[coverattach=1]POMONA, Calif., Nov. 15, 2008 - Team Chevy's Jeg Coughlin Jr. clinched his second consecutive NHRA Pro Stock title today at the 44th annual Automobile Club of Southern California Nationals. The 38-year-old Coughlin needed only to qualify for this weekend's event to mathematically eliminate the rest of the Pro Stock field. He ended three days of time trials with the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt qualified in the No. 13 position and in possession of the 2008 POWERade Pro Stock crown.
"This is an extremely sweet moment for me," Coughlin said. "It's a new generation with the Countdown to 1 and we've been fortunate enough to win both championships under this format. It's a real testament to the caliber of this team and its ability to rise to the occasion when the pressure is at its highest. These guys are stout.
"I've been guilty of not enjoying these moments along the way. I've always been so focused on the next race, the next trophy to win, the next title to work towards, that I don't stop and take in what's happening around me. But in the last few years I've spent a lot more time looking back at the photos of my family and the trophies we've earned together and really cherishing those memories. I will definitely enjoy this one."
Coughlin battled his way to his fourth Pro Stock championship with a familiar late-season surge that carried the Columbus, Ohio native to the POWERade championship. With eliminations still to be completed on Sunday, the Chevy Cobalt driver has already captured three national-event victories this year at Gainesville (Fla.), Reading (Pa.) and Las Vegas, advanced to eight final-round appearances and earned three No. 1 qualifying awards. Coughlin took over the points lead for good following his runner-up to Greg Stanfield at Dallas, and he has tenaciously held on to the top spot through the last four races of the Countdown.
"The level of competition is insane, starting in our pit with my teammate Dave Connolly," Coughlin said. "Then you have the two KB Racing cars, Warren and Kurt Johnson, Larry Morgan and all his customers, Allen Johnson, and on and on, they're all such worthy opponents. They keep you motivated to work that much harder."
Coughlin now joins an elite foursome of Pro Stock drivers that includes Bob Glidden, Lee Shepherd and Warren Johnson who have won at least four Pro Stock titles.
"My pop (Jeg Sr.) has been a big part of this title," Coughlin said. "He's was with us via the Internet for most of the year and came out in person for the Countdown races. He and Roy Simmons, our crew chief, work so well together. Our team owner, Victor Cagnazzi, has given us the best of the best, including all of the people he's hired throughout the organization. They all share in this championship.
"This makes me think of 1990 when I first started racing and I won the Bud Spring Nationals in Super Gas at my hometown track in Columbus, Ohio. It was the first time I really got to feel what it was like to be an NHRA champion. To stand here now all these years later and see where my career has gone and what my family has been able to accomplish is just outstanding. I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world."
Pontiac's Greg Anderson bumped teammate Jason Line off the top of the Pro Stock qualifying ladder to claim his 69th career race day pole and his seventh of the season. Anderson's Summit Racing Pontiac GXP scorched the Pomona quarter mile during the Saturday morning session of time trials with a 6.634 e.t. at 208.20 mph.
"We certainly came here to run well and win this race," Anderson said. "We need some good fortune tomorrow to give us a little boost through the winter. We have not made a lot of good runs lately and we didn't deserve to be champions this year - Jeg did. He did a better job through the Countdown, it's as simple as that.
"We're a better team than what we've showed lately, and I think we're starting to show it again this weekend. Things are looking up and we need to find a way to put both of those Summit Racing Pontiacs in the final round on Sunday.
It is Anderson's sixth career No. 1 qualifying spot at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and he was top qualifier and won the season-opening event here in February.
"We changed everything on the car last night except for the gas cap," Anderson said. "It came right out of the box this morning and showed that I had a hot rod again. The conditions are great out here. They stayed relatively equal for every qualifying run, and the dry air has been very good for these naturally-aspirated engines. We're trying to make the most of it and all the cars are pretty fast right now. This class is as tough as ever and it's going to be a dogfight tomorrow.
[coverattach=2]"I was very proud of our guys today. They've kept their chins up and never gave up. We have great sponsors on board with Summit Racing Equipment, and hopefully Pontiac will be back next year. They build great automobiles, great racecars, and we've been a heck of a team together. I don't want to go forward in my race career without Pontiac. Hopefully they can come back and be a part of this deal for next year. I want to win this last race for everyone at Pontiac - make them proud of us."
Jason Line will start tomorrow's eliminator from the No. 2 qualifying spot after running 6.637 second in the Summit Racing Pontiac, and Kurt Johnson is qualified in the No. 3 position after driving the ACDelco Chevy Cobalt to a 6.644 second run at 207.91 mph.
Mike Edwards has the Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP qualified in the No. 5 spot with a 6.649 second run. and Dave Connolly has the Lucas Oil/Charter Communications Chevrolet qualified No. 6 with a 6.650 e.t. at 208.46 mph.
"We made our best run in the final session tonight," Edwards said. "If we could have run that well this morning then who knows. We've made steady progress all year long. We started out the year with our own engine program, and we had high hopes, but you never know for certain what to expect. We just got better all year - I think everyone would agree with that. It was a lot better in one year than what I expected. We have a good team and Roger's made the commitment to do this engine program. It's been a good choice and we have some good guys working for us. I'm very blessed."
Ron Krisher is seventh in the Valvoline Chevrolet Cobalt and Greg Stanfield rounds out the top half of the field in the No. 8 position in the Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP.
"The Valvoline Chevrolet is running pretty fast but it's been spinning too hard in the middle of the racetrack," Krisher said. "We'll fix that for tomorrow. We can pick up another hundredth and if we can do that then we can run with anybody out here. We had a good motor in Las Vegas but we couldn't keep the clutch in the car to save ourselves. Everything this week is new in that clutch system and now we're having trouble getting clutch out of it. That run tonight was the first time we've been able to slip the clutch. It's been locked up dead solid - we can pick it up now."
"That was a pretty nice run there in that final session," Stanfield said. "Our guys are doing a great job, we're making great power for this Attitude Apparel Pontiac and we've got a shot to win this race tomorrow. We're qualified in the top half of the field and it just shows how far we've come during these last few races. It would be nice to win this thing. We're close and there's a little bit left in it."
A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday, Nov. 15, beginning at 11:00 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 continues on Sunday, Nov. 16, when NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and concludes with three hours of final eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.
"This is an extremely sweet moment for me," Coughlin said. "It's a new generation with the Countdown to 1 and we've been fortunate enough to win both championships under this format. It's a real testament to the caliber of this team and its ability to rise to the occasion when the pressure is at its highest. These guys are stout.
"I've been guilty of not enjoying these moments along the way. I've always been so focused on the next race, the next trophy to win, the next title to work towards, that I don't stop and take in what's happening around me. But in the last few years I've spent a lot more time looking back at the photos of my family and the trophies we've earned together and really cherishing those memories. I will definitely enjoy this one."
Coughlin battled his way to his fourth Pro Stock championship with a familiar late-season surge that carried the Columbus, Ohio native to the POWERade championship. With eliminations still to be completed on Sunday, the Chevy Cobalt driver has already captured three national-event victories this year at Gainesville (Fla.), Reading (Pa.) and Las Vegas, advanced to eight final-round appearances and earned three No. 1 qualifying awards. Coughlin took over the points lead for good following his runner-up to Greg Stanfield at Dallas, and he has tenaciously held on to the top spot through the last four races of the Countdown.
"The level of competition is insane, starting in our pit with my teammate Dave Connolly," Coughlin said. "Then you have the two KB Racing cars, Warren and Kurt Johnson, Larry Morgan and all his customers, Allen Johnson, and on and on, they're all such worthy opponents. They keep you motivated to work that much harder."
Coughlin now joins an elite foursome of Pro Stock drivers that includes Bob Glidden, Lee Shepherd and Warren Johnson who have won at least four Pro Stock titles.
"My pop (Jeg Sr.) has been a big part of this title," Coughlin said. "He's was with us via the Internet for most of the year and came out in person for the Countdown races. He and Roy Simmons, our crew chief, work so well together. Our team owner, Victor Cagnazzi, has given us the best of the best, including all of the people he's hired throughout the organization. They all share in this championship.
"This makes me think of 1990 when I first started racing and I won the Bud Spring Nationals in Super Gas at my hometown track in Columbus, Ohio. It was the first time I really got to feel what it was like to be an NHRA champion. To stand here now all these years later and see where my career has gone and what my family has been able to accomplish is just outstanding. I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world."
Pontiac's Greg Anderson bumped teammate Jason Line off the top of the Pro Stock qualifying ladder to claim his 69th career race day pole and his seventh of the season. Anderson's Summit Racing Pontiac GXP scorched the Pomona quarter mile during the Saturday morning session of time trials with a 6.634 e.t. at 208.20 mph.
"We certainly came here to run well and win this race," Anderson said. "We need some good fortune tomorrow to give us a little boost through the winter. We have not made a lot of good runs lately and we didn't deserve to be champions this year - Jeg did. He did a better job through the Countdown, it's as simple as that.
"We're a better team than what we've showed lately, and I think we're starting to show it again this weekend. Things are looking up and we need to find a way to put both of those Summit Racing Pontiacs in the final round on Sunday.
It is Anderson's sixth career No. 1 qualifying spot at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and he was top qualifier and won the season-opening event here in February.
"We changed everything on the car last night except for the gas cap," Anderson said. "It came right out of the box this morning and showed that I had a hot rod again. The conditions are great out here. They stayed relatively equal for every qualifying run, and the dry air has been very good for these naturally-aspirated engines. We're trying to make the most of it and all the cars are pretty fast right now. This class is as tough as ever and it's going to be a dogfight tomorrow.
[coverattach=2]"I was very proud of our guys today. They've kept their chins up and never gave up. We have great sponsors on board with Summit Racing Equipment, and hopefully Pontiac will be back next year. They build great automobiles, great racecars, and we've been a heck of a team together. I don't want to go forward in my race career without Pontiac. Hopefully they can come back and be a part of this deal for next year. I want to win this last race for everyone at Pontiac - make them proud of us."
Jason Line will start tomorrow's eliminator from the No. 2 qualifying spot after running 6.637 second in the Summit Racing Pontiac, and Kurt Johnson is qualified in the No. 3 position after driving the ACDelco Chevy Cobalt to a 6.644 second run at 207.91 mph.
Mike Edwards has the Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP qualified in the No. 5 spot with a 6.649 second run. and Dave Connolly has the Lucas Oil/Charter Communications Chevrolet qualified No. 6 with a 6.650 e.t. at 208.46 mph.
"We made our best run in the final session tonight," Edwards said. "If we could have run that well this morning then who knows. We've made steady progress all year long. We started out the year with our own engine program, and we had high hopes, but you never know for certain what to expect. We just got better all year - I think everyone would agree with that. It was a lot better in one year than what I expected. We have a good team and Roger's made the commitment to do this engine program. It's been a good choice and we have some good guys working for us. I'm very blessed."
Ron Krisher is seventh in the Valvoline Chevrolet Cobalt and Greg Stanfield rounds out the top half of the field in the No. 8 position in the Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP.
"The Valvoline Chevrolet is running pretty fast but it's been spinning too hard in the middle of the racetrack," Krisher said. "We'll fix that for tomorrow. We can pick up another hundredth and if we can do that then we can run with anybody out here. We had a good motor in Las Vegas but we couldn't keep the clutch in the car to save ourselves. Everything this week is new in that clutch system and now we're having trouble getting clutch out of it. That run tonight was the first time we've been able to slip the clutch. It's been locked up dead solid - we can pick it up now."
"That was a pretty nice run there in that final session," Stanfield said. "Our guys are doing a great job, we're making great power for this Attitude Apparel Pontiac and we've got a shot to win this race tomorrow. We're qualified in the top half of the field and it just shows how far we've come during these last few races. It would be nice to win this thing. We're close and there's a little bit left in it."
A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday, Nov. 15, beginning at 11:00 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 continues on Sunday, Nov. 16, when NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and concludes with three hours of final eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.
