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DALLAS (Sept. 18) -- A groundswell of support among a select but vocal group of Pro Modified drag racing fans is building for Troy Coughlin and his twin-turbo JEGS.com Pontiac GTO, making the veteran racer very excited about this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.
"I've been reading all the drag racing message boards and there's this great group of fans that are really pumped up about our program," said Coughlin, who plied his trade in the Pro Stock ranks for many years before moving to Pro Mod in the last year. "I feel like I owe it to them to get this car running strong and start going rounds every weekend and I'd love to have a big showing this weekend in Texas.
"We've got all the components of a very fast racecar. I just don't think we've put them all together just right. Since Indy we've been working around the clock to get this car straightened out and by all indications we should be good to go in Dallas. I guess we'll find out soon enough."
As one of the only turbocharged cars in the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, Coughlin and crew have been building their program from scratch since the series decided to lift a three-year ban and allow turbocharged cars to compete once again this past off-season. Since then, they've also had to adapt to a few rules changes that allow for bigger motors, manual transmissions, and three-disc clutch systems.
"It's been a giant learning curve for us but we knew that going in," Coughlin said. "What's exciting to me is that we're making serious advances and, as I said, the fans out there that are into turbochargers and electronics are really digging what we're doing.
"We know we're going to be crazy fast when this car finally works. We've installed a brand new component that regulates the boost more precisely as the car stages and goes down the track and it's looked tremendous on the dyno. We should finally have the consistency we need and that will help a bunch."
There are three races left on the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, including Dallas, Richmond, Va., and Las Vegas.
Troy Coughlin buoyed by turbo fans
DALLAS (Sept. 18) -- A groundswell of support among a select but vocal group of Pro Modified drag racing fans is building for Troy Coughlin and his twin-turbo JEGS.com Pontiac GTO, making the veteran racer very excited about this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.
"I've been reading all the drag racing message boards and there's this great group of fans that are really pumped up about our program," said Coughlin, who plied his trade in the Pro Stock ranks for many years before moving to Pro Mod in the last year. "I feel like I owe it to them to get this car running strong and start going rounds every weekend and I'd love to have a big showing this weekend in Texas.
"We've got all the components of a very fast racecar. I just don't think we've put them all together just right. Since Indy we've been working around the clock to get this car straightened out and by all indications we should be good to go in Dallas. I guess we'll find out soon enough."
As one of the only turbocharged cars in the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, Coughlin and crew have been building their program from scratch since the series decided to lift a three-year ban and allow turbocharged cars to compete once again this past off-season. Since then, they've also had to adapt to a few rules changes that allow for bigger motors, manual transmissions, and three-disc clutch systems.
"It's been a giant learning curve for us but we knew that going in," Coughlin said. "What's exciting to me is that we're making serious advances and, as I said, the fans out there that are into turbochargers and electronics are really digging what we're doing.
"We know we're going to be crazy fast when this car finally works. We've installed a brand new component that regulates the boost more precisely as the car stages and goes down the track and it's looked tremendous on the dyno. We should finally have the consistency we need and that will help a bunch."
There are three races left on the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, including Dallas, Richmond, Va., and Las Vegas.
