NHRA: Team Jeg's wants to make it three in a row
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
April 29, 2001
Jeg and Troy Coughlin started the second day of qualifying needing to improve from the No. 11 and No. 23 position respectfully. Team Jeg's battled to find the right balance between getting hold of the track and wheel speed during the initial launch from the starting line.
Troy was the first of the two identical looking Jeg's Chevrolet Cavaliers to take on the track during the third qualifying session. He was in the second pair of cars. Troy launched from the line and took off down the middle of the groove until the car got to the 330-foot clock. The car struggled with traction and Troy skated around. He was forced to shut off.
"The track is getting hotter by the minute and traction is becoming a real problem. We made the decision to put a new engine between the frame rails of the Jeg's Chevy Cavalier for the final qualifying session. Sometimes drastic changes have to made when you least want to," explained Troy.
Jeg rolled into the left lane for the third session. The Jeg's bow tie blasted off of the line on the aggressive side. Jeg ran a 7.045 at 197.13 mph with excessive wheel speed throughout the run.
"We made a lot of changes to our set up going into the third session in an effort to improve our qualifying position significantly. We were on the aggressive side of things. We felt like it was the right thing to do and after reviewing the data from the run we went in the wrong direction," said Jeg.
Troy was on the outside looking in when the final session began. The Jeg's Cavalier rocketed off of the line and blasted down the middle of the groove. Troy ran a very impressive 7.007 at 197.39 mph. The run was an improvement and was one of the quickest runs of the session. However, it was not enough to break into the field.
"We made an engine change and changed our thinking about how to tackle the track in the final session. We made a move in the right direction and the Jeg's machine responded well to the changes that we made. Unfortunately it was a little too late. We needed to make the run that we made in the final session when we rolled the bow tie out of the trailer on Friday for the first session," explained Troy.
In the final session Jeg and his Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier took on the right lane. He blasted down the middle of the groove all the way to the big end. He ran a 6.990 at 197.39 mph and stayed in the No. 11 spot.
"The run that we made in the final session will really help us out a lot tomorrow. We will have these conditions on raceday and we now know what the Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier responds well to. We expect tomorrow will be another great day for Team Jeg's, Chevrolet and Mac Tools," said Jeg.
Team Jeg's has had more success at Bristol Dragway then any other Pro Stock team. Jeg will face off against Jim Yates in the opening round. Yates will have lane choice when the two meet. The reigning Pro Stock Champion made the quickest run in the heat of the day during the final session.
The conditions on raceday are expected to be very similar to what the team experienced in the final session. Jeg has won the last two races, has had plenty of success at this track and made the quickest run of the final session. All off those things make the chances of Team Jeg's making in it three in a row look pretty good for the men in yellow and black.
Text provided by Scott Woodruff
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