Following his recent Top Dragster win at the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., Team JEGS driver will heads into this week’s NHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio on a hot streak. Ironically, Coughlin has chosen to leave his Undercover Chassis Top Dragster at home, and will instead concentrate on his equally new B&B Race Cars Chevy Cobalt Super Stock entry.
“We’ve had amazing success with the dragster this year but the Top Dragster class isn’t contested in Norwalk this weekend, so we decided to bring the Super Stock car, ” said Coughlin. “I believe our new Cobalt has the potential to be as good as our Top Dragster, but we had some problems at the last race in Joliet. I’m not sure if it was a fuel or ignition problem so we’re going to test at National Trail Raceway on Wednesday (June 27) before heading to Norwalk on Thursday. I’ve made enough runs in this car that I’m starting to feel very comfortable so once we get our mechanical issues fixed, I think we’ll be in a position to win some races. ”
Coughlin has competed in just three events this year in Super Stock, and has posted late round finishes in two of them, so he feels there is still adequate time for him to make a run at the national championship. He is already the points leader in the Division 3 Top Dragster standings.
“I’m still very much in the running for both the national and the divisional championships in Super Stock, ” he said. “I would have to do really well from here on out and we’ve got no margin for error, but there is still time to get something done. As much as I’d like to be racing my Top Dragster this weekend, I think that the one-car approach is probably best. We’ll focus on Super Stock and see if we can make some progress.
“I’m pretty excited about racing in Norwalk, ” Coughlin continued. “It’s a new national event for NHRA and there is already a lot of hype so it should be one of their biggest. I’d love nothing more than to be the first Super Stock champion from that race. ”
Qualifying from Norwalk begins at 9 a. m. on Thursday, June 28. Final eliminations will take place on Sunday, July 1.
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