“It’s exciting to move up in the points even at the expense of my teammate Dave. We’re both still right there. Of course we wanted to make a move on the two guys ahead of us but we were only able to gain ground on one of them today. The encouraging news is that we’re keeping them in range and our cars are staying consistently quick. “
The 36-year-old Coughlin won’t have long to wait to get back on the racetrack as the NHRA tour heads immediately to Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis for next weekend’s 11th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals.
“The team is fully prepared for this quick turnaround, ” Coughlin said. “We’ve tested extensively over the last few weeks in anticipation of this stretch of races and I’m sure they’ll be making a quick stop at the shop in Charlotte before heading west.
“St. Louis is being run a lot earlier this year so we won’t have the brutal heat to deal with. As such, it’s been moved from a night race to a regular schedule. Basically, no one will have any data to work from so we’re all starting from the same place. It should be interesting and I already like our chances because the guys on this team are always ready for challenges like that. I’m ready to roll. ”
| 
|