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NHRA: 2nd Race Of Season, Jeg Coughlin, Jr., Team JEG'S Have Two Wins

28 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

The two JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass' began raceday on opposite sides of the ladder, which is a team goal at every NHRA event.

Troy Coughlin and his yellow and black Olds Cutlass were the first of the two JEG'S Mail Order machines to pull into the water box in the first round. Troy lined up next to Bruce Allen, Allen had lane choice.

Bruce left the starting line first by .008 seconds. Troy and Bruce raced side-by-side to the finishline. The two cars looked like their doors were welded together as they raced down the track. Bruce Allen took the win light.

Troy noted, "That was a good race. We both were side-by-side racing to the finishline. By qualifying at the CSK Nationals we have continued to meet one of my goals for the season, which is to qualify for every NHRA race during the 2000 season."

Coughlin added, "We will take everything back to our new shop and prepare for the Mac Tools Gatornationals. I expect us to come out swinging in Gainesville."

Jeg Coughlin faced off against fellow Central Ohio driver Larry Morgan in the first round. The yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass left the starting line first and never looked back and was rewarded with the win light at the finishline. Jeg ran a 6.938 @ 198.76 mph and had a .456 reaction time, the margin of victory was .120 seconds or 35 feet.

Jeg commented, "We made a solid run in the first round. However, we lost lane choice in the second round by .002 seconds."

Coughlin further explained, "My primary goal going into any round is always to gain lane choice for the next round. We did meet the secondary goal of winning the round, which gets us closer to the final round."

The second round put the '99 NHRA Winston Pro Stock Champion and No. 2 finisher Jeg Coughlin head-to-head. Seeing WJ & Jeg racing each other in an early round is a rarity. WJ had lane choice by .002 seconds.

Both cars pulled into the beams and Jeg grabbed the reaction time advantage by .006 seconds. The two cars raced side-by-side toward the finishline. Jeg and his Maskin/DART Machinery yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order machine pulled away to take the win light and advanced to the semifinal round with lane choice. The margin of victory was .030 seconds or 9 feet. Jeg ran a 6.951 @ 198.06 mph to WJ's losing 6.975 @ 198.61 mph.

Jeg commented, "We did what we set out to do that round. We were the quickest car of the round, we gained lane choice and we won the round."

In the semifinal round Jeg Coughlin faced off against Ron Krisher, the JEG'S Mail Order machine had lane choice. Krisher left the starting line first (.447 to .473) in the tricky left lane. Jeg and his JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass raced down the right lane like a rocket and took the win and advanced to his second final round of the 2000 NHRA season. Jeg once again made the quickest run of the round, which was a 6.960 @ 198.52 mph.

Jeg noted, "Our program is looking very strong. The team has a great handle on the setup and the car has been responding well to the changes that we have been making between rounds."

The final round put JEG'S Mail Order and Summit head-to-head in a battle of the high performance mail order companies from Ohio. This was the second time that the two drivers have met in a final round. The first meeting was at the '99 True Value Keystone Nationals, which Jeg won.

The two cars staged together, Pawuk left the starting line first. Jeg and his yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass launched from the starting line with authority. Coughlin raced down the middle of the groove in the right lane to take the win light and his second victory of the 2000 NHRA season at the CSK Nationals, which the second race of the season. Jeg ran a quicker 6.961 @ 198.44 mph to Pawuk's slower 7.081.

This victory marks Jeg Coughlin, Jr's 12th professional career win, 17th professional final round appearance, and he has won 12 straight rounds.

Jeg commented on the win, "The team work well all weekend. Everyone did a great job of reading the track conditions and making the changes to the car that responded well."

Coughlin added, "A win like this isn't possible without teamwork and that's what Team JEG'S is all about, winning together!"

Text provided by Scott Woodruff

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