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BRISTOL, TN (June 18, 2017) – No rest for the quick as the dedicated Pro Modified teams rolled into Bristol Dragway on the hunt for victory, just one week after pushing their cars and nerves to the limit at the NHRA Summernationals. Twenty-nine teams made the call to the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee, four of which trust Pro Line Racing to provide enough power to win. That trust in Pro Line Power definitely paid off for Troy Coughlin as his Jeg’s Performance Pro Mod Team took top honors with the overall event win for the weekend.
The J&A Pro Mod Series hasn’t had any problems filling the class this year with nearly half of the cars not getting into the big show on a regular basis, and it’s not always the same cars which qualify. All four Pro Line Racing-powered cars qualified for the fourth time this season, and it was a pair of PLR Hemi engines that secured the top qualifying positions:
Density altitude of over 4,000 feet seemed to push the whole class back with a 5.968-second bump, but the bad air affected the Pro Line Racing-powered cars less - a testament to the consistency of the turbocharged PLR Hemi.
Going into eliminations, Biehle improved to a 5.895 at 252.05 MPH, yet it was not enough to take the win. Molinari, Coughlin, and Frigo all won their first round matchups for a chance to race on Sunday. The first battle of the second round was an all-PLR matchup between Frigo and Molinari. When the bulbs went green, it was Frigo who was first out of the hole but he made a move towards center and had to get out of it which left the door open for Molinari to take the win. Coughlin’s second round race against Bob Rahaim was a battle; Coughlin was first off the line but lost his lead by the 60 ft mark. Incredibly, the Petty-tuned PLR Hemi started building steam and Coughlin was able to run Rahaim down for the win.
With two PLR-powered cars through to the semi-finals, Team Pro Line had a 50% chance of getting a Wally. Molinari took out previous event winner, Rickie Smith, to earn his place in the final. Coughlin beat Jonathon Gray and got his second consecutive final round appearance. Team Pro Line’s odds of winning had improved to 100%.
The 2017 Thunder Valley Nationals Pro Mod final proudly hosted an all-PLR-power heads-up battle between the first and second qualifier. Coughlin left the line first and Molinari was hot on his tail, yet Molinari’s 5.881-second charge was not enough to best Coughlin who ran a quicker 5.878 ET. Congratulations to Troy Coughlin and the Jegs Performance Pro Mod Team for earning their first Wally of the season!
