Racing at his home track, host to this weekend's Summit Nationals has its advantages for Jeg Coughlin Jr.

The biggest advantage for the past Pro Stock champion is heading into the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge as the top qualifier following Friday qualifying at the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

“When the sun went down and it started cooling off a bit with that full moon shining, I think the crew chiefs got real excited,” Coughlin said of the cooling night temperatures.

Racing at his home track, host to this weekend's Summit Nationals has its advantages for Jeg Coughlin Jr.

The biggest advantage for the past Pro Stock champion is heading into the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge as the top qualifier following Friday qualifying at the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

“When the sun went down and it started cooling off a bit with that full moon shining, I think the crew chiefs got real excited,” Coughlin said of the cooling night temperatures. “I knew it would be key to keep the car in the middle of the groove and make sure I took it to the other end properly, and that's exactly what happened. It's a great start to the weekend, especially with the K&N Horsepower Challenge firing up in the morning. We needed to be hitting on all cylinders and we are.

“The JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt has been going nice and straight for the last four or five races and it responded well tonight and we were able to poke it into the 6.50 range, so we're really pleased. I don't think anyone else ran a 6.50.”

Friday’s second qualifying session for the suspended chassis pro classes, Pro Stock and Pro Modified, bordered on the treacherous side. Four cars crashed prior to Coughlin's final run of the day - two in Pro Mod and two more in Pro Stock. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the carnage sent a weird vibe through the staging lanes.

“Pro Stock cars don't have big wings so we definitely put as much angle as we could on there tonight,” Coughlin said. “We knew that would give us a bit more bite even at the expense of a little ET but we were okay with that. I didn't see the two Pro Mod wrecks but I did watch the two in Pro Stock and I knew from seeing that it would be vital to keep the car in the middle of the track because the groove is narrow right now.”