InsideTopAlcohol

InsideTopAlcohol

DELAWARE, Ohio (July 8) -- Top Alcohol Dragster pro Troy Coughlin Jr. raced to a runner-up finish Sunday at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Summer Spectacle at Lucas Oil Raceway, highlighting a weekend that included a third-round appearance by his sister Paige, who competes in Super Comp. Across the country in New Hampshire, Jeg Coughlin Jr. took an early exit from the sixth annual NHRA New England Nationals.

"Considering we weren't even qualified until the last session, to have ended the day as runner-up says so much about this team," Troy Jr. said. "Rich McPhillips, Rich Jr., Duke Roney, Andy Good, Charlie Wrotten and Justin Beaver, they're true racers. They want to win and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

"It's an absolute honor to drive this racecar for this team."

On the day, Troy Jr. beat Jared Dreher, 5.328 at 278.86 mph to 5.351 at 270.43 mph, and Justin Ashley, 5.398 at 276.97 mph to 5.464 at 263.05 mph, before falling to Josh Hart in the money round.

Sunday's finish marked the third time this season that Troy Jr. has driven the JEGS.com McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster to the trophy round. He previously won the Norwalk divisional event and was runner-up at the Norwalk national event.

"The guys worked so hard this weekend to get us up to speed and things just clicked for us today," said Troy Jr., who qualified fifth with a 5.376 at 278.17 mph. "In the final we shook the tires a little and it wouldn't recover in time to get back in front and try to win. Still, I'm incredibly proud of the day and the race we put together."

Paige had her best outing of the year in her JEGS.comSuper Comp dragster, winning two rounds before losing a very close race in the third elimination session. She qualified third with an 8.903 then beat Rob Goins and Shanna Snyder before getting nipped by Mike Jirousek. Paige also participated in the DRAW/RFC Super Comp Shootout presented by Moser Engineering, which invites only the top eight...
Lebanon Valley, NY - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster added a third victory to his successful 2018 season. Duane defeated Karen Stalba in the final round at the scenic Lebanon Valley Dragway in upstate New York.

Duane qualified in the top half of the field with a 5.42 at 270 MPH to land third in the qualifying order. The popular driver from Boulder City, Nevada, moved through eliminations by first taking on Richard St. Pierre in round one. At the hit, St. Pierre was late leaving the starting line giving Duane a big advantage. At the top end it was Duane taking the win with a 5.49 at 271 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.62 at 252 MPH.

In the semi-finals, Duane took on Dan Mercier. As the lights came down, Duane was out of the gate first with an .053 to Mercier’s .095. At the stripe it was all PEAK as Duane chalked up a trip to the final round with a 5.54 at 269 MPH to Mercier’s 7.70 at 114 MPH.



In the final round, Duane met up with Karen Stalba who qualified fifth with a 5.50 so it looked to be a close race on paper. As the dragsters left the starting line, Duane once again got the edge with an 0.069 to Stalba’s close 0.072. Duane was able to keep the lead and take the win with a 5.43 at 269 MPH to Stalba’s distant 5.99 at 236 MPH. “My team did a great job in 90 plus degree temperatures today. Go PEAK!" Duane remarked following the race.

During the event there was a bad crash that hospitalized one of the PEAK Team's fellow racers. "DJ cox was involved in a top end accident. Our thoughts and prayers go to him and his family" Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their ongoing support.
In the finals at Summit Motorsports Park for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Megan Meyer, Olathe, Kansas, took home the win in Top Alcohol Dragster for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Driving for the Randy Meyer Racing Team, Megan had a few setbacks during qualifying on Friday and Saturday, and lost their second session because of the multiple rain delays. Their efforts of a 5.25-seconds and 5.28-seconds set Megan up as the No. 3 qualifier.

Megan took out Jeff Veale in the opening round, followed by a single pass in the second round of eliminations before defeating Dan Page in the semifinals, all running within the mid-5.20s range. Meyer ran 5.320-seconds at 277.94 mph in her final round victory over home state racer Troy Coughlin Jr., who clocked in at 5.369 seconds, 275.67 mph.

“I was slow getting out of the gate, and we almost lost on a holeshot because of it,” said Megan. “For some reason my car slowed down on the track and we only ran a 5.32 at 277 mph – our worst run of the weekend, but I was lucky enough that we pulled ahead within the last 300 feet to get the win. I saw his yellow wing out of the corner of my eye going down the track, and I was screaming in my head to go faster; I did not want to lose after we have been doing so good, but then it disappeared after 1000 feet and I had just enough room to get around TJ and get the win by .001 of a second.”

With this win, Megan currently sits in the top position for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series National Points and hopes to carry the momentum into the second half of the season. Megan’s next race will be at her home track, Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas for the Central Regional event.

Catch Megan’s victory on FS2, Thursday, July 5th 8pm ET, and on Saturday, July 7th Noon ET on FS1. There are multiple re-air dates scheduled and can be found at https://www.nhra.com/tv/2018/lucas-oil-drag-racing-series