[coverattach=1]COLUMBUS, Ohio (July 27) – John Coughlin had a busy day during Sunday’s final eliminations at the North Central Division Lucas Oil Series event at National Trail Raceway as the Team JEGS driver advanced to the late rounds in both Top Dragster and Super Stock. Driving his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt in Super Stock, Coughlin made six runs and advanced to the semifinal round. He also made three runs behind the wheel of his six-second Top Dragster, earning a quarterfinal finish.
“It was a busy day, but when you’re racing two cars, that’s always a good thing,” said Coughlin. “I’m like most drivers; I like to stay busy and get a rhythm going. That is one of the main reasons why I choose to race two cars. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish the job in either car but it was a good weekend anyway. I managed to score some points and our whole JEGS team had a lot of fun racing at our home track.”
After qualifying in the No. 1 spot in Super Stock, Coughlin won round after round until the initial 93-car field had been whittled to just three drivers. Paired with fellow Ohio native Gene McBean, Coughlin crossed the finish line first, but lost on a breakout when he ran under his dial-in time of 8.63-seconds. McBean went on to win the event over former JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals champ Brad Zaskowski. Earlier, Coughlin lost another close race in Top Dragster as both he and opponent Steven Furr had almost perfect starting line reaction times. Furr won the round by running right on his 7.16-second dial-in while Coughlin ran under his dial by six-thousandths of a second. Despite the loss, Coughlin, who entered the event as the Top Dragster points leader, remains a leading contender for the title.
“It’s a shame to lose but they were both good close races,” said Coughlin. “All weekend, both of my cars ran great and I was pretty happy with my driving. My goal coming into this race was to score some points with both cars and fortunately I was able to do that.”
Coughlin was joined in Columbus by his brother, Mike, and nephew, Troy Jr., who were competing in Top Sportsman and Super Comp, respectively. Mike qualified his Chevy Cobalt in the No. 5 position with a 6.95 but lost in round two on a red-light start. Troy Jr., 19, who is midway through his first full season in the tough Super Comp class, couldn’t build on his recent success and suffered a first-round loss.
“It was a busy day, but when you’re racing two cars, that’s always a good thing,” said Coughlin. “I’m like most drivers; I like to stay busy and get a rhythm going. That is one of the main reasons why I choose to race two cars. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish the job in either car but it was a good weekend anyway. I managed to score some points and our whole JEGS team had a lot of fun racing at our home track.”
After qualifying in the No. 1 spot in Super Stock, Coughlin won round after round until the initial 93-car field had been whittled to just three drivers. Paired with fellow Ohio native Gene McBean, Coughlin crossed the finish line first, but lost on a breakout when he ran under his dial-in time of 8.63-seconds. McBean went on to win the event over former JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals champ Brad Zaskowski. Earlier, Coughlin lost another close race in Top Dragster as both he and opponent Steven Furr had almost perfect starting line reaction times. Furr won the round by running right on his 7.16-second dial-in while Coughlin ran under his dial by six-thousandths of a second. Despite the loss, Coughlin, who entered the event as the Top Dragster points leader, remains a leading contender for the title.
“It’s a shame to lose but they were both good close races,” said Coughlin. “All weekend, both of my cars ran great and I was pretty happy with my driving. My goal coming into this race was to score some points with both cars and fortunately I was able to do that.”
Coughlin was joined in Columbus by his brother, Mike, and nephew, Troy Jr., who were competing in Top Sportsman and Super Comp, respectively. Mike qualified his Chevy Cobalt in the No. 5 position with a 6.95 but lost in round two on a red-light start. Troy Jr., 19, who is midway through his first full season in the tough Super Comp class, couldn’t build on his recent success and suffered a first-round loss.
