NHRA fans have spoken, voting Jeg Coughlin Jr., driver of the JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger, in for the eighth and final spot in the 28th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge which will be held as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Saturday, July 7, at Summit Racing Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Coughlin won the fan vote by a landslide, receiving 66 percent of the total votes cast by NHRA fans since voting began in April.
Jeg Coughlin Jr.
The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a race within a race, showcasing the top drivers in NHRA Pro Stock, with the winner receiving $50,000. The runner-up will receive $10,000, $3,000 will be paid to each of the two semifinalists and the four first-round finishers will receive $2,500 each. As part of the program, a $3,000 bonus is awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
In addition, eight lucky fans will be selected in an online drawing on the K&N website. Those eight winners will be brought to the race and each fan will be paired with a driver in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. The fan paired with the winning driver will leave the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in a 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge edition Toyota Tundra.
Although the fan vote for the eighth spot in the event is complete, the final seven drivers and their respective qualifying positions are yet to be determined. Currently Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro driver Jason Line is in the number one position but the field and positioning won’t be locked-in until after qualifying on Saturday, June 30, at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Chicago.
There is a four-way battle for the fifth-through-seventh spots between Erica Enders (currently 5th), Vincent Nobile (6th), Ronnie Humphrey (7th) and Rodger Brogdon (8th). The top four spots are still up for grabs with a battle waging between Line, his teammate Greg Anderson, Mike Edwards and Allen Johnson. With the fan vote, Coughlin is locked-in at the eighth spot and will face the number one qualifier in the first round of competition.
Last year, Greg Anderson, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro, won his second consecutive K&N Horsepower Challenge and fourth of his career, beating Mike Edwards in the final round.
(Photos courtesy JEGS; Click to enlarge)
This story was originally published on June 19, 2012. 
