1st Place
'96 Mercury Cougar
Steve Dugan, Hedgesville, WV
12.24/106.66
The lone V-8-powered entry in this shootout provided stout low-13-second elapsed times on motor alone and low-12s with the squeeze. Owner Steve Dugan was shooting for the 11.9-12.0 range, but fell short when the nitrous bottle heater stopped working. Further carnage occurred on the last run when the spider gears in the differential ejected themselves from the carrier.
Purchased new from the dealer, Steve's Cougar ran high-13s on its stock engine. With Jerry Wroblewski of SCT tuning the EEC-V and help from Mike Siska, Mike Napier of J-M Motorsports, Scott Hoffman of Scott's Speed Shop, and James Rumsey Auto Tech, Steve hopes to be in the 11s by the end of the summer.
| STRIP SPECS |
| Owner: | Steve Dugan |
| Hometown: | Hedgesville, WV |
| Driver: | Steve Dugan |
| Year/Model: | ’96 Mercury Cougar |
| Weight w/Driver: | 3,692 lbs |
| Engine: | 281ci V-8, Two-Valve |
| Built By: | Ford |
| Power Adder: | Zex Dry Nitrous oxide
system |
| Maximum Boost/ Nitrous Qty.: | 125 hp |
| Intake Manifold: | Bullitt cast aluminum |
| Cylinder Head(s): | Stock PI |
| Compression Ratio: | 9.9:1 |
| Camshaft(s): | Stock PI |
| Ignition: | Stock |
| Exhaust: | JBA Shorty headers, custom 2.5-in dual to 3-in single with dual 2.5-in tailpipes, Flowmaster one-chamber mufflers |
| Transmission: | 4R70W automatic |
| Converter/Clutch: | Precision Industries Stallion, 9.5 in |
| Rear Type: | Lincoln Mark VIII 8.8 |
| IRS: | 4.30:1 ring-and- pinion |
| Wheels: | 15x4.5 stock steel spares front, stock Mercury Cougar rear 15x6.5 |
| Tires F/R: | Goodyear 28x4.5x15 front, Mickey Thompson ET Drag 28x9x15 rear |
| Suspension Front: | Stock |
| Suspension Rear: | Lincoln Mark VIII aluminum control arms, differential and sway bar, stock springs, polyurethane differential and end-link bushings bushings, custom subframe connectors, individually adjustable airbags, Bilstein IRS Cobra shocks |
| Best ET/MPH: | 12.2 / 109.5 mph |
| STRIP LOG |
| Run # | 60-FT | 1/4-Mile | MPH |
| 1 | 1.82 | 13.37 | 99.04 |
| 2 | 1.59 | 12.24 | 106.66 |
| 3 | 1.62 | 13.06 | 101.41 |
| 4 | 1.61 | 12.38 | 105.92 |