Deby
Nitro Member
[coverattach=1]POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 16) -- After struggling in qualifying, Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt came to life Sunday and carried the newly re-crowned POWERade champion to a great 6.673 at 206.76 mph that got him to within .001 of a second of upsetting higher-ranked racer Allen Johnson. Unfortunately, a wonky rear-end slowed him just enough to give Coughlin the rest of the day off to work on his champion's speech.
"We rebounded extremely well and the car did exactly what we wanted," the five-time world champion said. "We were on a helluva run there. I knew I hit the tree and we were hauling ass down through there until fourth gear and I heard it run over itself, which is usually a sign that the rear end is going away. That's exactly what happened and we slowed just enough to let Allen by for the win."
The numbers were impressive as the notoriously quick Coughlin left with a near-perfect .006-second reaction time against Johnson's .032-second start. The race was on from there and Coughlin led to every incremental timer except the one that matters most -- the finish line.
"We gave 'er hell," Coughlin said. "I love this car and Victor (Cagnazzi, team owner) said I could have it if we won the championship again so this Cobalt's coming back to Delaware, Ohio, to JEGS Mail Order. It won two titles for us so it's a very special car to me.
"We have a new Cobalt coming and we'll get out some time this winter and get her broken in.
"For now, we're going to come together as a team and enjoy this championship. It takes an incredible amount of work to get to this point and everyone at Victor Cagnazzi Racing should be extremely proud of this trophy. The award's banquet is going to be a lot of fun and I hope it doesn’t all go by too fast."
"We rebounded extremely well and the car did exactly what we wanted," the five-time world champion said. "We were on a helluva run there. I knew I hit the tree and we were hauling ass down through there until fourth gear and I heard it run over itself, which is usually a sign that the rear end is going away. That's exactly what happened and we slowed just enough to let Allen by for the win."
The numbers were impressive as the notoriously quick Coughlin left with a near-perfect .006-second reaction time against Johnson's .032-second start. The race was on from there and Coughlin led to every incremental timer except the one that matters most -- the finish line.
"We gave 'er hell," Coughlin said. "I love this car and Victor (Cagnazzi, team owner) said I could have it if we won the championship again so this Cobalt's coming back to Delaware, Ohio, to JEGS Mail Order. It won two titles for us so it's a very special car to me.
"We have a new Cobalt coming and we'll get out some time this winter and get her broken in.
"For now, we're going to come together as a team and enjoy this championship. It takes an incredible amount of work to get to this point and everyone at Victor Cagnazzi Racing should be extremely proud of this trophy. The award's banquet is going to be a lot of fun and I hope it doesn’t all go by too fast."
