Season-Best Qualifying at Gainesville

Jeg Coughlin Jr. and his Elite Motorsports team posted their strongest qualifying effort of 2016 at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, slotting the Magneti Marelli offered by Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Dart into the No. 6 position.

"I know we're heading in the right direction," Coughlin said. "We've said that by the first three to five races we need to get our act together and get some consistency. We felt like we had a little bit better race car here, and we did: We qualified in the top half with our best effort at No. 6, showing that we're making strides."

First Round: Third Consecutive Win

Coughlin won in the first round for the third consecutive race of 2016, beating Chris McGaha despite trailing on the starting line. McGaha had to push the clutch in early and coasted to a 7.458-second lap at 140.7 mph while Coughlin ran a 6.632 at 209.14 mph. The uncharacteristic .080-second reaction time was a point of self-assessment for the five-time champion.

"I was just off; I wasn't paying attention," Coughlin said. "When you get by with it, I call that a wake-up call, and I was ready for Greg second round."

Second Round: Anderson and Tire Shake

Coughlin delivered a .018 light against Greg Anderson in the second round, building a five-hundredths starting-line advantage. The team had adjusted after the first round to calm the car's launch, but the Dart shook the tires early and Coughlin was forced to push the clutch in - coasting to a 12.830 at 91.11 mph while Anderson posted a 6.621 at 209.75 mph.

"What Rick and Rickie Jones did to try to calm the car down and get it to accelerate that first 30, 40 feet, it really sounded like a great game plan," Coughlin said. "I was the first to be shocked as I let the clutch out. The car started to go and felt pretty good for a split second, and then I could feel it go north with the rpms, and it was shaking hard. All I could do, honestly, was push the clutch in."

Closing the Gap

Three races into the 2016 season, the trajectory is measurable. Coughlin has a first-round win at every event and his qualifying position has steadily improved. The gap to the KB Racing-powered cars - which have won at the first two events - is narrowing.

"We took a small bite of their margin of performance advantage," Coughlin said. "I think the class itself is getting caught up a little bit by the looks of it. The Gray Motorsports cars are going faster, and we inched up on them a little bit more on the Mopar side."

Jeg Coughlin Jr. qualified a season-high No. 6, beat Chris McGaha in the first round, and scored a starting-line advantage on Greg Anderson in the second round before tire shake ended his run at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

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