COUGHLIN'S NINE-DAY JOURNEY

Three-time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin will try to fill his need for speed in the days to come with a nine-day, coast-to-coast jaunt that encompasses two of the biggest drag races of the year. Coughlin is entered in both the 42nd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona and the S&W Moroso 5-Day Bracket Championships at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"This might be an extreme case of chasing my passion for the sport but both of these races mean a great deal to me and in my estimation, epitomize drag racing on both the professional and the sportsman levels," Coughlin said. "These two tracks are on opposite coasts but a red-eye flight Sunday night should get me to Florida just in time for Round 1 Monday morning."

First things first; Coughlin is the defending champion of the fall race in Pomona and he arrives at the final event of the POWERade season with just two pro-level races in the books this year. Since he hoisted the trophy in Auto Club Raceway's winner's circle last November, Coughlin left the pro tour and went sportsman racing until recently joining Victor Cagnazzi's team as pilot of the Slammers Ultimate Milk/Jegs.com Cobalt.

"It's kind of unique to return to Pomona as the defending champ even though I've been away from professional racing for most of the past 12 months," Coughlin said. "Nevertheless, I'm awfully proud to come in here as the defending champ and fully expect to defend my title this weekend. Certainly, we have the race team to do just that.

"We returned to action a few weeks back in Virginia and right away I posted the quickest and fastest pass of my career. What that did for me personally was confirm the thoughts I had going into this deal that we would have a racecar that could compete for the 2007 championship. These final three races of the season have allowed me to get back up to speed in a Pro Stock car and I already feel very comfortable in the seat. I think all the laps I've made in bracket races this year kept me sharp."

The runs Coughlin has made at various high-dollar bracket races this year also whetted his appetite for the S&W Moroso 5-Day Bracket Championships, an event he starred at in 2003 when he won two of the five days and the overall title.

"As important and prestigious as the Finals are to pro racers, the Moroso 5-Day Bracket Championships have the same feel for sportsman racers," said Coughlin, a 47-time national event winner. "I still count my overall title there in 2003 as one of the biggest achievements of my racing career."

"This year, JEGS Mail Order is hosting a Race of Champions. We've invited everyone who has ever won an individual day or the overall championship from the last 25 years to come back and race for the title. We're even allowing anyone who can prove they've participated in all 25 Moroso 5-Day Bracket Championships, whether they've won or not, to join the race. It should be fun."

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