Pro Mod - Team JEGS' Troy Coughlin Can't Make Most Of Second Chance

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 30, 2011: JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro driver Troy Coughlin got an extra roll of the dice at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he couldn't hit the jackpot.

Coughlin qualified No. 17 for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series season finale but got in the field when another car crashed in qualifying and couldn't make the first round of eliminations.

Coughlin, however, spun the tires in his JEGS.com turbocharged '68 Camaro not long after he left the starting line in his first-round matchup against Jay Payne, handing Payne the victory.

"I wish we could've had a little bit better luck or done a little bit better job with our setup this weekend," Coughlin said. "It was great to make the run, and we tried some stuff that should've made more power, but we had a bit of a traction issue."

The JEGS Chevy crossed the line in 11.210 seconds at 99.54 mph while Payne drove away with a finish in 5.983 seconds at 240.68 mph.

Coughlin bumped his way into the field briefly in the final qualifying session with a pass of 6.119 seconds at 246.03 mph but then was knocked out of the top 16 by .002 seconds. Still, Coughlin got into the field when Scott Ray's car was too damaged to make the call against Payne.

"We'll take it," Coughlin said. "It's another opportunity to try and pick this thing up. We've got about three-tenths to pick up. We've got a lot of work to do."

Coughlin and the JEGS.com team plan to test their car, which raced this weekend for only the third time, on Monday. Coughlin also plans to race the car in the Street Car SuperNationals at Vegas on Nov. 17-20.