BY ALLEN GREGORY

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Jeg Coughlin considers it the turning point of his 2007 season.

The setting was Bristol Dragway. The event was the O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals. And the final round opponent was Kenny Koretsky.

"Kenny got the holeshot [starting line advantage] on me," Coughlin said. "When our win light came on, it felt like we got a little monkey off our back.

"It was one heck of a summer after that."

In fact, Coughlin parlayed that emotion-packed Thunder Valley victory into his third National Hot Rod Association Powerade Pro Stock world championship.

The popular Koretsky, nicknamed Captain Chaos, put together a dream weekend at Bristol last summer.

After surprising the balanced Pro Stock field, Koretsky posted a time of 6.839 seconds at 201.82 miles per hour in the finals. Coughlin, the low qualifier for the event, bettered that mark with a pass of 6.809 seconds, or 203.22 mph.

"It was our first major win at [Victor] Cagnazzi Racing, that’s the biggest thing I remember," Coughlin said. "It felt fantastic. My team owner [Victor Cagnazzi] along with my 11-year old son [Jeg III] were both at the track.

"And one of the big traditions we started then at Cagnazzi Racing was hopping up on the roof of our car after the final. To be able to do that after a win at Bristol was really cool.’"

Coughlin finished the 2007 season with four wins and four runnerup finishes.

"That Bristol win was so powerful. It gave our entire team a big shot in the arm," Coughlin said.

As usual, Coughlin will be one of the favorites in the eighth annual O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals next weekend. Coughlin currently trails only Jason Line in Pro Stock points.

"I definitely feel confident," Coughlin said. "We trail Jason by less than one round [seven points], and we’ve got a great pace going.

"We’ve had a little bit of bad racing luck, but that’s nothing we’re going to fret about. Another win at Bristol would be great timing for us going into the heavy racing months."

And Coughlin said he would love to perform another rendition of his improvisational victory celebration dance at Thunder Valley.

"We’re not doing backflips or anything, but it’s something we can do to honor the guys in our race shop," Coughlin said. "We’re one of the few Pro Stock teams that has an in-house chassis development program, plus an in-house engine program.

"Our guys just asked if we could hop up on the top of the car and give a little celebration for them after we won. It was such an adrenaline rush to hop up there after Bristol last year and let my son get up there with me. That was a great weekend."

Coughlin will also participate in the NHRA Circle Track Challenge at Bristol Motor Speedway after the final qualifying session on Saturday, May 17. That event starts at 7 p.m. and is part of a five-race card, concluding with a fireworks show after a 150-lap United Auto Racing Association series feature race.

The starting lineup for the NHRA Circle Track Challenge will be determined by fan votes. Fans can go to www.bristoldragway.com to vote for their favorite drivers.

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544