INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 31) – Two Team JEGS drivers bettered their qualifying numbers on rain-shortened Saturday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
For Pro Stock's Jeg Coughlin Jr., Saturday's racing was kind of like a fishing trip. He was happy with the run his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger made during the brutal conditions in the afternoon, but the night session that got away was on his mind the most.
"We definitely wanted to get a run after the rains came through," Coughlin said. "We wanted to be able to get after the racetrack a little bit more. The track was in great shape considering it was 130 degrees and had a lot of cars down it over the last four days."
In the afternoon, Coughlin's lap was in 6.710 seconds at 205.72 mph, which was fifth best of the session Saturday, but not better than his Friday run of 6.688 at 206.88 mph that kept him in the No. 7 spot headed into Sunday's final qualifying sessions.
"Before the rains came, the conditions were as unhelpful as they could be for Pro Stock cars," Coughlin said. "It was hot, the air was wet and the barometer was extremely low. The track isn't at a high elevation and that's the only thing we've not had working against us this weekend.
"We run quite a bit earlier in the day tomorrow, and I think that first session is going to be our best session of the race so far. We made a nice run. It didn't move us up the ladder, but it did move us up among our peers since we were seventh best Friday and fifth best today. There's a lot left on the table to get our ETs a little bit better."
In Pro Mod, Troy Coughlin improved his time in his turbocharged JEGS.com Corvette in his lone run on Saturday. Troy made a pass of 6.118 at 238.55 mph that was an improved ET from his Friday night pass of 6.151 seconds. Troy currently sits 10th with one qualifying round to go.
The U.S. Nationals ended for Troy Coughlin Jr. on Saturday after a fourth-round loss in Super Comp. Troy Jr. had a bye in the third round before drawing Frank Kohutek in the fourth round. Kohutek beat Troy Jr. by only about four feet, with his lap of 8.910 seconds at 168.18 mph with at .005-second reaction time. Troy Jr. ran an 8.917 at 177.51 mph with a .013 reaction time.