Coughlin, who qualified 22nd of 28 entries, faced off against Denham Springs, LA’s Tim Graves in the final round and took a .025 advantage at the start, then posted the win in 7.502 seconds at 160.84 mph on a 7.45 dial in while number-five qualifier Graves ran 7.765/171.69 on a 7.13 dial.
A former two-time NHRA Pro Stock series champion, Coughlin said this year he’s focusing on running big-money bracket races. “It’s kind of just a catch-up year for me and I get to make some runs. I’ve been to four races now and made close to 100 runs, which is almost as many runs as I’d do in a whole Pro Stock season, so it feels great to make a bunch of laps.”
Ed Stuart, the Sportsnationals Top Sportsman winner, said he hadn’t even planned to attend because of his busy NHRA Division II schedule “and because I’m in good shape in the points there and they weren’t going to allow us points at this race.” However, he admitted, “last Sunday night I knew all I had to do was yard work if I stayed home, so Monday I decided to come.”
 Ed Stuart (near lane), Dan Morrow (far lane) |
Stuart, who started from the 21st position in his Pensacola, FL-based 2004 Cavalier, met fellow Floridian Dan Morrowin the final at Belle Rose. After dialing in at 7.62, Stuart left with a .013 light on his way to a winning 7.641-seconds pass at 179.23 mph. Meanwhile, 11th-place qualifier Morrow’s reaction was .035 and he broke out with a 7.058 on a 7.06 dial in his ‘06 GTO.
After reporting “no problems” all weekend, Stuart said, “I had a very good feeling about it (going into final), and besides, I owed Dan one.”
ADVERTISEMENT
