Runner-up finish lifts Troy Coughlin (NMCA/JEG'S)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 3) -- Troy Coughlin recorded a runner-up finish Sunday  
at the Jeg's NMCA Hot Rod & Muscle Car Nationals at National Trail Raceway.  
It was the best result of the Denso Spark Plugs Pro Street season for the 
former  NHRA Pro Stock star and will certainly lift him in the NMCA rankings from 
his  prerace perch of sixth place.
 
"What a great day of racing," Coughlin said. "I would think we'll move up  
one or two spots at a minimum so we pretty much accomplished what we set out to  
do. I would have loved to have made a run in the final but it wasn't meant to 
be  this time around. Still, we're pumped up about this race."
 
Coughlin didn't take his Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier down NTR's  
quarter-mile in the final after experiencing engine trouble during his massive  
6.70- to 6.61-second holeshot win over second-ranked racer Randall Hayes. During 
 that run, Coughlin's powerplant broke the mandrel on the front of the crank, 
 which resulted in a complete loss of oil pressure. The damage incurred was 
too  dramatic to fix in the 45 minute period between the semis and the final.
 
Final-round opponent Carl Roslin showed great sportsmanship in waiting an  
additional 15 minutes for Coughlin to make the call, but the Jeg's team couldn't 
 risk sending their man down the track with the potential for more 
catastrophic  engine damage to occur.
 
"We wanted to make the run but we just didn't feel it was worth risking  it," 
Coughlin said. "We would have nuked the motor for good if we had tried. We  
had zero oil pressure. The guys were running crazy trying to fix the problem 
and  the TV cameras were following our every move, but we couldn't pull it off.
 
"It was cool to have so many Jeg's employees out rooting for us. They were  
all blown away by the elapsed times and speeds we were running. What was neat 
is  they got to see the parts they sell for us every day in use on a real  
racecar."
 
The next event on the NMCA tour is the Motive Gear NMCA/NMRA Super Bowl of  
Street Legal Drag Racing I presented by Nitto Tires, July 27-30, at Route 66  
Raceway in the Chicago suburb of Joliet, Ill.