TOMMY D’APRILE RETURNS TO THE
QUARTER MILE
FLORIDA’S OWN Tommy D’Aprile was one of the racers most enthusiastic
about the race, as it gave him a chance to make his return to
quarter-mile Pro Modified racing just a few hours from home. He
was thrilled enough to have a race of this caliber so close to home.
The ability to compete in it was icing on the cake.
“I don’t know too much about Pro Stock, but that was one of the best
Pro Mod races ever,” D’Aprile says. “We got blessed with unbelievable
weather, which made for extremely positive conditions for going fast.
The racetrack was killer. It was a perfect storm, and to have that many
cars there, it was awesome.”
D’Aprile and his Al Billes-owned-and-tuned ’69 Camaro sat in the No. 5
spot on the Pro Mod qualifying order after the first session, but he eventually
fell to the No. 17 spot. A series of mechanical issues prevented him from
making representative runs in the three other sessions, but the always-optimistic
driver was still content with his first quarter-mile, NHRA-legal Pro
Mod appearance since 2008.
“Against everybody we were number five,” D’Aprile says. “That’s
why I’m confident in what we can do. We were quick and fast for that
session, we just never got another run. Then we get bumped out by one
thousandth. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I didn’t realize it was only a
thousandth.’ And it was the quickest field ever. The joke was that we
were number one…alternate.” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
ANOTHER COUGHLIN STAR IN PRO STOCK?
TROY JR. STARTS STRONG IN ORLANDO
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN his first official race in Pro Stock, but Troy Coughlin
Jr. look like a seasoned veteran at the Drag Illustrated World
Doorslammer Nationals. In other words, he looked like a Coughlin.
He qualified eighth with an outstanding run of 6.481 at 212.26, which
would have been remarkable enough. But he wasn’t done, as Coughlin
beat reigning Pro Stock world champ Erica Enders in the opening round,
going 6.528 at 210.90. Enders was quicker, but Coughlin posted the
quicker reaction time to win on a holeshot, and give him a stunning start
to a possible career in Pro Stock.
“What a surreal feeling to race Erica first,” Coughlin said. “She’s a fantastic
driver and someone I’ve looked up to for a long time. It was a huge
honor to line up next to her. To be fair, we both missed the tree, but I got
lucky and she missed it a little more than I did.”
It took another Coughlin to beat him, as Jeg upended him in the second
round, but even that was a surreal moment for Troy Jr., as his father
was also in attendance. It all added up to an impressive Pro Stock start
and weekend.
“Racing one of my all-time heroes was a crazy moment I’ll never forget,”
Troy Jr. said. “Uncle Jeg has been by my side every step of the way in my
driving career and he’s taught me so much, both in and out of the racecar.
I still have so much to learn but this weekend was great.” – JOSH HACHAT DI
May 2020
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