Troy Coughlin picked up an important first round win at the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Real Pro Mod Association, is the 11th of 12 events on the 2017 schedule.

Coughlin raced his JEGS.com Corvette to a 5.752-second pass at 257.33 mph to defeat Rickie Smith in the first round of eliminations. With his win and No. 1 qualifier Mike Castellana’s first round loss to Pete Farber, the battle for the Pro Mod crown will be decided at the J&A Service Series season finale in Las Vegas.

"It's pretty exciting,” Coughlin said. “I mean, when I saw the scoreboard light up on Farber's side [when he ran Castellana], I saw that and said, ‘Just keep yourself together here and try to get around Rickie.' We had to step on this thing and keep on thrashing on it. The guys have been doing a great job doing that. I couldn't be more excited about our chances at a championship. [Castellana going out first round] keeps us in the race. There's still 7 rounds of competition left.”

Coughlin will face Steven Whiteley, who defeated Danny Rowe, in the second round of eliminations. Farber, who was the No. 16 qualifier, defeated Castellana with a 5.823 pass at 249.39 to better Castellana’s 7.370 pass at 132.41. Farber’s next opponent will be Sidnei Frigo.

Eliminations for the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will continue Sunday.

First round results from the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, the 11th of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

ROUND ONE -- Sidnei Frigo, Chevy Corvette, 5.774, 255.10 def. Chuck Little, Corvette, 5.767, 248.71; Khalid alBalooshi, Chevy Camaro, 5.850, 247.84 def. Carl Stevens, Camaro, 6.102, 201.34; Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.823, 249.39 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 7.370, 132.41; Steve Matusek, Camaro, 5.835, 239.82 def. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 9.359, 98.59; Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 5.752, 257.33 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.807, 249.95; Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 5.744, 252.71 def. Danny Rowe, Corvette, Foul - Red Light; Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.809, 250.97 def. Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, Foul - Red Light; Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 11.283, 103.95 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, Foul - Red Light.

Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. The 11th of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd

 1  44 Mike Castellana, Oyster Bay NY, '17 Camaro   5.713 253.85
 2 280 Steve Jackson, Evans GA, '17 Camaro      5.719 251.81
 3 1938 Eric Latino, Port Perry ON, '69 Camaro     5.736 254.95
 4 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '14 CTS-V 5.757 248.02
 5  1 Rickie Smith, King NC, '17 Camaro       5.766 251.39
 6 303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, '16 Camaro   5.769 235.72
 7 1283 Carl Stevens, N. Haledon NJ, '69 Camaro    5.772 256.16
 8 1262 Chuck Little, Atkinson NH, '63 Corvette    5.775 248.66
 9 288 Sidnei Frigo, Sao Paulo BZ, '16 Corvette    5.781 255.68
 10  7 Khalid alBalooshi, Dubai UA, '17 Camaro    5.781 251.53
 11  5 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, '68 Camaro      5.781 250.18
 12  2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '15 Corvette    5.788 254.81
 13  8 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '16 Corvette   5.791 251.44
 14 6718 Shane Molinari, Battle Ground WA, '68 Firebird 5.800 256.41
 15 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '69 Camaro  5.803 251.34
 16 1518 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, '69 Daytona   5.804 249.67

    ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 17  13 Jonathan Gray, Artesia NM, '17 Camaro     5.807 250.88
 18  3 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, '14 Camaro    5.810 250.09
 19  4 Michael Biehle, North Vernon IN, '67 Mustang  5.811 254.47
 20 2105 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, '69 Chevelle 5.815 247.25
 21 213 Chip King, Roxboro NC, '69 Charger       5.823 246.80
 22  77 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa AL, '16 Mustang  5.850 237.42
 23 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '16 Camaro      5.884 234.13
 24 1310 Melanie Salemi, Buffalo NY, '68 Firebird    5.885 241.24
 25 2000 Billy Harper, Paducah KY, '00 Viper      5.980 240.38
 26 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, '68 Firebi 6.236 240.21
 27 2343 Jeffery Baker, Kathleen GA, '12 GXP      6.301 234.25
 28 463 Brandon Pesz, The Woodlands TX, '58 Corvette  6.407 167.68
 29 325 Harry Hruska, Hebron IN, '14 Camaro      7.853 175.68