Coughlin Flexes Mopar Muscle
Words by Darr Hawthorne
Photos by Tim Marshall and Darr Hawthorne
Hemi-Cuda’s, Darts, Challengers, Superbirds, Daytona's and a few Aspens gathered at the Strip at Las Vegas for the annual Mopars at the Strip with over 1,000 cars making the annual show.
Sadly, only six SS/AA cars made it to race in the first round of the
Chicago-style Mopar Hemi Shootout. With all six competitors running
legendary engine builder Harry Holton power, the West Coast Hemis team stood to grab all the bragging rights from the special event.
Two-time NHRA Pro Stock Champ Jeg Coughlin flew to Vegas to drive Michael Ogburn’s ’68 Barracuda and found an enthusiastic bunch of Mopar fans rooting for the guest driver. "I can’t believe that Jeg flew all the way here from Ohio to take second place," joked teammate Jerry Jenkins.
Coughlin will also drive for Ogburn's team in Hemi Shootout events that will be held at the SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, LA, on April 21-23 and at the U.S. Nationals.
Jeg went undefeated in the match with preliminary round wins over veteran Bob Mazzolini's Barracuda (shown) and Mark Vieira's flamed Dodge Dart. Coughlin also had low elapsed time of the first two rounds with runs of 8.889 against Mazzolini and 8.878 in the second round against Modesto’s Vieira advancing to the final against fellow Holton-powered West Coast Hemis teammate Jerry Jenkins. (Tim Marshall photo)
Idaho’s Jon Percy, driving his ’64 Plymouth Savoy, met Mark Vieira in the first round with Vieira’s Dart running 8.987 to Percy’s hole-shot 9.001 victory. (Tim Marshall photo)