There’s a strategy to Countdown, says Jeggie

Jeg Coughlin Jr. already had three world championships to his credit before NHRA’S playoff era, having won the 1992 Super Gas crown and his first two Pro Stock titles in 2000 and 2002. Yet the second-generation pro from Delaware, Ohio, somehow found a way to elevate his game in the condensed six-race, playoff format, winning the biggest, most pressure-packed rounds at the perfect times to score two more titles in 2007 and 2008.

"There's some strategy to it. You want to have a strong start. You need to maintain a rhythm and earn one of those top 10 spots. Then towards the end of the regular season you really concentrate on earning the best position possible in that top 10. Then it's on, and you have 10 drivers getting after it, throwing everything they have at winning it all. It's a very intense time for the drivers and teams and the fans pick up on that."

Unlike 2007 when he never led the rankings until the final race of the season, Coughlin had a much steadier journey en route to his first successful title defense in 2008.

The class was wide open from the start with eight different winners in the first nine races. For a time, it looked like any one of those early winners could end up on top at the end of the season. But, as is often the case in drag racing, a few teams started to break away from the pack thanks to relentless, mistake-free racing each weekend.

Fortunately for team owner Victor Cagnazzi, one of those frontrunners was Coughlin, who started the season with a runner-up finish in Pomona, Calif., and a win in Gainesville, Fla., that established his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt as one to watch from the onset. He even led the points on two separate occasions early in the year.

"A fast start was part of our goal," Coughlin said. "We wanted to carry over the momentum we'd gathered at the end of 2007 and we were able to do that. Then we just kind of got in sync with one another and were able to maintain a top ranking all year. We had those moments where you lose by a thousandth of a second here or there, but you're always going to have those times. It's how you react that makes the difference. This team reacted very well."  (Ron Lewis photo) [12/9/2008]