Coughlin Defends E-town Crown From Five Spot

ENGLISHTOWN, June 13, 2010: World champion drag racer Jeg Coughlin Jr. will attempt to defend the Pro Stock title of this weekend's 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals from the No. 5 qualifying position after finishing Saturday's time trials with a best elapsed time of 6.562 at 211 mph in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt.

Coughlin will be trying for his fifth trophy at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. He won Super Gas here in 1997, and Pro Stock in 1998, 2000, and 2009. He also recorded runner-up finishes at the track in 2002 and 2007.

"We've got some pretty good momentum going right now," Coughlin said. "We came out in Q1 and went to the No. 2 spot so we were off to a great start. Last night was the big session and we missed it just by a hair. The car shot out pretty good to the left and it slowed us just enough that we slipped back to the fifth spot. But we're okay with where we ended up.

"This morning's run I believe we were third or fourth overall. That gave us some good data for the heat and we were able to tune it up a bit and come back in the final session and go low of the round by two hundredths of a second. It's really nice to say that for a change, and what's better is the car was really, really happy and well within a safe range. In fact, I think we can step on it a bit more tomorrow."

Although he out-qualified first-round opponent and teammate Rodger Brogdon by seven spots on the grid, the time sheets show a miniscule .009-second difference between the two as Brogdon topped out at 6.571 at 210.37 mph. Brogdon and Coughlin both race for Victor Cagnazzi.

"It'll be exciting to race our teammate right out of the gate," Coughlin said. "We certainly know what kind of horsepower he has in that car and I expect we'll have a great race. Hopefully, we'll come out on the good side of it but we better be ready for him because we know they'll be coming after us."