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NHRA: Jeg and Troy Coughlin will battle to meet in the final round

20 August 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

The final day of qualifying gave the drivers and teams two additional opportunities to either improve or qualify. A total of twenty-five "factory hot rods" battled for the sixteen available qualifying positions.

Troy and his JEG'S machine took on the left lane during the third qualifying session of the weekend. The car left the starting line and moved around down track. Troy ran a 7.001 at 196.19 mph and remained in the No. 8 position. He was the seventh quickest of the session.

"Our only real obstacle is getting this car to hook up and go straight during the second half of the track," explained Troy. "We learned a lot from the changes that we made to Jeg's car and that should help the set up in my car."

Jeg continued to follow Troy in the same lane during qualifying. The car rocketed off of the starting line and head straight down the middle of the groove. Jeg laid down an impressive 6.966 at 196.13 mph, which was the quickest run of the session. He improved his qualifying time and stayed in the No. 3 position.

"We made a nice run during the third session. The car responded well to the set up changes that we made," said Jeg. "We showed our teams strength during that run."

Troy launched from the starting line beams during the final session and the car hooked up well in the first half of the track. The car moved around down track and favored the right side of the groove when he crossed the finish line. Troy ran a 7.027 at 184.83 mph.

"We made some changes that we felt would help us a little better down track," noted Troy. "We are armed with plenty of data on this track and we will be ready for first round tomorrow."

Jeg darted down the middle of the track. The car favored the left side of the groove from the 1000-foot clock on. Jeg ran a 7.003 at 195.34 mph and got bumped down one spot. He landed in the No. 4 position.

"The car was a little on the edge for the final session," said Jeg. "We will tone it down for tomorrow and put our game face on."

Jeg and Troy Coughlin will battle tomorrow to paint BIR yellow and black. Jeg qualified No. 4 and will face off against Allen Johnson in the opening round. Troy landed in the No. 9 position and will line up next to V. Gaines in round one.

Text provided by Scott Woodruff

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