- NHRA RETURNS TO CHICAGO FOR ACTION-PACKED GERBER COLLISION & GLASS NHRA ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
- DRAG AND DRIVE EXHIBITION WITH ALEX TAYLOR AND TOM BAILEY RETURNS TO NHRA NATIONAL EVENT AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
- Record Setters and Race Winners Head to Virginia for PDRA Mid-Atlantic Showdown
- Race Wrap | NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
- Race Wrap | NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
- Stewart, Hagan Record Final Round Performances at Las Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in TSR Dodge//SRT Nitro Machines
- KALITTA, TASCA AND COUGHLIN JR WIN LAS-VEGAS 4-WIDE
Championship contender Coughlin eyeing Pro Mod success at zMax Dragway
Courtesy of Jegs
CHARLOTTE, NC – With three races left in the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx, third-ranked driver Troy Coughlin finds himself just three rounds out of first place. In the last three races, the past world champion has posted two runner-up results and a
semifinal finish, making him one of the hottest drivers on tour as the NHRA circuit arrives at zMax Dragway.
“We jumped up to third at the Indy race last Sunday and that’s exciting,” Coughlin said. “We just need to keep going a round or two further than the other top guys and it will get really interesting for us.”
Coughlin, the 2009 Pro Street champion in the National Muscle Car Association, has successfully qualified for the seven races contested so far this season and has gone rounds at the last five national events. His JEGS.com twin-turbo entry has proven to be one of the quickest at every race.
Coughlin bullish on chances in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship
Courtesy of Jegs
CHARLOTTE, NC – In the five years that NHRA has decided its champions through a playoff-style system, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has emerged on top of the Pro Stock heap twice, in 2007 and 2009. Including the crowns he also earned in 2000 and 2002, Coughlin has won through shear dominance and been pushed to the bitter end only to slip through victorious by the slenderest of margins.
In 2012, Coughlin will need to reinvent himself once again as he enters the Countdown to the Championship, which begins this weekend at zMax Dragway, in the 10th and final spot in the field of eligible drivers. He’s 110 points behind leader Allen Johnson, which is the equivalent of five and a half rounds of action, with six races and a potential of 24 rounds left on the table.
“We’re one of the chosen few that have a chance and we’re very, very excited about that,” Coughlin said. “We have an extremely large mountain to climb, both in the points and with our growing program, but I truly think we’re better than what we’ve shown and if we can race to our capabilities down the stretch, then we’ll have a chance.”
Rich Halleen takes 32 car TNT Super Series field on Friday
Courtesy of TNT
LANCASTER, NY – It was Niagara Falls, New York’s Rich Halleen in the winner’s circle last Friday night as the Joe’s Transmission TNT Super Series kicked off its final double header weekend at Dunn Tire Raceway Park.
Skies were overcast and rain was a constant threat but that didn’t stop thirty-two of the best sportsman racers in the northeast from descending on the 1/8th mile facility for the TNTSS event presented by The Sister Act Band.
Rich, who qualified tenth with a 7.011, faced TNTSS newcomer Gary Carlson in round one. Rich was .020 better on the tree and took .007 stripe running 7.017 to Gary’s 7.030.
In round two, he got the better of Kevin Orr on the tree by a mere .011 and took the round win with a 7.015.
Demke, Whiteley Pad West Region Leads in Woodburn
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Woodburn, OR – Incoming West Region points leaders Chris Demke and Annie Whiteley swept the West Region event at Woodburn Dragstrip, Demke scoring for the second time this season in regional competition and Whiteley for the fourth.
Whiteley’s husband, Jim, was neck and neck with Demke in the Top Alcohol Dragster final until his car banged the blower near the 1,000-foot mark, slowing him to a 5.41 at just 217 mph. “I heard the boom,” Demke said. “I heard him right alongside me the whole way, and then I heard the bang. For a second, I thought it was my car and expected to slow and lose. It took a little bit to realize that I wasn’t slowing down.”
Points Leaders Gingles, Williams Take Earlville
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Earlville, IA – At all-concrete Tri State Raceway in Earlville, Iowa, Gord Gingles stomped the Top Alcohol Dragster field to strengthen his hold on the Central Region points lead, and Kirk Williams won Top Alcohol Funny Car to tie Kris Hool for the top spot in the region.
In the Top Alcohol Dragster final, Gingles left within a hundredth of Chase Copeland, .080 to .089, and made his strongest run of the weekend, 5.48, for his second regional victory in his last three outings. He also scored at Cordova. Copeland, who usually does his best at the end of the season, dropped cylinders a few hundred feet off the starting line and slowed to a 7.43 at 126 mph.
Team JEGS’ father and son reach semifinals at U.S. Nationals
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JEGS.com driver Troy Coughlin was more than happy to reach Sunday’s semifinals the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx at for the 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
Why? Because the engine was damaged in Coughlin’s turbocharged Camaro in the first round, hampering his efforts for the rest of the day.
Coughlin was eliminated after he red-lit in the semis against Mike Castellana, who had problems during his run, too.
“We had good qualifying and a good effort,” said Coughlin, who qualified No. 2. “We just had a part break in the engine. We kept trying to limp it along. We were happy enough to go a couple rounds.”
Coughlin clinches playoff berth in first year under new team configuration
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Even though the 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals stretched into a second weekend, Jeg Coughlin Jr. walked away with a reward that was worth the wait.
In his first year driving the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger and building his own Pro Stock engines through JNR Racing, Coughlin locked up a spot in the Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA’s version of the playoffs.
“The drama of the getting into the Countdown was at an all-time high in all the pro classes,” Coughlin said. “Pro Stock was right at the top of the list with six guys vying for the last four spots.
Scruggs’ PX Win At Home Track Highlights ADRL’s Return To Memphis
Courtesy of ADRL
MILLINGTON, TN – Jason Scruggs’ third win in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) in 2012 ended up being one of his favorite and it also proved to be a historic one.
At his home ADRL track and with plenty of friends and family watching, the Pro Extreme star went 3.736 at 207.34 mph to beat Brandon Pesz in the finals of the Memphis Drags III at Memphis International Raceway.
It pushed Scruggs’ career win total in the ADRL to nine, which also gives him the most wins in the history of the class.
“This is awesome. The folks at this track are so nice and the track is just great. I would rate this win here as one of the best I’ve ever had,” Scruggs said. “We had the whole family here and a bunch of friends, including some who had never been to a drag race, so this is a cool feeling.”
Coughlin close to realizing first goal of reaching the playoffs
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – It’s taken a lot longer than expected, but Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s mission of getting the JEGS/Mopar Dodge Avenger into the Countdown to the Championship is nearly complete.
“It’s going to be a fun day on Sunday,” Coughlin said. “We want to etch our names into that Top 10, and seal a spot in this Countdown. It’s what we’ve been working hard for all season and it’s within our reach.”
Coughlin took full advantage of the extra qualifying sessions at the rain-delayed 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals moving the JEGS Dodge up from 12th to eighth place on the qualifying ladder and all but locking up a spot in the Countdown in the process.
“We wanted to make sure we got into the field solidly,” Coughlin said. “Eddie (Guarnaccia, crew chief) and the team did a really nice job of getting the car down the track both runs today.”
Mopar Driver Johnson to Start No. 4, Earns No. 1 Spot in Countdown Playoffs
Courtesy of Mopar
Clermont, IN – Two final qualifying sessions reshuffled the ladders for eliminations as the re-scheduled 58th Annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis got back underway under cooler and faster conditions than the previous rain shortened weekend at
Lucas Oil Raceway.
The 16 car field is now set with Mopar Dodge Avenger driver Allen Johnson starting fourth in Pro Stock eliminations on Sunday, and thus locking up the No. 1 spot in the Pro Stock Countdown to the Championship, the six-race playoff that will begin at the next NHRA event in Charlotte.
The Team Mopar veteran was one of four Mopar-powered Dodge drivers to make the prestigious U.S. Nationals field in Pro Stock, along with four Mopar Dodge Chargers in the Funny Car class.
