(Ron Lewis photo)
Jeg Coughlin Jr. regained the No. 1 ranking in the POWERade points standings with his second quarterfinal finish in a row Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Coughlin took out Mike Edwards in Round 1 before falling to eventual race winner Jason Line in the second round. With his finish, Coughlin moved around former No. 1 racer Greg Anderson, who lost in the opening session, but was caught and equaled by Anderson's teammate Line when the former series champion denied Greg Stanfield in the final round.
"It's been a heckuva year already," said Coughlin, a winner earlier this season in Gainesville, Fla. "We've had four different race winners in the first five races and it looks as though it's going to be a dog-fight every weekend. We wouldn't want it any other way. We love competition and it doesn’t get any better than this."
(Ron Lewis photo)
Longtime NHRA Pro Stock driver Kenny Koretsky began Sunday eliminations in the No. 1 position for the first time in his career, following an outstanding two days of qualifying, for the Richboro, Pa.-based team.
The veteran driver/entrepreneur had the quickest run on Friday -- his best of 6.724 seconds -- and a strong 6.726 seconds Saturday, so this accomplishment was no fluke. With stellar tuning from crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia and good work from the Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric crew, Koretsky withstood strong challenges Saturday from all the series front-runners -- Jason Line, Kurt Johnson, Ron Krisher, Allen Johnson, Warren Johnson, Greg Anderson and Jeg Coughlin. Line came closest and was second at 6.725 seconds, followed by Kurt Johnson and Krisher at 6.726.
"It feels great," said Koretsky. "We needed that. We have a lot of NHRA Nitro Fish fans who want to see us win a race (another milestone that has eluded Koretsky). We got a great reception from the fans when we came back (down the return road). They gave us a standing ovation and that means a lot."