John Coughlin Norwalk Friday notes

Coughlin wins class and qualifies No. 1 in Super Stock

NORWALK, Ohio (June 29) -- There are 79 Super Stock drivers competing in this weekend's NHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio, and none of them are quicker than John Coughlin. The Team JEGS driver drove his JEGS Mail Order Cobalt to the top of the qualifying chart with a run of 8.686 seconds at 155.31 mph, more than a full second under the 9.95 SS/BM index. Coughlin also won one of the prestigious NHRA Wally trophies after winning the SS/BM class during Friday's class eliminations.

"We've had a good start to the weekend and we've got some momentum going. Hopefully we can keep it up," said Coughlin. "My JEGS Cobalt has been running exceptionally well lately so I figured that we would be able to qualify well, but I'm not sure I expected the No. 1 spot. With an odd number of cars in the field, I should also get a buy run in the first round of eliminations and that's always a nice bonus to have."JJThis weekend's event marks the first trip to Norwalk for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The popular track, which is located approximately 100 miles from the JEGS Mail Order headquarters in Delaware, Ohio, recently underwent a $6 million renovation.

"I've always enjoyed racing in Norwalk and with the recent improvements, I'd have to say this is one of the best tracks in the country," Coughlin continued. "It would be very special to win the inaugural NHRA national event here."

The first round of Super Stock eliminations are scheduled for Saturday, June 30. Final eliminations for the Norwalk race will be held Sunday, July 1.

-credit: team jegs