COUGHLIN TRYING TO MOVE UP

Jeg Coughlin Jr. posted the quickest Pro Stock quarter-mile pass of the opening day of professional qualifying for the 43rd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals to put his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt in the provisional No. 1 position.

Coughlin roared down Pomona Raceway with a 6.689-second run at 206.95 mph to outpace the field of professional competing at the season-ending race.

It was a big effort for the JEGS.com team as they entered the race second in the Countdown to One points, 34 behind leader Greg Anderson.

Coughlin is also 14 up on third-place Dave Connolly, his teammate at Victor Cagnazzi Racing.  (James Drew photo) [11/2/2007]

TODD EQUALS CAREER-BEST AT 328.22

J.R. Todd put the SKULL Shine Top Fuel dragster in the No. 1 berth with a quarter-mile lap of 4.521 seconds at 328.22 mph that equaled his career best speed.

"Maybe we got some of our Pomona magic back," he said. 

"That definitely was a good way to start the weekend. At least we don't have to worry about not qualifying."

"I don't think that will hold, but we are going to try and run quicker Friday."  (James Drew photo) [11/2/2007]

GOOD NEWS – BAD NEWS FOR CSK TEAM

Jeff Arend drove his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala to a stout 4.781-second lap at 324.90 mph to end the first day of qualifying in the No. 1 Funny Car position. 

"This is the last race for the blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen car, so it's kind of melancholy around here, I guess," Arend said. "The guys are professional, and they all have a lot of pride, so they're obviously doing the work and doing it very well, but it's hard to jump up and down and get too excited when you know it's over in a few days. 

"We're pursuing things for next year, but you know we're behind the 8-ball with the timing, trying to find a lot of money in a very short period of time, and the odds are pretty stacked that you're not going to find a company with that kind of 2008 budget just sitting around doing nothing. If there was ever a good way to advertise our services, though, qualifying number one and winning the race would be it.  All we can do is keep running hard, and maybe some good things will happen. If not, it's still a heck of a way to go out."

Things weren’t so good for his teammate, though. Del Worsham's red CSK Impala had a fuel leak after the burnout on Thursday and, under the instruction of his father Chuck, the driver shut the car off before competing.

"I'm pretty teed off about it, there's no getting around that," Worsham said. "We had another issue, finding something loose, in the staging lanes, so that had me pretty fired up, and then we had the fuel leak after the burnout. I know it's the end of a very long and hard season, but these things just should never happen, no matter what month or day it is. I know they do happen, they happen to every team out here at one time or another, but I still don't have to like it.”  (Tim Marshall photo) [11/2/2007]