In Pro Stock, five-time champion Jeg Coughlin showed the speed that Elite Motorsports regained with their offseason switch back to Chevrolet power, taking his JEGS.com Chevy Camaro to the top of the board with a pass of 6.578 seconds at 210.24 mph on his second run.
Coughlin, too, was the No. 1 qualifier a week ago in Houston.
“I’ll speak for the entire team here; this gives us a ton of confidence,” Coughlin said in regards to the strong showings of late by Elite Motorsports. “The transition we made over the winter back into General Motors and getting behind the wheel of a Chevy Camaro was a big transition for us.”
“We had a little bit of catching up to do. No excuses what-so-ever. We didn’t just stumble on this or stumble on that. We showed touches of brilliance here and there,” he added. “It has been a heck of an effort.”
His Elite teammate Erica Enders was second-fastest, running 6.583 at 210.08, while Greg Anderson led the KB Racing contingent in third (6.587 at 209.79).
The Pro Stock Motorcycle field saw Jerry Savoie kick his effort to repeat as champion into high gear, as the Louisiana alligator farmer went 6.824 at 196.24 aboard his White Alligator Racing Suzuki TL1000 to head a loaded 22-bike field.
In the media center afterwards, Savoie gave the nod to his crew for putting the right tools in his hands to run at the front of the pack.
“Hats off to the crew. Those guys … I know you guys are tired of me saying that, but I’m just a rider. I’m sure there is somebody else out there who could do just as good as I do on my bike,” Savoie said. “Those guys are great. They get the credit.”
Eddie Krawiec took his Harley-Davidson V-Rod to second on the charts, running 6.835 at 196.93, with veteran and journeyman rider Chip Ellis in third (6.852 at 194.69).
Of note, Townsend, Delaware rider Joey Gladstone qualified an impressive fourth on a 1998 Suzuki GSXR. His pas of 6.869 at 194.69 mph puts him solidly in the top half of the field entering the second day of qualifying on Saturday.
The NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Series joined the four-wide fun for the first time ever on Friday, with Troy Coughlin’s JEGS.com Chevrolet Corvette leading a 29-car field after a pass of 5.770 seconds at 254.95 mph.
Third-quick Michael Bowman’s pass set the national speed record, however, after posting a mark of 258.67 mph on his 5.821-second run.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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