On Monday at the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt were off by just a hair in the second round and it cost him.
“We thought we might be able to improve from first round,” Coughlin said. “Obviously we just tipped over that sweet spot and lost a little bit of traction coming out of second (gear) and heading into third. The tires spun just enough to let V. (Gaines) get past us.
“We need a little lady luck sometimes and we didn’t get that today.”
Starting the day, Coughlin had a convincing victory over Rodger Brogdon in the first round, cruising to a pass of 6.620 seconds at 208.20 mph against Brogdon’s 6.670 at 207.30 mph.
“The first round was so-so,” Couglin said. “We were shocked at the performance of most of the other cars. I know what my car felt like.”
In the second round against V. Gaines, Coughlin’s car slipped up going through the gears and that was enough for Gaines to move through with a 6.620 at 208.91 mph, ahead of Coughlin’s 6.655 at 208.20 mph.
Coughlin lost a spot in the standings, but kept points leader Mike Edwards in his sights. Coughlin slipped to fourth overall, and he’s now 87 markers behind Edwards, who was runner-up to Greg Stanfield.
“Ideally you get off to a great start here at Indy, and I make up some ground on the two guys ahead of me in the points,” Coughlin said. “No big deal. You take a look at the schedule and see Charlotte, Las Vegas, and Pomona – all tracks I’ve had a lot of success at, coming up next.
“We’re still within striking distance and there’s a lot of rounds left to race.”
The tour takes a weekend off before heading to zMax Dragway in Charlotte Sept. 17-19 for the Carolina NHRA Nationals.
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