Coughlin family ready for eliminations in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Coughlin brothers, Troy, John, Mike, and Jeg, completed qualifying yesterday in their respective eliminators for this weekend’s Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trail Raceway. The Coughlin’s will now focus their attention on final eliminations, which will begin today.

“So far, everything is going well for us,” said Jeg Coughlin, who is racing in both Super Comp and Stock Eliminator. “My Super Comp dragster ran extremely well during time trials and I believe it is ready for the first round of eliminations. I have a lot of confidence in that car so now it’s up to me to do my job as a driver.

“This is the first time I’ve ever raced in Stock Eliminator but I’m slowly beginning to adjust,” Jeg continued. “My reaction times have been decent, between .030 and .040, but I’d like to step it up a little for the first round of eliminations. There is a lot of work left to do but we’re all looking forward to the start of eliminations. We’ve had some success here in the past so hopefully, we’ll be able to continue that tradition.”

John Coughlin held on to the top spot in Super Stock with his Jeg’s Mail Order Chevy Cavalier. Since there are an odd number of cars in the field, John will receive a bye run in the opening round of eliminations.

Mike and Troy Coughlin have completed their time trial runs in Super Comp and Super Gas, respectively and like their brothers, will compete in the opening round of eliminations on Saturday morning.

The Coughlin brother took a break from to their busy on-track schedule to watch family patriarch Jeg Sr., warm the engine of the Carrier Boyz Top Fuel dragster, which is flying the colors of Jeg’ s Mail Order this weekend. The Carrier Boyz dragster is sponsored by Fram Boost and is driven by 33-time national event winner Cory McClenathan.

“Watching dad warm Cory’s car was definitely the highlight of our day,” said Jeg. “He hasn’t raced in Top Fuel since the early 1980s but he looked very comfortable in there. I believe he really enjoyed himself.”