Jeg Coughlin Jr., continues to make the chances that another driver will lead the points headed into the Countdown to the Championship slimmer with each passing race.

Coughlin
raced to the semifinals of the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA
Nationals and beat second-place runner Mike Edwards along the way to
increase his lead in the Full Throttle Pro Stock points to 83.

"It was a great day; it just ended a little bit too soon," Coughlin
said. "Any time you get past a mountain like Mike Edwards you've really
accomplished something and the fact he is the next guy behind us in the
points made that round win very, very important."

Sometimes the tree is quick and sometimes it's not.

The semi-finals of the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals was one of those not-so-quick instances for Cory McClenathan.

"It was a long light," he said. "In a driver's mind, it's time to go,
it's time to go. I squeezed the throttle. Realizing I was too early I
stopped myself with the brake, went back off, hit it again when the
lights came down, but by then I'd already triggered some fuel systems
that went off in the car and when I hit the gas again to leave, it just
put cylinders out. I had already caused damage when I squeezed the
throttle.

The NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals continue to be a nightmare for Top Fuel Dragster driver Brandon Bernstein.

Bernstein, the No. 8 qualifier, lost to No. 9 qualifier Morgan Lucas in
the first round. Bernstein clocked a 4.137-second pass, but couldn't
keep up with Lucas' 4.005-second effort.

This was the fifth-consecutive year that Bernstein has lost in the first round at the Mile-High Nationals.

Facing the red-hot Larry Dixon is a daunting task, rookie Spencer
Massey, however, didn't flinch in the second round of the NHRA Mopar
Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway located outside of Denver,
Co.

Massey ran a 3.971-second time to outrun Dixon, who clocked a 4.004-second effort.

Ashley Force Hood raced to her sixth final in ten races this season with a solid effort at the 30th annual Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals.
She held onto the points lead as the NHRA Western Swing leaves Denver
headed to Seattle next weekend for the 22nd annual Northwest NHRA
Nationals. The youngest driver in the John Force Racing stable was
defeated in the final by veteran Ron Capps for the second time this
season. Her 4.231 second run was no match for No. 1 qualifier Capps’
4.187 second pass. In Norwalk, Ohio, two weeks ago Force Hood bested
Capps in a wild second round match-up that saw her take the points lead
with the round win.

She is the only female to ever lead the Funny Car points and is the
only Funny Car driver who has led the points both this season and last
season. Even with her success behind the wheel Bandimere Speedway got
the best of Force Hood the first two times she raced here. She turned
over a new leaf at Thunder Mountain today picking up her first career
round win and racing all the way to the final round.

Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates met in the finals Sunday at the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

Krawiec, who has now been in six finals in a row, collected his third
win of the season when Hines collected a redlight off the starting
line.

Krawiec avenged a loss he suffered to Hines in the last event at Norwalk.

Ron Capps capped a dominating weekend Sunday by upending Ashley Force Hood in the Top Fuel Funny Car finals of the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway located outside of Denver, Co.

Capps clocked a 4.18-second time in his Don Schumacher Racing NAPA
Dodge machine, while Force Hood came in at 4.231 seconds in her Castrol
GTX/Auto Club Ford Mustang.

"We were testing both lanes today and during one of the rain delays, he
(Ace McCulloch his crew chief) came back and peeked his head in with me
and the crew guys and asked me what lane I wanted (in the final),"
Capps said. He has never asked me that ever in my career. I told him we
ran a track record (4.12) in the left and then I get strapped in the
car and heard on the radio that we're taking the right lane. At least
he asked. The car rattled the tires pretty good on that last run and I
got ready to pedal it and then it cleared up and took off. I could hear
her car over there somewhere. I just hoping we could get down there and
we did."

For the last three years, Allen Johnson has been stellar in the Pro Stock Class at the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

Sunday was no different.

Johnson won his second title in three years at Bandimere, beating Jason Line in the finals with a holeshot.

Johnson ran a 7.004-second time, compared to Line's 7.001-second
effort. Johnson won by virtue of his 0.29 reaction time, while Line had
a 0.50 reaction time.

Dan Fletcher and Justin Lamb took the class to school during the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Co.

Fletcher, from Churchville, N.Y., took home his 61st NHRA Wally when he
defeated Doug Young in the Stock final round. ‘Fletch’ nailed the tree
at the start, posting a stellar 0.008 reaction time to Young‘s 0.080
reaction. Both cars broke out and Fletchers -0.033-second infraction
was the lesser of the two evils.

Fletcher, a professional sportsman drag racer, sponsored this season by
K & N Filters, revels in the opportunity to put his AA/SA 1969
Chevrolet Camaro in the winner’s circle for his new backers.

Home field advantage is often crucial in sports. The
advantage Super Comp racer Ray Groves and Super Gas competitor Dennis
Hay held this weekend at the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals at
Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Co., was good enough to propel both
drivers to their first NHRA National Event wins.

Groves, from Evans, Colo., drove his old school 1993 Jerry Fritz
hard-tail chassis dragster past former Super Comp world champion Gary
Stinnett in the final round. Stinnett held a slight starting-line
advantage but Groves’ compensated by running closer to the Super Comp
index. His 9.507-second elapsed time was good enough to hold off the
hard charging Stinnett.