Although
his win was a personal first in the Pro Mod category, Coughlin
is no stranger to NHRA national event winner's circles.
In a long and distinguished Professional and Sportsman career,
he had previously won event titles in Pro Stock and Super
Gas, and was the Pro Stock champion at the 2000 NHRA All-Star
event in Bristol. Prior to the SuperNationals, Coughlin
had never been past the quarterfinals in a Pro Mod event.
Coughlin's first Pro Mod win was a picture of consistency.
Driving the same '67 Mustang with which Ashley won the 2004
AMS/TLR Cup title, Coughlin posted eliminations ETs of 6.133,
6.131, 6.132, and 6.124 in the final against Barklage, who
got off the line first with an .030 reaction time but was
quickly reeled in by the yellow-and-black Jeg's machine.
The scoreboards showed Coughlin crossing in 6.124 seconds
at 231.04 mph to Barklage's 6.262 at 229.00 mph.
The event win vaulted Coughlin well into the top 10 of
the AMS/TLR Cup points standings. With seven of 14 events
completed, Coughlin sits sixth in the standings with 1,245
points and is only 38 points out of fourth place. Despite
not competing in eliminations, Ashley continues to dominate
the AMS/TLR Cup race: his 2,774 points are 999 clear of
second-place Jay Payne's total.
For Barklage (Barklage Racing '37 Chevy), the final-round
loss was his second in the last three events. He moved up
to eighth place in the points battle.
FLOWMASTER CLASH
Billes also picked up the maximum of 16 points in the FLOWMASTER
Pro Mod CLASH bonus-event competition, moving up to 13th
in the CLASH points standings (despite attending just three
of the eight points-scoring events to date).
Mike Ashley (Torco Racing
Fuels ’67 Mustang), who took just one qualifying run
before leaving Old Bridge Township Raceway Park to attend
a family function, finished No. 5 in Englishtown to maintain
his lead in CLASH standings. He leads Joshua Hernandez (Tommy
Lipar Racing ’57 Chevy) by seven points and third-place
Jay Payne (Valvoline ’05 Stratus) by 13.
Shelly Payne and Glen Kerunsky are tied for the eighth
and final spot in the provisional field with 51 points apiece.
Frankie Taylor, a surprising non-qualifier in Englishtown,
dropped out of the top eight and sits seven points behind
Payne and Kerunsky.
