Westcott takes Hemi Challenge title; Coughlin’s ready as qualifying ends at SPORTSnationals
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 20) – Charlie Westcott Sr., of Parma, Mich., claimed the victory in today’s Mopar Hemi Challenge held at the fourth annual JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway. In the final round, Westcott defeated his son, Charlie Jr., in the final on a holeshot when his 8.56-secound run defeated Charlie Jr’s quicker 8.52 effort.
There was also a lot of action in the ultra competitive Top Dragster class as 38 drivers attempted to qualify for one of just 32 guaranteed starting spots. John Coughlin drove his Undercover Chassis dragster to a 7.08-second run that was good for the No. 24 spot.
“This was one of the quickest field’s we’ve ever seen in Top Dragster but I was ready for it,” said Coughlin, who is also qualified fourth in Super Stock. “We made some changes to my car last year in an effort to make it a little quicker and it paid off today. This class is very competitive, but anyone who qualifies can win so I think we’re in good shape for eliminations tomorrow.”
It was a similar story for Mike Coughlin, who is seeded fifth in the 32-car Top Sportsman class with a run of 6.861-seconds in his JEGS Cobalt. With 51 Top Sportsman racers fighting for only 32 spots, it took a run of 7.117-seconds just to make the field.
“This is amazing; I can’t ever remember a field this quick,” said Mike, who has won the last two JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals Top Sportsman titles. “Luckily, I was able to make a couple of pretty good runs early in qualifying so I didn’t have to worry about making the show. Now, I have to worry about winning the race tomorrow and that’s not going to be easy. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and probably a bit of luck, but I’m very happy with the way the car is running. It should be a lot of fun.”
In addition to Westcott, champions were crowned is several Shootout events held Saturday. James Monroe claimed the Top Dragster Shootout over Jeffrey Brown while Brian Sexton, former NHRA champion Mike Sawyer, and Mike Ruzika won their respective categories in the Super Class shootouts while James Monroe won in Super Street. On Friday night, Jeff Ledford of Stanton, Mich., claimed the $5,000 top prize in the JEGS Bracket Bonus event. Ledford defeated Gary Koebbe of Fairfield, Conn., in the final round.
Qualifying and time trial runs for the rest of the more than 500 entries was also completed on Saturday. Jason Coan of Greentown, Ind., held on to the top spot in Comp. Lee Sharp of Maryville, Tenn., is the top seed in Super Stock and Bert Morgan of Charleston, Ind., is the top qualifier in Stock.
Final eliminations for the fourth annual JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals are scheduled for 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.
