Runner-up finish for Troy Coughlin lifts his world ranking (NMCA/JEGS)

Runner-up finish for Troy Coughlin lifts his world ranking

CHARLOTTE  (August 8) -- Defending NMCA Pro Street world champion Troy 
Coughlin finished  runner-up to Chris Rini Sunday at the second annual Nitto 
Tire NMCA All Star  Nationals at zMax Dragway.

"It was a hot deal that was tough on all the  cars," Coughlin said. "We had 
a little bit of everything: rain, cloud cover,  sun, and 130-degree track 
temps. The guys stayed busy."

Through it all,  Coughlin made a significant leap in the NMCA Pro Street 
standings, after  entering the event in seventh place after missing the first 
event of the year  due to a scheduling conflict.

"We made a pretty good stride in the  points; I think we're up to third 
now," Coughlin said. "We've got two races  left. We need Rini and Joe Dunne to 
get knocked out early in those last two  races to have a realistic chance. 
It's going to be tough to defend our  championship but it's still out there."

Coughlin and crew had his  JEGS.com hot rod car tuned into the hot, slick 
conditions at zMax Dragway, but a  broken component during a run in the 
semifinals proved to be his  undoing.

"We had a clutch pin slip in that round, which made the clutch  spin real 
bad," Coughlin said. "We fixed the pins, put it back on the line for  the 
finals with the same settings and then it acted like it had too much clutch  in 
it. Go figure."

In the finals against Rini, Coughlin's JEGS.com  Pontiac GXP spun the tires 
off the line against Rini's Dodge Stratus. Rini  cruised to a winning pass 
of 6.437 seconds at 225.63 mph. Coughlin eventually  got the car to go 
straight and he went across the line in 12.028 seconds at  73.64.

"It's a shame because Rini was there for the taking," Coughlin  said. "It 
was our race to have, and it just didn't roll our way."

In the  opening round, Coughlin overcame a .003 light by Robert Vorderer to 
breeze to a  6.296 second pass at 225.11 mph. Vorderer's Camaro crossed the 
finish line in  7.844 seconds at 180.16 mph.

"That was a great pass," Coughlin said. "It  made us confident in our 
concept."

During a solo run in the semifinals  when Coughlin's clutch pin broke, he 
ran a 7.294 second pass at 140.04  mph.

"We still had a good time," Coughlin said. "We represented JEGS real  good 
at the racetrack with hats, decals and banners. They knew we were  there."

Up next for Coughlin is the August 27-29 JE Pistons NMCA  Nationals in 
Milan, Mich.

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