Jeg Coughlin cashes in during cool night session (NHRA/JEG'S)

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
NHRA FRAM /  Autolite Nationals   
 
 
 
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma, CA
July 29th
 
Jeg Coughlin - JEG'S Mail  Order / Mopar - Dodge Stratus RT 
Friday Qualifying Summary







Coughlin cashes in during cool night  session

Jeg's Mail Order racer Jeg Coughlin took full  advantage of a late start to 
Friday's second session of professional qualifying  at the 18th annual Fram 
Autolite NHRA Nationals to blast to a top-half berth in  the 16-car Pro Stock 
field. After opening with a 6.747-second pass at 204.70 mph  in the first round, 
Coughlin improved quite a bit when the sun went down,  running a 6.715 at 
204.32 mph to earn the eighth spot overall.

"We were  real aggressive because it was literally getting better by the 
minute once the  sun set," Coughlin said. "It's so exciting for a driver when you 
have sessions  like that when you know the car's going to fly. It adds some 
pressure because  you don't want to mess up, but it's quite a ride inside the 
car because you know  you're going fast.

"The Jeg's Dodge did get out of the groove just a bit  and I had to coax her 
back in there so we could have been even quicker. Still,  no complaints here. 
We're happy.

The second round started more than 40  minutes late due to an earlier 
accident in Top Alcohol Dragster. This allowed  the sun to drop behind the eastern 
grandstands, which are topped by luxury  suites, and the track cooled down 
quickly. The sea-level racetrack then came to  life with the top qualifier in the 
class setting a track record of 6.689  seconds.

"We're getting closer and closer to the top cars each race,"  Coughlin said. 
"Bob Glidden [crew chief] has been so focused. We'll probably  need to improve 
in the morning to a high 6.6-second pass just to stay in the top  half of the 
field. I'd bet the No. 1 qualifier will run a 6.65, so hopefully Bob  will 
have us right there in the mix."

Qualifying will resume Saturday  with an early-morning session that could 
completely reshuffle the field. Located  at the top of San Francisco Bay, 
Infineon Raceway is usually blanketed in sea  fog during the morning hours, making 
for optimum racing  conditions.



NHRA on TV:
 
Saturday, July 30 ESPN2 will televise two-hours of qualifying at 8:00  p.m. 
(ET)
Sunday, July 31 ESPN2 will televise NHRA2Day, a 30-minute weekly news  
magazine style show at 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, July 31 ESPN2 will air final eliminations for three-hours  beginning 
at 9:00 p.m. (ET)
 
 
Additional resources can be found at: _www.teamjegs.com_ 
(http://www.teamjegs.com/)   
 
  



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