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NHRA: Coughlin Brothers continue to do well; Troy in 3rd, Jeg in 1st

20 March 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Troy Coughlin and his JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass faced off against Larry Morgan in the first round. Coughlin had lane choice and took the left lane. The two drivers staged together. Troy left the starting line first by .029 seconds. The JEG'S machine charged down the middle of the groove to the finishline. Troy won on a hole shot. He ran a 6.944 at 197.71 mph. The true margin of victory was .018 seconds at the stripe.

"That was a great race." Troy further explained, "That was the first time in a long time that I won a race on a hole shot."

Jeg Coughlin and his JEG'S machine lined up next to Darrell Alderman, the yellow and black Olds Cutlass had lane choice and took the left lane. Alderman took a reaction time advantage of .015 seconds, but Coughlin charged off of the starting line and straight down the middle of the groove. Jeg and the men in yellow and black turned on the win light. He ran a 6.881 at 198.67 mph. He was the second quickest car of the round by .002 seconds.

"My goal going into the first round was to gain lane choice for the second round." Jeg added, "The JEG'S machine took off from the starting line and hooked up with the track all the way to the win light."

Troy and his car were in the first pair of Pro Stock cars to attack the track in the second round. Coughlin had lane choice and took the left lane. Bruce Allen and Troy both rolled into the starting line beams carefully. The yellow and black JEG'S machine got the jump off of the start line and turned on the win light to advance to the semifinal round.

"The car followed the groove all the way down the track." Troy stated, "Our goal was to get lane choice. That didn't happen, but the win light came on and the JEG'S machine advanced to the next round."

Jeg faced off against Richie Stevens in the second round. Coughlin and his JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass had lane choice and took the left lane. Both cars took their time rolling into the starting line beams. Stevens took the reaction time advantage off of the line. Both cars raced side-by-side toward the finishline. Jeg ran a 6.943 at 198.64 mph to Richie's slightly quicker 6.940 at 197.16 mph to take the win light.

"The car really bounced up off of the track half way down." Jeg said, "The season is young and we will focus on preparing for the next race."

The semifinal round put Troy and Richie Stevens head-to-head. Stevens had lane choice in this battle and took the left lane. Stevens left the starting line first (.416 to .445). The Richard Maskin/DART Machinery powered yellow and black JEG'S Olds Cutlass came on strong. The two cars raced side-by-side wanting both to turn the win light on in their respective lanes. Troy took the win light by .002 seconds and was rewarded with lane choice for the final round.

"That run was exactly what our team set out to do. Turn the win light on and get lane choice for the final round." Troy added, "We made an engine change before the semifinal round, which proved to again to show how strong that this JEG'S team is under pressure."

Troy Coughlin and Warren Johnson faced off in the final round. The yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass had lane choice and took the left lane. Troy left the starting line first. As the car got down track he ran into a transmission problem and was forced to coast to the finishline.

Troy commented, "Our team did a great job this weekend and we continued to show our teams strength. Our team will take everything back to our shop and be ready for the next race."

Troy Coughlin made the biggest jump of the weekend in the Pro Stock points. He moved into the No. 3 spot. Younger brother Jeg continues to hold the top spot going into the fourth race of the 2000 NHRA season.

Text provided by Scott Woodruff

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