JEG COUGHLIN

DRO: What do you think of traction control in Pro Stock?

JC: Well, you know our thoughts on traction control are -- give us another 50 horsepower and we'll use it. We're not trying to take power away from these Pro Stock cars, and I think the technology, the chassis, the suspension, the clutches, the tires are allowing us to utilize a hundred percent of what we've got. That was our position last year when MSD had mentioned that they were going to come out with one and my Pop (Jeg Coughlin, Sr.), the ringleader of the group, got everybody around and said just that very statement. So that's our position on it.

DRO: Do you think anybody is using it?

JC: I have no idea. I know they've used it for what MSD guys tell us in some of the street car association stuff and they'd never proved where they can run any quicker with it, so it's kind of exciting and kind of enforces my Pop's point -

DRO: It's better to go natural.

JC: I don't know, we've never tried it the other way. We're not trying to take power out of these cars, again, so if we had another 50 horsepower, we'd use it. Bottom line.

DON TAYLOR
Group Manager at GM Racing

DRO: If you found out one of your sponsored team cars was using some kind of traction control, would you get rid of him, encourage him, bend the rules or what?

DT: The rules don't allow traction control. We play by the rules. We do not do anything as a factory effort behind the scenes to go against the rules, to do anything underhanded. We don't want to tattletale on people; we don't. But we don't want to encourage them. We would not be very happy with our teams were they to be using something like that.

DRO: Do you actually know of anybody that's using traction control?

DT: I do not know anybody who's using it. I know there are stories about, I know there are rumors, I know there are accusations, and everybody I have talked to is not using it. In the end, it's not our job to prepare these cars, to test them, to assemble them, to do the stage where it might be added to the car.

DRO: In an effort to level the playing field, would it make sense to go to a NASCAR-type system where they hand out the box on Friday morning before qualifying?

DT: That's one way to eliminate this. However, there are other places to hide these controls so that switching the boxes isn't going to do any good. The decision really comes down between NHRA and the team owners, the people putting the money on the line and (who) know what the competition is. There are arguments to either side of this. I don't think it should be decided on the basis of "Gee, we can't inspect it."

DRO: But to decide one way or the other, to either allow it or not allow it, and then enforce it.

DT: It's NHRA's responsibility. It's in the interest of the owners to make their voices known in what they think should be done, because the question of sportsmanship, the driving skills -- is it these things that make the difference or is it some kind of electronics? It's also a question of would the electronics escalate so where it becomes not just switching the box, but it becomes more and more expensive sophisticated systems in these cars, that once you open Pandora's box, it goes that far out of control.

DRO: Taking more and more away from the driver.

DT: Exactly. Making the cars more automatic, in terms of how they operate. Remote control will be the term for that, and the drivers don't want that and we don't want to see that, so the issue needs to be addressed. We don't know that the answer is, but we need to play by the rules, as General Motors Racing.

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