It was a nice step forward for the new team, which came together just seven races ago. So far this year, Coughlin has a best finish of second place at the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. Overall, he is 4-5 on race day.

“We came out swinging much harder than we have in previous races,” Coughlin said. “We were a little sluggish early but our back-half numbers and our speed looked pretty decent. In Q2 last night, we picked up a little bit on our program and that’s what initially got us into the field. In Q3, we picked up our ET and moved up to 11th, even though our back half numbers slipped a little.

“But we’re in the game, and have some depth in our program. I feel confident behind the wheel of the car. The car has been driving really well, and I feel great behind the wheel. All of it gives us the bottom line of being able to have a great day.”

Coughlin won this event in 2000, a victory that helped catapult him to his first of four Pro Stock titles. To win Sunday, he’ll have to first get past Round 1 opponent V. Gaines, who qualified sixth with a 6.645 at 207.21 mph.

“We’ve got some consistency and momentum on our side,” Coughlin said. “We made four decent passes in qualifying. Our competitors see that and know that we’re going to hit the nail on the head sooner or later. They are just hoping they aren’t next to me when it happens. Maybe we’ll earn a little luck with that.

“I don’t think we’re earned much in 2012, but the name of the game is go up there and give it all you’ve got. Behind the wheel, I need to be steady, consistent and aggressive to pull off some round wins. We need round wins right now to build up the points and solidify a spot in the Countdown.”

Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. with the two nitro classes. Pro Stock should hit the track for Round 1 around noon. CDT.

Even so, Anderson was equally pleased with his 6.633-second, 207.37 mph pass in the heat of the afternoon on Saturday.  Armed with a consistent and fast race car, the four-time champion heads into race day and his first round encounter with Richard Freeman cautiously optimistic about his chances of scoring a fifth Heartland Park Topeka win.

“I am happier after qualifying today than I’ve been at any race all year,” said Anderson.  “I don’t know why, but my Summit Racing Pontiac has suddenly come to life. My opinion is that it’s scared that I’m going to retire it, because we certainly haven’t made any major changes to it.  I may not fully understand why it’s happened, but I’m glad it did.

“The good news is that we’re going to have a really good hot rod tomorrow.  We’ve had two good days of qualifying, made four solid runs and scored bonus points in all four sessions, which is a major improvement.  We’ve had a great car so far this weekend, and tomorrow we need to do something with it.

“If we get some cloud cover tomorrow, it will help the racetrack, which has held up well so far in the heat.  It’s also supposed to be cooler, which should give us better air, so these cars should be able to run better, which excites us, because we believe it plays into our strengths.  We’ll have to wait and see what race day brings, but for right now I’m happy.”

Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and McDonough, Georgia.  For more information, please visit www.summitracing.com.

This marks the 16th straight race in which Line has secured a starting spot in the Top Three positions, dating back to the Seattle race last August.  With a first-round matchup set against No. 14 qualifier Steve Kent, the reigning Full Throttle Champion looked to use this performance to propel him to his first win at the Kansas quarter-mile.

“Although we were a little off on the tune-up with my car today and didn’t run as well as we would have liked, we’re confident we’re going into race day with two strong Summit Racing Pontiacs,” said Line.  “This KB Racing team has done a tremendous job all year giving me a great race car to drive, and I think tomorrow will be the best chance I have ever had to break through and score my first win here in Topeka.  The forecast is calling for it to be a little cooler, but as long as we don’t have any rain, we should be in good shape.  As long as everyone on the team does their job, it’s all good.”

Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and McDonough, Georgia.  For more information, please visit www.summitracing.com.

That has continued with Switzer’s new business venture, Switzer Dynamics.

The first-year company is a contingency sponsor for the 2012 ADRL Tour, an exciting step for Switzer and a business he created this past off-season.

“We have a lot of faith in the ADRL and we are excited to be working with them in 2012,” Switzer said. “We thought it was the right thing to do, especially for the people supporting us.”

Based in Denver, N.C., Switzer Dynamics manufactures and sells race products, specializing in nitrous and induction systems.

Switzer has nearly two decades of experience developing and designing products for many of the top names in drag racing, and his experienced staff includes Melissa Smith, Dan Carver and Warren O’Dell.

In a short time, Switzer Dynamics has also made a noticeable impact in the ADRL’s Pro Nitrous and Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified classes.

He’s gained customers in both classes at a rapid rate, offering input and expertise that has previously led to numerous wins, records and championships for nitrous cars in the ADRL.

Most recently, Pro Nitrous driver Robert Patrick Jr. used Switzer Dynamics products en route to a win at last weekend’s ADRL Northeast Drags II presented by Penske at Maple Grove Raceway.

“Business has taken off quite a bit faster than I could have anticipated. Everyone has come together and we’ve got a good group of people here,” Switzer said. “The plan is to provide 100 percent customer support that is equal to all the racers. I’m going from pit-to-pit keeping their information quiet and giving everyone equal help.

“We’re not out there playing favorites. Whatever driver wins, that doesn’t matter. I just want to try to make both cars go as fast as they can. If they have our decal, we’re supporting them and helping them as much as we can.”

Switzer Dynamic’s focus is on manufacturing parts and working with induction parts and teams on the nitrous end of racing.

At the company’s new facility, Switzer uses state-of-the-art technology and equipment, offering services ranging from custom nitrous installations, custom intake and manifold designs to manufacturing, flow testing, fabrication and more.

Switzer Dynamics also offers carbon fiber nitrous bottles, bottle blankets, shear plates and jet kits.

“We built this place to be very flexible as far as what we build,” Switzer said. “We are capable of changing with the times and demand of products very easily.  We can manufacture just about anything.

“We work on a lot of special projects, but nitrous is still my favorite thing to work on. My focus is still on that.”

In the near future, Switzer Dynamics also plans to have products available at each race for teams in the Pro Nitrous and Pro Modified classes.

“These nitrous cars are a real challenge, just to get them down the track and keep the engines together,” Switzer said. “It’s one of the hardest classes to be successful in, but I really enjoy those challenges.”

The fourth stop on the 10-race 2012 ADRL Tour takes place on June 1-2 at Gateway Motorsports Park with the Gateway Drags IV presented by CarSafe.

ABOUT THE ADRL

Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, the American Drag Racing League is the world’s premier sanctioning body for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The professional categories featured in the ADRL are Pro Junior Dragster, Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified, Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Mickey Thompson Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the quickest doorslammer class in all of drag racing, as well as the revolutionary new SuperCar Showdown. The 2012 ADRL Tour consists of 10 national events run throughout the United States. For more information on the ADRL, visit www.ADRL.us.

“We’re heading into this weekend looking to rekindle some of the magic this Summit Racing team had with Heartland Park Topeka in the past,” said Anderson.  “We seem to have misplaced it over the last few years, but we’re ready to get it back and return to the form that saw us win there four times.

“The first few years we went there, we considered it one of the super tracks and saw numerous records set there, especially in the fuel classes because the surface was so good.  It’s got some age on it now, and the track has become a little more finicky, putting it in the hands of the crew chiefs.

“It’s a real challenge, a lot like Darlington Raceway in NASCAR, in that it’s very tough to tame, which is the way it should be.  They shouldn’t all be perfect surfaces that are easy to tune for.  When the heat comes on that Topeka track, as is forecast for this weekend, it becomes a handful, turning it into a tuner’s race, so we’ll need to be at our best starting with the first qualifying session on Friday.”

A look at his season to date supports Anderson’s optimistic outlook for this weekend.  Seven races into the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule, he leads the Pro Stock category by 72 points over his teammate Jason Line.  In addition, he is the only competitor among the “factory hot rods” with multiple victories, having scored his third win in Atlanta ten days ago.  However, as the self-proclaimed perfectionist admits, unlike previous years, this season’s success is mostly due to the grit and determination of the KB Racing crew rather than their race car’s performance.  Although naturally pleased with the final results, he knows that maintaining their position atop the standings must include a return to form.

“I have no idea how we have gotten three wins and five final round appearances this year,” joked Anderson.  “Who knows, maybe because we seem to struggle in qualifying, no one expects a lot from us in final eliminations, but somehow this Summit Racing team keeps getting the job done on race day, more than holding our own with what we have to work with.

“We just seem to have a love/hate relationship with this particular car, and we continue to work on swinging it more into the love side.  She’s a feisty one, fighting us every step of the way, but this KB Racing crew is also a bunch of fighters, throwing everything we can at her.  So far I’d have to call it a draw, and as long as we keep finding ways to win races, I’m good with that.

“As I said after we won Atlanta, I think our success this season comes down to our making fewer mistakes than our opponents.  Even though we haven’t always been the baddest dog on the planet, somehow the people we’ve raced have made mistakes, which you cannot do in this class if you expect to win.  The bottom line is that we keep racing tough, focusing on every little detail and finding ways to capitalize on our competitors’ mistakes.

“Of course we know we need to have the proper performance to keep being successful, which is why we are constantly digging, trying to improve every aspect of our program.  The good news is that we’ve been able to win races when not at our best, and that things could turn around on any given run.  But no matter how fast our Summit Racing Pontiac is, we need to keep that same tough attitude, never giving up and always finding ways to win, with Heartland Park Topeka next on our hit list.”

“Heartland Park Topeka and I have a long history together,” said Line.  “In fact, I raced my Stocker at the first event held there, when they were still pouring concrete when we rolled through the gates.  I also won a points meet in Topeka.  But for reasons I can’t quite explain, that success has yet to translate over to my Pro Stock car, something we’re more than ready to change.

“If there ever was a time that we had a car capable of winning the race, it would have to be right now.   My Summit Racing Pontiac has been extremely strong all year, so I feel there is a good possibility we are going fix any issues we’ve had with Kansas in the past this weekend.”

However, the reigning Pro Stock champion knows his path to the Heartland Park Topeka winner’s circle will include challenges beyond mastering the racing surface, whose tricky nature will only be magnified by the warm temperatures forecast for this weekend.  In addition to another tightly packed Pro Stock field, Line and his KB Racing crew will need to deliver the same consistent performance on race day that they have shown in qualifying, where their four No. 1 qualifying positions double those of their nearest competitor.

After seven races, Line’s record in 2012 is something most of his rivals would aspire to, with one win in two final round appearances, four finishes of the semifinals or better and a second-place positioning in the Full Throttle standings (behind only his teammate Greg Anderson).  Even so, with improvement still possible, the quiet-spoken North Carolina racer continues to set his expectations at a very high level.

“The way things have gone this year, it would almost be better if we raced on Saturday (when qualifying is normally held),” joked Line.  “Obviously to win this weekend, we will need a total effort, with four good runs, four good lights and no mistakes, which we haven’t been able to do since Phoenix.  We’ve been close to getting it done, including Atlanta two weeks ago, but just came up a hundredth shy against our teammate in the final.

“I know there are many people who would be more than happy to have our Summit Racing team’s record so far, and would gladly trade places with us.  However, without trying to sound cocky or arrogant, we are only satisfied when we win.  By the same token, as soon as one race is over, no matter how we’ve done, we put it behind us and start working on the next one.  For example, when we pull into Heartland Park this weekend, we’re not going to worry about how we did there in the past or even what happened at the last race.  Our focus will be solely on doing whatever it takes to get our Pontiac back to the winners’ circle on Sunday.  It’s about time I took a Topeka Wally home.”

Jason Line & the Summit Racing Pontiac crew

By the Numbers – Heartland Park Topeka edition:

2 – a) Finishes of the semifinals or better by Jason in his eight prior Topeka starts.

b) Wins by Line following a runner-up finish, most recently at the 2011 Dallas race.

6 – a) Top Half starts by Line in his 8 prior races in Topeka.

b) Average starting position for Jason in his previous 8 HPT starts.

c) Tracks on the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing schedule where Jason has yet to win, including Heartland Park Topeka.

16 – Different tracks on which Jason has won in his Pro Stock career.

Event Schedule (All Times Central):

            Friday, May 18:                     Two qualifying sessions at 4:30 & 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 19:                Two qualifying sessions at 12:30 & 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 20:                  Final eliminations starting with Top Fuel at 11:00 a.m.

Television Coverage (All coverage on ESPN2):

            Qualifying:                Saturday, May 19 –              5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Eliminations:             Sunday, May 20 –                7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

(All times Eastern)

After the first seven rounds in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Jeg Coughlin Jr. is ranked 12th in the NHRA Full Throttle points standings.

At the most recent NHRA event in Atlanta, Jeg competed in his 700^th elimination round as a professional racer. Overall, he has a round-win record of 477-223.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.

Jeg won the Pro Stock title at the 2000 Topeka event, driving his Team JEGS entry to a final round win over Darrell Alderman. Jeg also has a runner-up finish at this event in Pro Stock 1998, in his first appearance at Heartland Park Topeka as a professional. Jeg lost to Warren Johnson in that final.

As a sportsman racer, Jeg won the Super Stock title in Topeka in 1994 and earned a runner-up finish in Competition Eliminator in 1997. That season, he set an NHRA record by winning national events in four separate classes; Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, and Super Gas.

In 12 career appearances at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg has a round win record of 18-10 in Pro Stock competition.

Jeg has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field in 9 of his 12 appearances at Heartland Park Topeka including a best of No. 1 in 2000. Jeg has been the No. 1 qualifier 17 times in his career.

Jeg will once again be pulling double-duty at the Topeka event as he will also be behind the wheel of his HEMI-powered JEGS.com Drag Pak Challenger in Stock Eliminator. Earlier this season, longtime family friend Jeff Taylor drove the same car to a win at the Gainesville Raceway Lucas Oil Series event.

During his hiatus from Pro Stock racing in 2011, Jeg returned to his roots and spent much of the year racing in various sportsman classes. He enjoyed tremendous success, winning the Super Comp title at the JEGS NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, Calif., and numerous major E.T. bracket racing titles.

At the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event earlier this year in Las Vegas, Jeg scored his 68^th career national event title when he drove his JEGS.com dragster to the Super Comp title.

In 290 career Pro Stock races, Jeg has reached the final round 85 times, recording 52 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg has won a total of 68 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all time wins list. During his career, Jeg has appeared in 106 final rounds, 85 as a professional and 21 as a sportsman racer.

In 2010, his most recent season in Pro Stock competition, Jeg Coughlin won four Pro Stock races in seven final round appearances. He also claimed a win in the Top Dragster class at the St. Louis event.

Jeg’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.520-seconds and his best speed is 212.29-mph both recorded at the inaugural Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C. in 2010.

With 52-career Pro Stock wins, Jeg ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (96), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (73) have more titles.

Coughlin’s JEGS Mopar Dodge Avenger is powered by Mopar Hemi engines supplied by JNR Racing, the JEGS in-house engine program founded by JEGS, Nick Ferri, and Roy Simmons. Former FIA European Drag Racing champion Tomi Laine is Jeg’s crew chief in 2012.

Jeg is the only driver in the 61-year history of NHRA to win national event titles in six different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.

Team JEGS – By the Numbers
Dollar General NHRA Summer Nationals Edition

4          Final rounds for Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Heartland Park Topeka (two in Pro Stock, one in Comp and one in Super Stock)

9          Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory

92         NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family

700       Rounds of competition for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock (with 477 wins against just 223 losses)

“We love the Mountain Motor Nationals,” relayed Eman. “It’s a privilege to be invited by [track owner] Mr. Royce Miller to participate in this prestigious event. Last year we made a runner up finish against Pluchino, so we surely still have a bone to pick with Pluchino Racing. We would love to meet them in the final again, but we won’t be as easy on them this time.

“Even though this is not a race under the ADRL banner, it serves as a great test session for us, for sure. So not only are we glad to get to get more runs in, but we’re very appreciative to Mr. Miller for putting this event on. He is one of the few that goes out of his way to organize a race for us Mountain Motor racers, so we surely like to support him for supporting us. MIR is a wonderful facility. You can tell that the Miller family takes pride in what they do there. We have been visiting it for several years and we always love going back.”

Not only are fans privy to Mountain Motor Pro Stocks on the quarter-mile, but the infamous Northeast Outlaw Pro Mods will also be on hand at MIR this weekend, giving fans a once-a-year opportunity to see both MMPS and PM on the quarter-mile in the same event. Qualifying commences Friday evening and finishes on Saturday, with the race contested Saturday evening under the lights.

“This event is always a spectacular show,” continued Eman. “It looks like we’ll have perfect weather this year, so we’re looking forward to an awesome event.”

Keep up with Team Aruba at www.facebook.com/teamarubaracing and on Twitter @TeamArubaRacing. Find race results, team updates, videos and photos. Also leave your comments to cheer on Team Aruba!

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