Coughlin upsets Pruett in opening round of Pro Mod action
Courtesy of Jegs
HOUSTON, TX – Winning any round of drag racing is nice, but winning one on a holeshot is extra special.
That’s what JEGS.com Pro Mod driver Troy Coughlin pulled off Saturday in the first round of NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx action at Royal Purple Raceway. Coughlin turned a quick .040-second reaction time into a victory over Leah Pruett, the No. 3 driver in the Pro Mod points standings.
“Any time you can have a gameplan and can go execute that gameplan and be on the winning side of it is definitely cool,” Coughlin said. “She ran a lot faster than we did, so we’ve got a lot of work to do to try and pick it up, but it is pretty cool to get the win.”
Coughlin made a pass of 5.997 seconds at 247.70 mph, beating Pruett to the finish line by about 12 feet after Pruett ran 5.972 at 249.86 mph. The difference was Coughlin’s sizable .056-second advantage on the Tree.
“We’ve had a couple races where we haven’t had much success,” Coughlin said. “It’s coming around slowly, and we’ve still got more work to do. It ran a 5.99, and we need to run faster than that to keep winning. But to beat the No. 3 person in the points is stout. I’m pretty excited about that.”
Coughlin qualified ninth in the Pro Mod field with a pass of 6.000 seconds at 248.52 mph after posting three solid passes in qualifying.
“We keep gathering more data each run,” Coughlin said. “We made some consistent runs this weekend. It wasn’t super fast, but it was consistent. We’ll keep pecking away at getting it to run fast like it did in the beginning.”
After beating Pruett, the No. 6 qualifier, Coughlin will now face No. 2 qualifier Danny Rowe in the second round of eliminations on Sunday. Rowe beat Mike Knowles in the first round with a pass of 5.951 seconds at 244.92 mph.
Coughlin remains upbeat about advancing even further on Sunday.
“We have the opportunity and the capability,” Coughlin said. “We’ll have to try to put the right bullet in the right chamber. We have a good chance. We’ve got all the pieces and parts to do it.”
