Points leader John Coughlin charges into Stanton

STANTON, July 8, 2009: Coming off a win at the most recent event at Route 66 Raceway, John Coughlin is still riding high as he returns to action at this weekend’s North Central Division Lucas Oil Series event at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Mich. Coughlin, the current points leader in the Spitzer Race Cars Top Dragster series, will once again be pulling double duty as he’ll be racing both his Top Dragster and his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt Super Stock entry. In addition, John will be joined by his nephew, Troy Jr., who continues to make tremendous progress with his Super Comp dragster.

Having won the North Central Division Top Dragster championship in 2007, John is in familiar territory. Currently, he holds a 36-point cushion over second place driver James Monroe, will be looking to pad his lead with another strong finish in Stanton.

“Overall, I’m very happy with both of my cars,” said John. “We did some small fine tuning on my dragster and it should actually be a bit quicker than it was the last time out. The changes we made to the car should actually make it a bit faster now also,” said Coughlin. “My driving has been pretty good and I feel really comfortable in the car.”

The recent announcement that the highly popular Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes will be included in the 2010 JEGS Allstars race, has also piqued Coughlin’s interest. Coughlin, and his brothers, Troy, Mike, and Jeg, have each qualified for the special event that is held each year at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet.

“I’m leading the overall points standings and that’s obviously a great spot to be in,” said John. “I’m also definitely looking ahead to the JEGS Allstars race next year. After one race, I am in third place so I’m right in the mix. I haven’t qualified for the JEGS Allstars in a few years and I’d definitely love to get back there.”

After a late round finish at the recent NHRA national event in Norwalk, and another encouraging weekend at the JEGS U.S. Open E.T. Bracket Championships at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Troy Jr. is prepared to once again tackle the highly competitive Super Comp division. A recent high school graduate, the 18-year old third generation Coughlin racer, who is known to everyone simply as T.J., is continuing his education at the race track each week.

“I learned so much at the past few races I can’t wait to go back out and try and make some more progress,” said T.J. “I’m gaining a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time, especially when it comes to things like driving the finish line, which is extremely important in Super Comp. After every race, I have come home with some good racing questions for my dad and uncles and their input has helped tremendously.”

Qualifying and time trial runs for the Mid-Michigan Motorplex Lucas Oil Series event will be held on Saturday, July 11 with final eliminations for all classes scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday, July 12.