Troy wins Englishtown Pro Mod title; Jeg dropped by teammate (NHRA/JEG'S)

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
NHRA K&N  Filters Supernationals  
 
 
Old Bridge Raceway Park
Englishtown, NJ
June 19th
 
Jeg Coughlin - JEG'S Mail  Order / Mopar - Dodge Stratus RT 
Troy Coughlin - JEG'S Mail Order - '67 Ford  Mustang
Race Day Summary




 
Troy wins Englishtown Pro Mod title; Jeg dropped by  teammate

Jeg's Mail Order racer Troy Coughlin collected  his first win of the 2005 AMS 
Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge series Sunday by  beating Zach Barklage at 
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.  The former Pro Stock 
star, who made the switch to Pro Mod this past off-season,  needed just seven 
races behind the wheel of his Ford Shelby Mustang to claim his  first Iron Eagle 
trophy given to race winners.

Coughlin gave up a big  starting-line edge to Barklage, following Barklage's 
.030-second start with a  .104-second launch, but he had his opponent reeled 
in by the first timing cone  at 60-feet, flexing his massive horsepower for a 
car-length victory. The  scoreboards showed Coughlin crossing in 6.124 seconds 
at 231.04 mph to  Barklage's 6.262 at 229.00 mph.

"Chuck and the guys did a great job all  weekend," stated Troy.  "It feels so 
good to win and the fact that  it's father's day makes it so much sweeter.  
Meghan and TJ were giving me  plenty of encouragement all day at the track.  
What a great feeling to have  on Father's Day.  It's a dream come true to win a 
race for your dad on  Father's Day."

After zipping past Troy Critchley Saturday night with a  6.133-second pass at 
230.21 mph, Coughlin didn't stray far from his winning  formula, beating Joey 
Martin with a 6.131 at 231.32 mph, and Todd Patterson with  a 6.132 at 231.60 
mph to reach his first final round in the hugely-popular  exhibition class.

"We had a very predictable car all weekend," commented  Troy.  "This just 
shows what a strong team that Mike Ashley has  assembled.  We had a fun day today 
as a team."  

Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin knew he needed his best pass of the  weekend 
against his Don Schumacher Racing teammate and opening-round opponent  Richie 
Stevens Jr. During qualifying, Stevens had outrun jeg by more than three  
hundredths of a second, making it obvious to the Jeg's Mail Order Dodge Stratus  
R/T crew that they needed to improve.

Under cloudy skies and cool  temperatures, Jeg and team delivered and the 
three-time Englishtown winner took  advantage of the conditions and posted his 
quickest and fastest run of the  entire weekend. Unfortunately, his vastly 
improved 6.716-second pass at 206.70  mph still wasn't enough for Stevens and his 
identically prepared Mopar Dodge  Stratus R/T, which rocketed to a 6.669 at 
206.13 mph. Both marks were  career-bests for Stevens.

"The only positive out of the day was that my  teammate advanced," a dejected 
Jeg said at the top end. "We were a little too  aggressive. We knew we needed 
a big run and we tried to set low elapsed time of  the round. It was just too 
much for the track to hold.

"Overall, this  two-car deal is working great. When you stand back and look 
at how far we've  come in 11 races, it's amazing. But when you continually lose 
races by inches or  go up against guys running their best numbers ever, it 
tends to wear you out.  We'll be fine. I was just hoping for bigger things this 
weekend, especially  after our runner-up finish last week in Chicago."

Next up for the  Coughlin's is the ninth annual Sears Craftsman NHRA 
Nationals at Gateway  International Raceway in St. Louis. Jeg won the circuit's only 
night race in  2002.