Jeg Coughlin quickly rebounds after early stumble (NHRA/JEG'S)

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
NHRA CarQuest  Northwest Nationals   
 
 
 
Pacific Raceways
Seattle, WA
July 23rd
 
Jeg Coughlin - JEG'S Mail  Order / Mopar - Dodge Stratus RT 
Saturday Summary






Jeg Coughlin quickly rebounds after early  stumble 
 
Former Seattle winner Jeg Coughlin will start his quest for a repeat  
performance at Pacific Raceways out of the No. 12 position on the elimination  grid. 
Coughlin's powerful Hemi engine developed a severe miss in the weekend's  
quickest time trail session Saturday morning and he had to fall back on his  
Friday night pass of 6.723 seconds at 204.79 mph to earn a spot in the field. A  
Saturday afternoon run of 6.729 seconds at 205.16 mph didn't allow him to  
improve but it did provide some encouragement.
 
"We put a new motor in there after Q3 and we ended up being one of the  
quickest of the last session," Coughlin said. "We definitely showed improvement.  
The car seemed to want to accelerate faster and it felt like it gained a lot  
more speed. It felt completely different from yesterday's two runs."
 
Coughlin won this event in 2002, his second of two championship Pro Stock  
campaigns. The 45-time national event winner and driver of the Jeg's Mail Order  
Stratus R/T can also rely on the unparalleled experience of crew chief Bob  
Glidden, the 10-time series champion who won a record six times at this 
facility  during his illustrious driving career.
 
As the No. 12 qualifier, Coughlin will open eliminations against fellow  
Dodge driver Larry Morgan, who qualified fifth overall with a 6.686 at 206.67  
mph. The two men have not raced each other this season.
 
"I think we'll have something for them tomorrow," Coughlin said. 'It's  never 
easy to win in this class but the way this car responded to the engine  
change has us encouraged. Once Bob tunes the car to this new power band we  should 
be right there with the top cars. Hopefully, that will start tomorrow  
morning."
 
The eliminations rounds of the 18th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA  
Nationals begin with Top Fuel and Funny Car at 11 a.m. Pro Stock should begin  around 
noon. 
 
 
NHRA on TV:
 
Saturday, July 23 ESPN2 will televise two-hours of qualifying at 8:00 p.m.  
(ET)
Sunday, July 24 ESPN2 will televise NHRA2Day, a 30-minute weekly news  
magazine style show at 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, July 24 ESPN2 will air final eliminations for three-hours beginning  
at 9:00 p.m. (ET)
 

Web Site: _www.teamjegs.com_ (http://www.teamjegs.com/)  -or _www.jegs.com_ 
(http://www.jegs.com/)