Troy Coughlin, JEGS Camaro ready to take next step in Houston
(4-24-2012) DELAWARE, OH – The evolution of Troy Coughlin's JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro Pro Mod continues this weekend at Royal Purple Raceway with the NHRA Spring Nationals.
Coughlin and his team, led by decorated crew chief Steve Petty, continue to develop the relatively new turbocharged '68 Camaro. Pro Mod cars are a notoriously fickle lot, so getting them to go down the track in a fast, consistent basis is an arduous task that takes some time.
A past world champion in the NMCA, Coughlin has shown improvement with his new car, as tuner Petty works to improve the setup. The two have had only two races together, and Coughlin has qualified in the top half of the field in the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx at both Gainesville and Charlotte.
"We're working on a couple different projects in relation to the car and we tried to pick the best one that's going to work the best in Houston," Coughlin said. "We had to organize everything to make sure it's done in time for this weekend. Some of it was going to take a lot longer and we wonder if the those other options would it be better.
"We know that what we're ultimately going to do will make us better. Plan A might've been the best, but we couldn't get it done in time, so we had to settle for Plan B or C this weekend."
Coughlin will look for continued improvement at Houston, where the Pro Mods will be racing for the third time.
"It'll be in the 80s and sunny, so it'll be real similar to Charlotte," Coughlin said. "A little bit hotter, maybe, but that's okay. Houston's good. We've done pretty well there. We've qualified well there. We just need to get it done on race day."
Qualifying for the NHRA Pro Mod Series gets under way on Friday with sessions scheduled for 1 and 4 p.m. CDT at Royal Purple Raceway. There will be one last chance to make the Spring Nationals field on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Eliminations begin late Saturday afternoon and conclude on Sunday.
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