Coughlin Nipped By Reigning Pro Stock Champ In Englishtown Semifinals

ENGLISHTOWN, June 14, 2010: In a battle of Pro Stock world champions, reigning titlist Mike Edwards managed to squeak out a semifinal round victory over four-time champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Sunday's 41st annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals.

Coughlin got the jump on Edwards at the starting line, leaving the tree with a superior .038-second reaction time ahead of Edwards' .053-second launch, but his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt didn't quite have enough to hold off Edwards' hard-charging Pontiac GXP and he lost by .01 seconds -- 6.592 at 209.30 mph to 6.622 at 209.14 mph.

"Just a great drag race there," Coughlin said. "We did everything we could. I got the jump on him and we both put up great passes. I actually thought we could match his performance even in that right lane because both sides were pretty darn good. They just found a little extra and beat us.

"After the weekend we've had there's nothing at all for us to hang our heads about. We were off by a skosh in Q2 and slipped to fifth. All in all we had a solid weekend."

Earlier in the day, Coughlin opened eliminations by beating teammate Rodger Brogdon by .001 seconds with a 6.637 at 209.26 mph to Brogdon's 6.643 at 207.94 mph. He then dispatched second-place points earner Allen Johnson with a 6.616 at 209.20 mph to Johnson's flagging 6.976 at 155.02 mph.

Coughlin will remain a solid third in the championship points and should be in a position to clinch a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs in the next few races.

"We're already thinking about next weekend in Bristol, one of the best tracks in the country," Coughlin said. "We'll be ready to rock and roll."