NORWALK, Ohio (July 6) - While Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon was looking for a win in his return to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Sunday just wasn't his day to get it done at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Brogdon kept the consistency of the weekend going during the first round of final eliminations when his ProtectTheHarvest.com Camaro motored to a 6.603 at 209.75 mph. However, against Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s 6.587 at 210.47 mph and .032 reaction time, Brogdon didn't have quite enough to advance to the next round.
"It's always a close race when you go up to the line against Jeg," Brogdon said. "He's a multi-time championship winner for a reason. I gave it the best I had today in the first round but he got the better of me.
"This isn't over though. It's not the first time I've faced him in the first round and I know it won't be my last. I'm going to pull the upset one day, I just know it."
Even though his return to racing didn't yield the ultimate reward, Brogdon knows the time away was well worth it overall.
"We definitely made some progress this weekend," Brogdon said. "Unfortunately there is still some more work to be done on my ProtectTheHarvest.com Camaro. With a stretch of western races coming up, we're going to take that time to really keep working on our horsepower so we can come back better than ever.
"I know the boys at the shop will work really hard. We're really close on make some more small gains in the engine department. Pro Stock is an extremely tight group of racers, so any little gain makes a huge difference."
Brogdon's plan is to continue making progress back at the shop and return to NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competition at the 60th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Aug. 27-Sept. 1, in Indianapolis.
