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NHRA: JEG'S: The men in yellow and black are looking strong

19 August 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

There were a total of twenty-five "factory hot rods" that took on Brainerd International Raceway during the opening day of qualifying. The first two of the four scheduled qualifying sessions were run today.

Troy Coughlin was the first of the two identical looking Jeg's machines to roll into the waterbox for the first session. After a long smoke filled burnout that brought the fans to their feet cheering Troy staged in the right lane.

The car darted down the groove to the big end. He ran a 7.012 at 196.04 mph. Troy landed in the No. 8 position after the first qualifying session.

"It feels good to start off strong right out of the trailer," said Troy. "We have a solid baseline to tune from and that will help us all weekend long. This is going to be an exciting weekend for Team Jeg's!"

NHRA Pro Stock points leader Jeg Coughlin, Jr. followed his older brother Troy in the rotation in the same lane. Jeg also did a long burnout that got the crowd excited. He stopped past half-track.

The yellow and black Oldsmobile Cutlass launched from the starting line with authority. He rocketed down the middle of the groove like the car was on a string. Jeg recorded a pass of 6.971 at 196.79 mph to grab the No. 1 spot.

"The car responded well to the track right out of the trailer," commented Jeg. "I would like nothing more than to successfully defend last years win here."

In the second qualifying session Troy once again was the first of the two Jeg's machines to make a run. The car left the starting line and headed for the stripe. Troy improved over his first run. He ran a 6.990 at 196.47 mph and moved up two spots to land in the No. 6 position.

"We made some small changes to our set up and the car responded well down track," stated Troy. "We are learning more about the track with each run."

Jeg left the starting line and the run looked strong as he headed to the finish line. He did not improve over his previous time. Jeg ran a 6.972 at 196.96 mph and fell two spots to end up in the No. 3 slot after two sessions.

"We were looking for an improvement in our performance and qualifying time during the second session. The conditions were there for us," explained Jeg. "We have two more opportunities to improve tomorrow and we will be up to the challenge when the sun comes up in the morning."

Text provided by Scott Woodruff

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.