Columbus: Weekend ends unexpectedly for Jeg

NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals
National Trail Raceway
Columbus, Ohio

Team Jeg's - Pro Stock
Jeg & Troy Coughlin

In the opening round in front of the hometown crowd Jeg Coughlin eliminated V. Gaines. The Jeg's Chevrolet Cavalier left the starting line beams first (.438 to .450) and never looked back. He turned on the win light by running a 6.957 at 197.51 mph. The margin of victory at the stripe was .0821 seconds.

"Getting by the first round is the first step to gaining momentum that will carry you through the day and straight to the final round," said Jeg.

In the second round Jeg faced off against No. 1 qualifier George Marnell. Lane choice went to Coughlin and he stayed with the left lane. The match pitted a Chevrolet Cavalier against a Pontiac Grand Am. Jeg left the line first by .078 seconds (.453 to .531). Jeg won on a holeshot by .0506 seconds at the stripe and he ran a 6.99 at 196.70 mph.

"We got really aggressive with the wheel speed in the second round and it hurt us. The important thing is that we continue to turn the win light on," commented Jeg.

In the semifinal round Jeg went head-to-head against WJ. Lane choice went to WJ and he took the right lane. Jeg had some mechanical problems during the burnout. He continued to pull forward to the starting line to stage in hopes that the problem had gone away.

Jeg left the starting line first with an impressive .411 reaction time to WJ's slower .472. The problem resurfaced as the two cars were side-by-side and Jeg was forced to shut off.

"We must have broke fifth gear during the burnout. I hand my fingers crossed when we pulled up to the starting line that what ever was wrong was somehow fixed. As I was going down track and the tach was reading 9800 I could see the other car and I shut it off. It's disappointing because we had a car good enough to win this race," commented Jeg.

-Jeg's-