Strong Finish High On Troy Coughlin's Wish List

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 24, 2010: World champion drag racer Troy Coughlin could carve out another slice of history at the upcoming 10th annual Las Vegas nationals by becoming the only driver in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series to successfully qualify for every event in the inaugural 2010 season.

A past winner in the crowd-pleasing category when it was contested as an exhibition class, Coughlin knows that qualifying for the season-ending event would not only add a nice line to his resume, but also set him off in the right direction towards his ultimate goal of winning the race.

"It's pretty cool, especially when you look at the quality of the teams in this class, that we've been able to qualify for every race," said Coughlin, the reigning NMCA Pro Street world champion. "I think it's something our guys should be very proud of. They're the ones that have adapted to all the different conditions we've encountered and handled the pressure of shortened qualifying sessions. They've consistently given me a great racecar and they deserve all the credit.

"Hopefully we can qualify well in Vegas, sweep the season, and then do some damage in eliminations. My family as a whole has done extremely well at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and I'd really like to win one there as well. Even my son T.J. has won there so I need to catch up."

Although the championship is just out of reach, Coughlin could finish as high as second in the GSA rankings should everything fall into place.

"We've got the car to win the race," Coughlin said. "This JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro is loaded up and ready. The guys had a chance to clean everything up and prepare all of the pieces. Rickie (Smith, crew chief) told me he has a really good gameplan for this track and that gets me fired up.

"Of course Las Vegas is always fun and we have our year-ending banquet Sunday night at the top of the Stratosphere Tower so I'm sure we're in for a good time. (Series organizer) Roger Burgess has done so much for this class and we should all thank him for the best season of Pro Mod racing we've ever experienced."

Pro Mod qualifying begins with two sessions at 11:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Friday.