Troy Coughlin Returns To Site Of First Pro Mod Victory

ENGLISHTOWN, June 9, 2010: Reigning NMCA Pro Street world champion Troy Coughlin will return to the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series this weekend when the NHRA tour descends on Old Bridge Township Raceway Park for the 41st annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals.

The veteran racer won the Pro Mod title at this event in 2005, his first year in the class. He'd love nothing more than to repeat the feat this time through and seize the points lead at the midway point of the 10-race GSA season. Currently, Coughlin is just 36 points, or less than two rounds of action, behind leader Von Smith.

"We need to dig deep and make zero mistakes to give ourselves a chance," Coughlin said. "If we can start strong and get in the fast eight on the elimination ladder, that would be awesome. That’s always the first goal.

"It's important for us to use every qualifying session to get this JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro in top form. We're running nitrous and we're still at a power deficit to the supercharged cars even when we do everything right so the best way to be competitive is maximize our time on the track."

With three races in the next three weekends, Coughlin has a feeling the true contenders in the Pro Mod class will move to the forefront in the month of June. Being based in Ohio should provide his team with the opportunity to keep their racecar in top form despite the crowded schedule.

"We'll come home right after Englishtown and freshen everything up before we head to Bristol (Tenn.) for the Thunder Valley Nationals," Coughlin said. "Then we'll be able to come home again before Norwalk (Ohio) because that's just up the road from us. I'm not sure every team will have the luxury of going back to their shops between all three of these races.

"It's going to be a busy couple of weeks. Hopefully, we don't hurt anything and we get the car dialed in well this weekend and ride it all month long. We need to make sure every fitting, every wire, every nut and bolt, is in its proper place, and I need to do my part behind the wheel."

Coughlin hasn't been idle since the last Pro Mod race in Atlanta as he decided to pull out his JEGS.com Pontiac GXP Pro Street car and defend his NMCA world title.

"It was pretty cool to get back out there with my NMCA friends last weekend in Reading," he said. "We're gonna run the rest of that series as well so we'll be doing a lot of racing from now on, and that's exciting."

Pro Mod qualifying for the 41st annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals begins at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. EDT Friday.