CHEVROLET AT EPPING
What:
NHRA New England Nationals
When:
Friday, June 2-Sunday, June 4
Where:
New England Raceway, Epping, New Hampshire
TV:
FS1: Eliminations and finals – 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday
FS1: Qualifications live – 7:30 p.m. ET Friday
Chevrolet Drivers Take Aim at More Speed Records, Wins at New Hampshire
NHRA New England Nationals Kicks off Four Consecutive Weeks of Racing Action
DETROIT (June 1, 2017) – Scoring his initial victory of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season at New England Raceway would be especially satisfying for Jeg Coughlin Jr.
The five-time Pro Stock champion has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different venues, but Wallys from New England Raceway and Norwalk Raceway Park are missing from his trophy case. The driver of the JEGS.com Elite Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS will aim to rectify that this weekend in the NHRA New England Nationals in his 390th Pro Stock event.
Coughlin, who two weeks ago became the 10th competitor in NHRA history to record 600 round wins, has been resurgent since Elite Motorsports rejoined Team Chevy for the 2017 season. He’s posted two runner-up finishes, three semifinal appearances and a pair of No. 1 qualifier honors in eight races.
“I think it’s safe to say we’ve never had a better car coming into Epping,” said Coughlin, who qualified No. 1 and advanced to the semifinals in his first New England Raceway appearance in 2013.
“It’s a real credit to Mark Ingersoll, Rick Jones and Brian Self, our crew chiefs, as well as Jake Hairston and Nick Ferri with the work they’re doing on the engines. The crew guys also are working so hard. We keep making little gains every race and every off-weekend and we’re excited about the direction we’re going.”
Tanner Gray, who defeated Coughlin in the final of the most recent NHRA event at Topeka, Kansas, solidified his status as the leading contender for NHRA rookie of the year honors with his second Pro Stock victory. Gray, driving the Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS, is third in the Pro Stock standings.
Bo Butner, also a two-time winner this season in the Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS, is atop the standings for the first time. He’ll be competing in his 50th career Pro Stock event. KB Racing teammate and four-time champion Greg Anderson is 24 points back. Team Chevy has won all eight Pro Stock races.
John Force Racing’s Robert Hight also is on a roll, advancing to final round once and the semifinals three times in the past four races. At Topeka, he posted three of the five fastest speeds in Funny Car history – including a career-best 338.09 mph pass.
Brittany Force’s crew fixed a clutch issue on the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster prior to the Topeka event and Force set the national Top Fuel speed record of 333.96 mph.
“We’ve definitely turned the corner and we’re right there, right on the edge of getting into winner’s circle,” Force said.
FOX Sports 1 will telecast qualifications live at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, along with eliminations and finals at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
Bob Letellier of Biddeford, Maine, who started racing at New England Dragway when he was 17 years old and won his first NHRA national event in 1984 with his 1969 Chevrolet Nova, will compete in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro in Stock Eliminator.
His son, Mike Letellier of New York City, also will compete in the class in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, along with Dan Fletcher of Churchville, New York, and Philip Lankford of Lannghorne, Pennsylvania.
Bob Letellier will do double duty by also competing in Super Stock in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PREVIEW
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING NHRA PROGRAM MANAGER: “After a weekend off from racing, the Chevrolet teams in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock are back in action for the New England Nationals. The event kicks off four consecutive weeks of racing in four states, and Chevrolet teams and drivers are ready to vie for more victories as we advance to the middle of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. John Force Racing continues to make headlines with blazing elapsed time and speed runs in Funny Car and Top Fuel, while KB Racing’s Bo Butner has vaulted to the top of the Pro Stock standings with two victories. We’re looking forward to seeing Chevrolet drivers in the winner’s circle over the course of this June stretch of races.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER (runner-up at Phoenix; set career best for ET and speed at Topeka): “I’m excited for four in a row; I feel like the whole team, and me as a driver, are right there, and we can establish some momentum going race weekend after race weekend after race weekend. We’re ready to win. Everyone is still really on the same playing field. Everyone has been down the track the same number of times in qualifying, so that gives teams, especially teams like ours, a little advantage.”
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 or 2 qualifier the past five races; set career bests for ET and speed at Topeka; won inaugural race at Epping in 2013): “I think our Advance Auto Parts team is ready to go for four in a row. We feel good about the car and know we can compete. We’ve won here before and looking forward to going back to a place that is familiar to us. We can always go back and look at data from previous races. A lot has changed, but we can learn from certain things. We’re just hoping to come off Topeka on a high note and go back to a track that’s been good to us.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (advanced to final in inaugural Epping race; won at Gainesville this season; third in Funny Car standings): “You’ve got to wear three hats. You’ve got to be an owner, and you want to see any of your cars win. I drive right next to (Courtney Force), so you want to beat her, and that can be an aggravation on some days – different hat there. But then as a dad, you worry about their safety. They’re the ones who chose to get in these cars.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (advanced to final or semifinals the past three events; reset track speed record at Charlotte and Atlanta elapsed time record; two-time winner at Topeka; fourth in Funny Car standings): “We are that close. We just have to keep working hard. All we can do is keep digging every week. My guys have a lot of work to do to get ready for four races in a row. That’s a grind, but these guys want it just as bad as I do. We are hungry and we are going to do whatever it takes in the next week and a half to make sure that we are leaving nothing on the table for the next four. Maybe when we get to Epping, we can start a streak of our own.”
PRO STOCK:
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has won twice and been runner-up once this season; two-time No. 1 qualifier; sits atop point standings; competing in 50th career Pro Stock event): “I’m kind of familiar with the area because I fly up a little south of there to buy cars, so it wasn’t all new to me – but the first time I ever even saw New England Dragway was last year. Last year I ran two cars there – Comp and Pro Stock. We didn’t have any success, but I think we’re in a different position this year.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has won past two races at Epping; set track speed record in 2015; second in point standings): “The Northeast is a good place for Pro Stock to run; you always get good track and weather conditions, and our Summit Racing Chevy Camaros just love that. For me, the Northeast is a lot like Minnesota with the cool weather, where even if it’s warm during the day, it cools down at night. It’s very comfortable, and it falls right into line for us. Our cars run really well up there. It’s nice to get into the swing of things, and having a stretch like this helps you race with continuity and do the best you can behind the wheel. Of course, heading into four in a row, you hope and pray you don’t have any parts breakage because there won’t be a lot of time to repair anything. The goal is to have our ducks in a row so that we can race strong and make it through.”
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Las Vegas to become youngest winner in NHRA history; also won at Topeka; two-time semifinalist; third in point standings): “Coming off of an event win in Topeka definitely gives us a lot of confidence heading into this weekend. We are going to try and continue to make consistent runs that prove why we have the best car come race day. Our Gray Motorsports power falls second to none and we need to prove that during qualifying.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time runner-up and two-time semifinalist this season; two-time No. 1 qualifier; fourth in points): “Having not won here before, even though I’ve personally only raced here three times in the past, certainly makes it one where I’d like to have some success, What’s interesting to me is that although the NHRA tour has only held a national event here for a few years, it feels like a track we’ve been coming to for years.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning Pro Stock champion; won season opener at Pomona; two-time semifinalist; four-time No. 1 qualifier): “The good news is that I left Topeka with a better car than I’ve had recently. It ran well all weekend long, and it got progressively better. That makes you happy going into these next few races. Epping is a fun place to race because the fans are so into it. Even though that racetrack has never been kind to me and I’ve never been good there, I’m hoping I can change that this year. We’re going into four in a row, and that can either be good or bad. It just depends on where you are in the cycle, and if you are on a high note, that stretch of races can be really good. I feel like we’re in a good position as a team, and we’re all ready to get this started and see where we end up.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time Pro Stock champion; runner-up at Atlanta this season; competing in her 231st Pro Stock event): “The Pro Stock class goes in cycles. Since the beginning of the class 30-something years ago, it’s been very cyclical. Certain drivers get on top, stay there for a period of time, and then someone else comes along and has their time. There may have been less races in the past so the cycles seem longer in the history books, but when you count the events, it balances out pretty evenly. We had an incredible run, especially in 2014 and 2015 when we won our two championships and 15 races, but then last year another group came along and had their time. The only changes to the cycles come from the fact there are so many multi-car teams nowadays. But if you replace teams with individual drivers from the past, the cycles are very similar.”
DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up at Phoenix; finalist at Charlotte; No. 2 qualifier at Atlanta); competing in 55th career Pro Stock event): “We’re heading into four weeks in a row of racing, which will help us get our car balanced and collect data. But it is tough on the guys preparing the car. We’re looking forward to competing at Epping and hopefully finding our way to the winner’s circle.”
JOHN GAYDOSH JR., GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE, GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in his fourth Pro Stock race of the season and 76th in career): ”The fans at New England Dragway are the nicest and friendliest fans in the racing series. They actually come up to you and thank you for coming up to New Hampshire. They truly appreciate having NHRA Drag Racing back up here and they come out rain or shine to see us. They are true Super Fans.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (semifinalist at Topeka; has qualified in top half of field in five of the eight races; competing in 154th career Pro Stock event)
SHANE TUCKER, TUCKER RACING, AUZMET ARCHITECTURAL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in third event of the season)