---

NHRA: Both JEG'S Mail Order Cars Are In The Top Half

30 October 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

There are two races remaining in the '99 NHRA season and clock is ticking. Although the top spot has been taken in the '99 NHRA Winston points battle in Pro Stock there are plenty of interesting battles to keep your eyes on.

Jeg Coughlin is trailing Kurt Johnson in a battle for the number two position by 94 points. The '98 NHRA "Rookie of the Year" and his yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order machine is the defending champion two years running. Jeg enters the race with an amazing 8 and 0 record at the Matco Tools SuperNationals. He will spend his weekend working toward winning the race for the third straight year and gaining ground on Kurt Johnson in the points.

Troy Coughlin is in a battle of his own and will start the weekend resting in the number seven spot in the NHRA Winston Championship points. Troy is 47 points behind Mike Edwards and Richie Stevens is ahead to Troy by 99 points in the number five spot. Troy will continue to work on out performing the drivers ahead of him as well as Mark Pawuk who is in the number eight spot and trails Coughlin by 40 points.

During the first qualifying session Jeg was in the right lane, he was the first of the two yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order cars to go down the track. The car left the line and followed the groove all the way down the track. The car was a little sluggish in the first half, but came on very strong in the back half.

Jeg ended up in the number ten spot after the first qualifying session. Coughlin commented, "The car just did not respond as well as we wanted it to. We gained some good data that should help us throughout the weekend."

Troy took on the left lane during the first qualifying session. He launched from the starting line and the car gradually drove toward the left side of the groove. By the time the car was at half track the left side of the car was completely outside of the groove. Troy stayed with it and landed in the number seven position.

Troy noted, "We reviewed the video from the run and found an area to work on to improve how the chassis will respond to the setup."

Jeg lined up in the left lane for the second session, which took place in the evening. The weather conditions for the second session were an improvement over the first qualifying session conditions. He began the night session resting in the number ten slot.

The #2 yellow and black JEG'S Mail Order Olds Cutlass rocketed off of the starting line. The car was lined up with the groove as left the starting line, but the car favored the left side as it traveled down track. Jeg improved his qualifying time and jumped up to the number six spot.

Jeg said, "Were are getting close on the setup. We have two sessions left to improve and tomorrow morning we will probably have the best conditions of the weekend. We have more left and our job will be to get more out of the setup before the next qualifying session."

Troy started the second session sitting in the number seven spot and had his sights set on improving. The team worked hard between qualifying sessions and made some changes to the setup that helped the chassis and horsepower work together more efficiently.

The #24 JEG'S Mail Order machine driven by Troy Coughlin lined up in the right lane during the second session. The car darted out of the starting line beams and headed toward the finishline. Troy improved his qualifying time and slipped one spot to land in the number eight position.

Troy explained, "We are getting close with our setup, you can feel it in the car. We will go through all of our data and review the video to better tune the car. I think that we will come out of the trailer strong tomorrow."

Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.