Phoenix: Jeg Coughlin Jr final summary

Aggressive Tune-up No Help for Jeg Coughlin at CSK Nationals

CHANDLER, Ariz., February 25, 2007 -- Bravo! Brands Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BRVO): What do you get when you combine a very tricky racing surface and no lane choice in the first round of Sunday's CSK Nationals at Firebird Raceway? Nothing in most cases.

Throw in a clutch problem and you have the scenario facing Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt team.

Coughlin did his best at the starting line, leaving with an impressive .008-second reaction time. The only trouble was the bright yellow Chevy didn't launch like expected. By the time the car got going, it was too late to catch Kurt Johnson, the winner in 6.676 seconds at 206.83 mph. Coughlin stopped the timer in 7.048 at 202.58 mph. Johnson went on to win the race.

"As soon as I let the clutch out the car overpowered the race track a little bit," said Coughlin. "It didn't help when I got it into second gear to try and calm it down a little bit. Second gear was a real handful.

"We had a decent qualifying effort his weekend. We had outstanding conditions here all weekend," he continued. "Firebird is known for being a little tricky when the sun comes out and on Sundays. That's what makes it a fun place to race. We are looking forward to going to Gainesville (March 16-18) and getting back to sea level conditions."

Crew chief Roy Simmons echoed Coughlin's assessment. "The car was aggressive (at the starting line) and once the tires start spinning, you're about done."

Coughlin is tied with Erica Enders for ninth place with 86 points.

-credit: team jegs