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NHRA: John and Mike Coughlin will battle to meet in the final round

9 July 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

John Coughlin and his JEG'S Chevy S-10 began the second day of qualifying sitting in the No. 10 position overall and the No. 7 spot for the Winston Showdown. The team made some big changes to the set up and it showed.

John ran a 7.668 at 175.34 mph in the third session. He moved up eight spots to the No. 2 position.

"We made a lot of changes to our set up for the third session," explained John. "The truck responded well to the changes. It was a great move forward and the team was rewarded for their hard work."

Mike Coughlin rolled into the third session sitting in the No. 5 spot. He continued his streak of improving each run at "Thunder Valley." Mike ran a 7.684 at 175.62 mph. Although he improved his qualifying time during the third session he stayed in the No. 5 position.

"The changes that we made to my truck weren't as drastic as what the guys did to John's truck," commented Mike. "Having the data from John's run to use and learn from should help improve the set up on my truck for the rest of the weekend."

During the final qualifying session the track was hot and sticky from the sun beating down on it all day. The teams got a close look at what they have in store tomorrow on raceday.

Neither Mike or John improved their qualifying times during the final session. John ran a 7.775 at 175.23 mph and Mike laid down a run of 7.725 at 174.93 mph.

"I am really looking forward to racing tomorrow for the great folks at Winston," stated John. "I think that we will be pretty strong as a team when it counts the most."

"This facility is so great. It's energizing to me to just be here," said Mike. "We will be ready for some fun tomorrow and we are looking forward to putting on a great show for Winston and all of the fans of NHRA Winston Drag Racing."

A total of 15 Pro Stock Trucks rolled through the gates of Bristol Dragway this weekend. Six of the eight qualifying positions were pre seeded, which left 11 drivers to battle for the two open qualifying spots in the 2nd Annual Winston Showdown.

After four qualifying session John landed in the No. 2 position and Mike will battle from the No. 5 spot. In round one John will face off against Steve Johns. Mike will go head-to-head with Jeff Gracia. John and Mike will battle to meet in the final round for the first ever all-JEG'S final for the JEG'S Pro Stock Truck team.

Text provided by Scott Woodruff

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