INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1) – Team JEGS drivers continued their march through the field on Saturday at the 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Early afternoon rain took a big bite out of the day's schedule, but both the Team JEGS Sportsman and Pro contingents were able to get some racing in during the day.
Troy Coughlin Jr. reached the final eight of Super Comp following his third round victory over Chuck Ridenhour in the morning. Troy Jr. was off the line first with a .013 second reaction time to Ridenhour's .022, and he used that advantage to win on a hole shot by about 11 inches. Troy Jr. ran an 8.945 second lap at 170.79 on an 8.90 index. Ridenhour ran an 8.939 at 170.34 mph.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. won his second-round race in Stock Eliminator against Mitch Truman in a double-breakout. Jeg cut a .005 second light to Truman's .042 second light. Jeg ran a 10.126 second lap at 128.14 mph, which was .024 seconds off his 10.15 dial. He got the win light because Truman was .036 seconds off his 11.18 second dial after running an 11.144 at 113.70 mph.
Sportsman racing will likely resume on Monday, depending on the weather.
On the pro side, Jeg Jr got one run down the track in the JEGS/Mopar Dodge Avenger before the air temp came too close to the dew point and racing was halted for the day with the majority of the Pro Stock field, including the JEGS Avenger, still in the lanes waiting to make their Q3 runs.
For his Q2 run, Jeg Jr ran a 6.678 second lap at 206.76 mph, which was better than his Q1 run on Friday night. Jeg Jr goes into Sunday as the No. 12 qualifier, which means his best time will carry over. The drivers outside the Top 12 have to start from scratch for Sunday's final two qualifying rounds.
Jeg Jr's Q3 run wasn't the only victim of Saturday's wet weather. Both of Pro Mod's qualifying sessions were scratched, leaving Troy Coughlin and the JEGS.com turbocharged Chevy Camaro in the pits the whole day. Pro Mod is scheduled to run one qualifying pass and the first round of eliminations on Sunday, weather permitting. Troy is currently sixth in the field with a pass of 6.016 seconds at 254.57 mph.