Jeg Coughlin lucky to earn 13th spot on opening day

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals
Heartland Park Topeka
Topeka, KS
May 27th

JEG’S Mail Order / Mopar – Dodge Stratus RT
Jeg Coughlin Jr. – Pro Stock
Friday Qualifying Summary

Jeg Coughlin waited out a lengthy rain delay Friday before he ever got a chance to put his Jeg’s Mail Order Dodge Stratus R/T on the racing surface of Heartland Park Topeka. And just like the unpredictable Midwest weather, Coughlin and many of the other drivers in the Pro Stock category had mixed results in the opening two rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Summer Nationals, which were run much later than originally scheduled.

Thing started well in Round 1 as Coughlin streaked down a freshly-washed quarter-mile in 6.785 seconds at 203.12 mph to temporarily qualify sixth overall. Unfortunately, that was his best run of the day as he failed to improve in a hit-or-miss second session that ended with drivers either posting track record numbers or spinning and sliding out of the groove. His 6.788 at 203.43 mph didn’t help and he ultimately slipped to 13th place.

“We’re in the show and that’s always exciting,” Coughlin said. “We had a combination of things go wrong in Round 2. We were probably too aggressive with the tune-up and I had it revved up a little too much at the start. The two things combined didn’t agree with the car and we lost a lot of momentum down low. It just magnified all the way down.

“We’ll get this car prepared for tomorrow and see if we can’t improve. It should be good weather in the morning and we’ll step on it and see what happens. I’m optimistic.”

Coughlin and crew will have two more chances to better their position Saturday. The final two sessions of professional qualifying are slated to begin at noon and 3 p.m.


TELEVISION:

Saturday, May 28, ESPN will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 29, ESPN2 will televise three hours of eliminations at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 29, ESPN2 will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11:30 a.m. (ET).

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