engine shop brought up a new motor for us and we put it in between Q1 and Q2.  They 
told me to hold on because it was a stout piece and they were right. We  just 
didn't get it to agree with the car quick enough.

"The first time I  dropped the clutch in Q2 I could feel how powerful it was. 
We had it too hopped  up for the track so we backed her down for this 
morning's run and we were still  too hot and it shook the tires. In Q4, the plan was 
to just calm it all the way  down and muscle her in there and we nearly got 
away with it. We just came up a  tad short."

Coughlin entered the event second in the POWERade Drag Racing  Series 
championship points. He cannot lose more than two positions in the  rankings.

"We'll be ready for Topeka," said Coughlin, the winner of four  world titles 
and 52 national events. "We've got a weekend off and the guys will  have 
everything back to the shop in Mooresville (N.C.) by this evening. This  will be 
one determined bunch by the time we roll into  Kansas."


Information regarding JEGS Mail Order can be  found at _www.jegs.com_ 
(http://www.jegs.com/)  and for  media/fan resources check out _www.teamjegs.com_ 
(http://www.teamjegs.com/) . 

Media Contact:
Scott "Woody" Woodruff
JEGS, Director of  Media & Motorsports
Office: 800.345.4545 (3.412)
Mobile:  614.595.1820
Fax: 740.362.4385
Email: jegspr@aol.com -or-  scott.woodruff@jegs.com





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