NHRA: Coughlins seek hometown victory at Pontiac Excitement Nationals
15 June 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio - It took a while, but Jeg Coughlin finally found his match.
The car that ended his victory parade was a familiar yellow and black Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Hey, what are brothers for anyway?
Troy Coughlin ended Jeg's stranglehold on the 200-mph category at Dallas, handing the season's points leader and six-time winner a rare first round loss.
Their photo-finish duel was one of the closest, side-by-side races of the season.
Troy used a holeshot start to defeat his younger brother's quicker racecar by .003 seconds. In layman's terms, that's about the length of an eyelash.
"When you run two competitive cars it's bound to happen eventually," said Troy, still winless after seven career final rounds. "Our mentality has always been to focus on getting the most out of the car and winning the race, no matter who is in the opposite lane."
Despite defeating his points-leading brother in the opening stanza, Troy met his match in an equally close semifinal contest with the category's 'professor', Warren Johnson. Johnson's Firebird edged the Columbus driver's Olds by .002 seconds at the finish -- or by about six inches.
"The racing we did in Dallas is about as close as it gets," Troy said. "At the stripe the margin was so slim that I didn't know who had won either race until I got out of the car."
Troy expects even more tight, side-by-side racing at the 36th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing, June 15-18, at historic National Trail Raceway. The $1.9 million race is the 11th of 23 events in the $45 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"Our program has a lot of momentum right now and that's a good thing as we're heading home for our favorite race of the year," Troy said . "We need to stay focused and continue to treat every race the same - like it's the first one of the season."
V. IS FOR VICTORY: The V in V. Gaines stands for Vieri. But three weeks ago in Dallas, the V stood for victory. Category journeyman Gaines drove his Western Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to his first career victory, defeating Pro Stock kingpin Warren Johnson.
Gaines, who made his third career final appearance and first since 1998 in Sonoma, Calif., becomes only the third different winner of the season. "I think it'll take a while for it to sink in," the Lakewood, Colo. driver said. "It's been a long time coming. I rode to winner's circle with John Force and I told him if No. 85 feels like No. 1, then he ought to be jumpin' up and down. He said, 'This is your first one? The first one is the best one.'"
JOHNSON REMAINS FOCUSED: Warren Johnson isn't letting the runaway Jeg's racing team distract him from his mission. Despite trailing six-time season winner Jeg Coughlin by more than 200 points, Johnson remains hopeful of securing a sixth Pro Stock championship. The 80-time career winner has posted only one victory this season - at Gainesville, Fla.
Johnson, who admits that he's been busy developing a potent tune-up for future seasons, is anxious to see Summer approaching, where he's been tough in the past. Johnson, 56, is the defending winner of the Pontiac Excitement Nationals, a race he's won three times during his storied career.
"When you look at where we're at on the schedule, we're not in that bad shape," said Johnson, who defeated current points leader Coughlin for the victory here last year. "We're coming into the hot part of the season and I think that's going to work to our advantage. There's still a lot of racing left."
PAWUK LEADS OHIO PRO STOCK CHARGE: Mark Pawuk could think of no better way to top his strong season than by winning the Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing. With a victory at his home track, Pawuk, from Bath, Ohio, could enjoy it with family and friends, as well as celebrate with the two primary sponsors of his Summit Pontiac Firebird, also the official event sponsors. Pawuk is currently fifth in the Winston point standings, 26 out of third place.
"Hopefully we're starting to gain the momentum again as we get a little closer to Columbus," said Pawuk, winless on the circuit since 1995 at Memphis, Tenn. "Our race day tune-up is looking pretty good. We just need to improve on our qualifying numbers and keep going rounds on race day. Hopefully at the end of the year you'll see this car in the top five in points."
HINES GOES 'OLD SCHOOL': Feeling too many new tricks were spoiling his season, three-time defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Hines pulled out his notebook from 1999, made adjustments to his Eagle One Suzuki, and the results at Dallas showed a passing grade.
Hines posted a top-qualifying effort and won the race with low elapsed time for the weekend. He defeated Winston points leader Angelle Seeling in the final round. He knows if he's to claim a fourth Winston crown, he'll need to repeat the effort at National Trail Raceway.
"I've felt like a rookie out there during the last few races," said Hines, who occupied the fourth spot in the point standings prior to his win at Dallas. With the victory, he moved to second in points.
"We've just been trying some new stuff," continued Hines, a two-time winner at the Ohio quarter-mile track. "At Dallas we went back to the old school way of doing things and it paid off."
Hines earned the No. 1 qualifying award at this event last season, but Team 23 Suzuki rider Antron Brown claimed the victory, defeating Dave Schultz.
TRUCKING TITLE DEFENSE: Hometown favorite John Coughlin, the oldest of four racing brothers from the Columbus, Ohio area, will seek to defend his Pro Stock Truck victory while a tough field of opponents tries to deny him, including, among others, his brother Mike, who drives an identical Jeg's Mail Order Chevy S-10.
Season-long points leader and defending champ Bob Panella holds the Winston points lead over four-time season winner and fellow Chevy S-10 driver Randy Daniels.
SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying is scheduled for 2:45 and 6:45 p.m. on June 16 and continues at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on June 17. Final professional eliminations start at 11 a.m. on June 18.
TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 36th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing. Call (800) 884-6472, or Ticketmaster for ticket information.
ON TV: ESPN2 will televise two hours of eliminations coverage on June 18 at 5 p.m. (ET). ESPN2 also will televise one hour of early eliminations on June 18 at 1:30 p.m. (ET). In addition, the all-sports network will televise two hours of qualifying highlights on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
Text provided by Anthony Vestal
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