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NHRA: Runner up finish for Jeg Coughlin; Troy Coughlin goes out in the semifinals

31 July 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

A total of 26 Pro Stock drivers and their crews battled over four qualifying sessions to be among the "quick sixteen" that get to play in the quarter-mile "sandbox" on raceday. The 16 qualified "factory hot rods" were separated by .052 seconds.

Jeg and Troy Coughlin started raceday from opposite sides of the ladder, which gave them the opportunity to be rewarded with an all-JEG'S match up in the final round. Their yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order Cutlass' began their battle from the No. 3 and No. 8 spots respectfully.

In the first round Troy faced off against Darrell Alderman. There were no games on the starting line with this pair. The JEG'S machine grabbed the reaction time advantage by .021 seconds (.467 to .488). The two cars battled for the win light side-by-side.

Troy won on a holeshot by .013 seconds at the stripe. He ran a 6.985 at 196.90 mph to a quicker 6.977 at 196.04 mph.

"The changes that we made have really helped this car ride the bumps better down track," explained Troy. "The teams hard work is paying dividends when it needs to the most."

Jeg went head-to-head with Tom Martino in the opening round. Martino rolled into both lights quickly in an effort to throw the points leader off of his game. Jeg and his Olds Cutlass approached the starting line beams carefully. Coughlin took a monster advantage off of the line (.430 to .473) to begin his quest for the win light.

The JEG'S machine flawlessly rocketed down the track to the big end. Martino ran into problems and was forced to watch Jeg turn on the win light from the front row seat in his Pontiac Firebird. Coughlin made the quickest run of the round by running a 6.933 at 197.83 mph.

"We learned a lot during qualifying about how to get my car to work better on this tricky track," commented Jeg. "I have never gotten past first round at this track and it feels good to get that monkey off of my back."

Troy lined up next to Ron Krisher in the next round. Krisher is second in the points and is trying to chase down Jeg for the No. 1 spot, which made this round very important for the Team JEG'S.

Troy had a .030 second advantage (.468 to .498) off of the line. The two cars were welded together at the door as they battled to advance to the semifinal round. The win light came on for Troy by .008 seconds at the finish line. This round victory marked his sixth holeshot win of the season and second of the day. Troy ran a 6.996 at 196.59 mph to Krisher's quicker run of 6.974 at 196.59 mph.

"Winning the second round was an important for our team," said Troy. "By winning it helped to put more distance between my brother and Ron Krisher. It also put me one step close to reclaiming the No. 4 spot in the points."

In the second round Jeg Coughlin, Jr's opponent was Jim Yates. Coughlin had lane choice and stuck with the left lane. Jeg rolled into both beams on the starting line and Yates followed.

Jegster grabbed the reaction time advantage by .024 seconds (.464 to .488) off of the line. Both cars took off toward the stripe. Jeg turned on the win light in his lane on a holeshot. He ran a 6.984 at 197.83 mph to a quicker 6.971 at 197.65 mph.

"After watching Troy win against Krisher it gave us the opportunity to add some points to our lead," said Jeg. "That round win also put us closer to having an all-JEG'S final and that is a goal that we have going into every race."

In the semifinal Troy had lane choice over Richie Stevens. The advantage off of the starting line went to Stevens by .029 seconds (.451 to 480). The two cars were side-by-side until Troy ran into traction problems just before half track. The rear of the car moved from side-to-side and Troy was forced to coast to the finish line. The win light came on for Stevens.

"The car favored the right side of the groove when I left the starting line," said Troy. "We lost traction down track and the rear of the car started moving around. I thought that it was better to shut off rather then push the envelope too far and get burned."

Jeg faced Kurt Johnson in the semifinal round. Both drivers rolled into the starting line beams together and Kurt left the line first by .002 seconds (.458 to .460). Kurt headed straight for the centerline and shut off. Jeg ran into problems of his own down track before he turned on the win light to advance to the final round.

"That was far from a pretty run," stated Jeg. "The track really threw us a curve ball in the semifinal."

The final round match up was Jeg against Richie Stevens. Jeg left the starting line first by .027 seconds (.455 to .482). Both cars darted toward the finish line. Jeg lost traction down track in the right lane and was forced to shut off.

"We gained more points toward the NHRA Winston Championship and strengthened our points lead this weekend," said Jeg. "We will head straight to Sonoma and we will be ready for battle when we get there."

Text Provided By Scott Woodruff

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