Coughlin looking to reestablish dominance
Entering this weekend's 22nd annual Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at beautiful Infineon Raceway, Jeg Coughlin will be feeling the heat from red-hot rival Mike Edwards, the only driver left with a legitimate chance of taking the top position from him before the Countdown to 1 playoffs start four races from now.
Courtesy: NHRA Media Relations
Entering this weekend's
22nd annual Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at beautiful Infineon Raceway,
Coughlin will be feeling the heat from red-hot rival Mike Edwards, the
only driver left with a legitimate chance of taking the top position
from him before the Countdown to 1 playoffs start four races from now.
"The
good news is we were fortunate enough to be the first team in the
professional ranks to actually clinch a Countdown spot back in
After the U.S. Nationals, only the top 10 racers in the
points in each professional category will be eligible to win the
championship. To make things exciting down the stretch, NHRA resets the
standings for those drivers and separates them by just five points each
from first to 10th place. The No. 1 driver then gets a 20-point bonus.
"When
you say 20 points to me you're really saying one round of action on
Sunday because each round is worth 20 points," Coughlin said. "Of
course, whoever gets that bonus will be in slightly better shape than
the others and we'd like to be that team. On the other hand, it's not
the end of the world if we don't get it.
"A lot of what
happens between now and then is out of our hands. All we can control is
what we do with our racecar and how we race whoever might be in the
other lane in any given elimination round. I do know this; if we race
the way we've raced all year, we're going to be in really good shape."
Should
Coughlin add his sixth victory of the season to his resume at Infineon
Raceway he's assured of leaving town with the point lead. He's a former
winner at the track, having claimed the hardware in 2003.
"It's
such a beautiful track and the location there tucked away in the wine
country makes it special," said Coughlin, a five-time world champion
with 59 national event wins. "We come straight down from
"I've
got my good luck charm with me, my son little Jeggie, as he's off from
school at the moment and able to come on the road with me. I'd love to
show him another winner's circle celebration before he gets back to his
studies in a few weeks."