Another semifinal helps John Coughlin’s cause

NORWALK, May 18: For the second straight race, John Coughlin drove his Team JEGS dragster to a semifinal finish in the Top Dragster class at a North Central Division Lucas Oil Series event. Following his semifinal finish last month in Indianapolis, Coughlin once again made it into the final four during this weekend’s event in Norwalk, Ohio. Coughlin took an early lead against opponent Edward Dudley, but had to abort the run a short time later.

“I’m still not exactly sure what happened but my car shook the tires and I had to shut off,” John said. “I may have been out of the groove just a bit and when one tire is spinning and the other is hooked, the car will shake. We’re running a completely different combination than we had last year and this car is making so much horsepower that it is capable of doing things like that.

“That was a tough way to lose a drag race but I can’t complain about two semifinals in two races. If nothing else, I should be looking pretty good in the points. I’m pretty happy with the way I drove this weekend and I’m happy with the way the new Mullis Race Cars dragster performed.”

John also competed in Super Stock with his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt, where he qualified No. 1 in the 84-car field. John ultimately lost his second round match against Allen Wade.

“I knew going into this race that my Super Stock car is very fast an it was nice to qualify on the pole,” John continued. “I have to give a lot of credit to the crew at JEGS and to Jeff Taylor, who has been helping with our engine program. Obviously, it has made a difference. I felt like I was driving well in Super Stock but the guy I raced put together a great run. He was almost perfect and there was no way I was going to beat him. We’ll just have to hope for a little better luck next time.”

Making his debut in the Top Dragster class, John’s brother, Mike, qualified fifth with a 6.69 elapsed time and posted a round two finish when his car also shook the tires. Mike Coughlin is a former North Central Division champion in Super Comp and Top Sportsman.

“This was my first race in a brand new car so I guess I can’t complain,” said Mike. “The car was very fast and very consistent but it shook pretty hard in the second round. We learned a lot this weekend so now we can take that data home, make a few changes, and be ready for the next race.”

The third Team JEGS member, 18-year old, Troy Jr., competed in the Super Comp class with his eight-second dragster but lost in the opening round of eliminations. The next stop for the JEGS Mail Order team will be Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., for the United Association Route 66 Nationals, June 4-7, which is also the site of the annual JEGS Allstars competition. The following weekend (June 12-14), Route 66 Raceway will also host the third North Central Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the season.