Although he didn’t leave Atlanta Dragway with the trophy, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was pumped about his performance this weekend as his quarterfinal finish lifted him to third place in the POWERade championship chase.
Coughlin erased Greg Stanfield in the opening round with a quick 6.665-second pass at 206.83 mph to move around teammate Dave Connolly in the world rankings. He then lost a heartbreaker to Richie Stevens in Round 2 when Stevens’ quick start at the line translated to a holeshot win at the other end. Coughlin’s quicker 6.680 at 207.02 mph was not enough to overcome the starting-line deficit and he lost to Stevens’ 6.703 at 206.42 mph.
“We had the better car but just didn’t get it done, ” Coughlin said. “I had a decent light (. 046 seconds) but Richie was really up for the race because he had a terrific. 011 launch. That’s tough to beat and I take my hat off to him and that team over there.
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