Bracket Racing - Quarterfinal Finish Highlights Troy Coughlin Jr.'s Ultimate 64 Weekend

CLAY CITY, Ky. (June 25) – Chasing a massive $50,000 first-place prize at the seventh annual Ultimate 64 Shootout presented by JEGS, Troy Coughlin Jr., managed a respectable quarterfinal finish that boosted his confidence level and left him hungry for more success.

"My car was strong and I drove good so I’m happy about that but when you get that close to a win and don’t finish the job, you always want more," Coughlin said. "I was having a pretty good day until I red-lighted by .002 seconds against Lester Adkins, who went on to be the runner-up. When that happens, you leave the track thinking about what might have been. I just needed to win three more rounds and I could have been the guy holding the big check but that’s how it goes sometimes."

In addition to his quarterfinal finish in the main event, Coughlin also drove his JEGS.com dragster to a Round 4 finish in one of the weekend's $10,000-to-win races and a couple other second round showings during the event, which was held at Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, Ky.

As is often the case at big multi-day E.T. bracket events, Coughlin made numerous runs during the weekend and considers the added seat time as good practice for future events.

"Even though we didn’t get a win, I had a good race and I worked well with my new crew chief, Jay Schroeder," Coughlin said. "I’m finding out that when it comes to how we run the car, we’re pretty much on the same page so that's a big help. It allows me to concentrate on driving and remove a lot of the other distractions. We’re going to make a good team.

"Overall, I enjoyed the experience of racing in Clay City. There were a lot of fans there, which made it a great bracket race. The stands were full and there were even people camping in the pits. It was a fun event."