DragStory
Coughlin Knows Perseverance is the Key to Success in Memphis $50K Race
Courtesy of Jegs
MEMPHIS, TN – Perseverance will be key for Troy Coughlin Jr. as he makes his way to Memphis International Raceway for this weekend’s 
Dixie House Café Ironman $50K event.
Coughlin will head to Memphis along with several hundred other top flight E.T. bracket drivers as they compete for a huge $50,000 first-place prize.
“You can’t win it if you’re not in it and we plan to be in this one,” Coughlin said. “Lately, I haven’t been really happy with the way I’ve been driving but I’m not giving up by any means. I’m going to be persistent and keep plugging along until we get results.”
Coughlin will have plenty of chances to strike gold this weekend as he plans to enter his JEGS.com dragster in Saturday’s $50,000 main event and the two $10,000-to-win races held on Friday and Sunday. There are also a pair of 64-car shootout events that feature a complete dragster chassis and a Schmidt Competition Engine as the top prizes.
“The good thing about these big bracket races is that you can make a lot of runs so you can collect a lot of data and hopefully use what you’ve learned to either make your car better or make yourself a better driver,” Coughlin said. “If you’re winning rounds, it’s not uncommon to make 12-15 runs in a day and that’s a lot of data to sort through.”
Two weeks ago at a similar $50,000 event at Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, Ky., Coughlin posted a respectable quarterfinal finish. This time, he’d like to advance just a few rounds further in final eliminations.
“That race in Clay City did a lot for my confidence,” Coughlin said. “I had been struggling a bit before that but I really feel like we turned the corner there. It certainly didn’t hurt to have Kenny Underwood and our new crew chief, Jay Schroeder, there with me. They’ve been a tremendous help. As I said earlier, I just need to have some perseverance. I need to stay focused and not get frustrated when things don’t go exactly right. I know that if can do that the wins will come.”
EUROPE’S FIRST DRAGSTER LIVES AGAIN
Written by Brian Taylor
Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster is fired up after being silent since 1964. OK historians, log these details in your book of legends; the date – Sunday July 1st; the place – the workshop at Andy Robinson Race Cars in the UK; the
time – 2030 hours local time.
Those present – Andy Robinson, Bob Roberts, Martin Dunks and Brian Taylor, all of the Allard Chrysler Action Group. After a long day’s work and fuelled with methanol Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster, owned by the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, burst into life; the first time since 1964.
This historic occasion was recorded on video and we will release lots more info soon. For now enjoy www.youtube.com/watch?v=zosoe5-b9yo.
Andy Robinson lights the fuse. (Pic taken from Bob Roberts’ video)
Demke Storms to Jegs AllStars Victory at Route 66
Courtesy of THR5 Communications
Photo by John Rogers
Joliet, IL – If facing seven of the best Top Alcohol Dragsters in the country was not hard enough, the Maddern Racing Team and Chris Demke had plenty of other formidable foes thrown at them during the Jegs AllStars competition. The
torrential rains and extreme temperatures made a tough task even more difficult. They also had to make an engine swap in just over an hour in order to make it to the lanes. But rounds they did go, and in the end, came away with the big win and more.
“To win the Jegs AllStars in Top Alcohol Dragster as the last Division 7 representative is really something special,” said Demke. “On top of that, to help win the first ever Jegs AllStars Team Championship for Division 7 really was the topper. As I stood with Division 7 Director Mike Rice and held the Jegs Team Trophy, I realized it was a victory for every Drag Racer in our part of the country.”
In the first round of the Jegs AllStars, Demke faced Karen Stalba. They left the line together and Demke had to pedal through some spin, while Stalba was fighting dropping cylinders. Demke recovered enough to take with win with a 5.468/262.39 to Stalba’s 5.756/232.95. That run advanced them to the next round, but at a cost. The motor had given it’s all and needed to be replaced.
Chris Van Baalen gets first TNT Super Series win, Earns spot in Race of Champions
Courtesy of TNT
LANCASTER, NY – “I wanted to get an entry into that September race and now I got one!” said Wellandport Ontario’s Chris Van Baalen after winning his first event in the Joe’s Transmission TNT Super Series. Dunn Tire Raceway Park
hosted the popular sportsman drag racing series last Friday with 31 cars coming through the gates.
Scott Jahren Paint presented the mid-season event at a track where winning doesn’t come easy and in a season where the average TNTSS car count is exceeding 28 cars.
In the first qualifying session, Chris sat atop the field with a 7.018 but was pushed back to sixth in the second session – even though he ran a better 7.011.
Round one had him up against recent Skyview Pro Am winner Jerry Stoutenberg where he took a .007 margin of victory running 7.004 to Jerry’s 7.005. Then he missed the tree in round two but the car saved him from Jeff Kerl by running dead on 7.007 and a close .011 MOV.
Mission Raceway to host the next event on the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association schedule
Courtesy of WCOPMA
Mission, BC – For the first time ever the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association will travel across the border to compete internationally this weekend (July 6-8) in Canada at Mission Raceway Park, located in Mission, British
Columbia.
Many racers are anticipating the event as great weather is projected throughout the weekend in the low 70’s with very little chance of rain, combine that with an actual track elevation of only 25 feet above sea level as well as a killer racing surface and record times are expected.
Mike Maggio is making the long haul from Southern California with his 1970 Camaro which ran in the mid 5.70’s last November at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That team is going up with a big goal, to reset the world record for a doorslammer in the quarter-mile.
Strange Engineering NMRA Coyote Stock Bonus Announced!
Courtesy of Pro Media
Santa Ana, CA – Strange Engineering, title sponsor of NMRA’s Coyote Stock class, will be upping the ante with a cash 
bonus available to Coyote Stock competitors at the NMRA Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
There are three ways to win, and a possible $1000 at stake! First, the winner of the Coyote Stock class will receive a $500 cash bonus. Second, the Coyote Stock racer with the fastest reaction time in class eliminations will win $250.
Here’s the kicker – if the same racer gets the best eliminations reaction time and wins the event, Strange Engineering will add an additional $250 for a total of $1000.
For more information on NMRA please log on to www.NMRAdigital.com. For more information on Strange Engineering please log on to www.strangeengineering.net.
Simonton Reaches First TAFC Final Round
Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotions
Photo by Roger Richards
JOLIET, IL –“Sassy” Cassie Simonton became just the fourth female driver to reach a national event final round in NHRA TAFC competition, last weekend at the Route 66 Nationals near Chicago. The journey to the money round was
not an easy one.
“Qualifying went well, we had three great passes down the track. Unfortunately we hurt it on the second and third runs, so the crew really had to thrash. Everybody pulled together and made it happen. It was a lot of hard work in the Chicago heat and humidity, but as the day went by on Sunday, it was definitely worth all of the work!” said the former junior dragster driver.
Every single round of elimination would prove to be a tight race with some of the strongest cars in the country. A #7 qualifying position meant a first round meeting with #10 qualifier Steve Gasparrelli. Crew chief Randy Anderson’s tune-up gave Cassie the power to send Steve packing, 5.66 to a losing 5.68. In the second round, “Sassy” Cassie eliminated John Lombardo Jr., 5.62 over his 5.63. In Simonton’s first semifinal appearance in NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car competition, she drove the Kon Rodz Monte Carlo to a 5.65, too much for Mickey Ferro’s 5.69.
IHRA Nitro Jam returns to Castrol Raceway July 6-8
Courtesy of IHRA
EDMONTON, AL – The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Nitro Jam series returns to Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta on July 6-8 for the 10th annual MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals. 
This year’s MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals features multiple professional and sportsman classes spread over the three-day weekend of Canada’s biggest drag race. The 2012 MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals will feature professional competition in a record number of classes including Top Fuel Dragster, AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley, Nostalgia Fuel Altered, Rocky Mountain Nostalgia Funny Car, Alcohol Funny Car, Alcohol Dragster and Pro Mod.
The event will also feature multiple exhibitions including the 25,000 horsepower Super Shockwave jet truck, jet dragsters and funny cars and the Canadian debut of the “biggest” drag race in the world as the Grave Digger monster truck takes on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
NMRA World Finals To Host Terminator/GT500 Shootout
Courtesy of Pro Media
Santa Ana, CA – The NMRA is pleased to announce that it will once again host the Terminator / GT500 Shootout at the 
Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the weekend of October 4-7, 2012.
The 2nd Annual Terminator / GT500 Shootout bring together some of the fastest Cobras and GT500s in the U.S. to compete in a heads-up winner takes all format at one of the largest NMRA Keystone Automotive events on the schedule.
Some of the loudest smack-talk on the web is from the Terminator / GT500 community all talking about who has the fastest ride…and this Shootout will decide it once and for all!
Coughlin to use Norwalk as Launch for Western Swing
Courtesy of Jegs
NORWALK, OH – Five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. is planning for a busy weekend of NHRA drag racing, and he’s going to savor it like a pound of dollar ice cream.
Besides the more obvious rivalry implications of this stop on the NHRA Full Throttle Series, Coughlin said he’s looking forward to once again being a part of Pro Stock’s signature event, the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge, and the overall celebration of all things related to drag racing in his native Ohio.
Coughlin will be the No. 8 seed in the K&N Challenge, which following a year off from the class, came by virtue of the fan vote, and will take on No. 1 seed Jason Line in the first round of competition.
“Norwalk is a big race for us, especially in how we are seeded for the K&N Horsepower Challenge,” said Coughlin, a three-time winner of the special event. “It’s exciting. We are obviously going to be in a similar situation to (last weekend at Chicago), where we are going to be parked next to the No. 1 qualifier. and that is by virtue of the way the program works. We’re excited for the chance and I can tell you that we can run with them.”
