Following qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Pro Stock ace Jeg Coughlin Jr. said the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger needed to get more aggressive for Sunday's first round matchup with Jason Line.

For the first half of the race, that plan looked like it was working to perfection, but just when things were looking good for the five-time world champ the JEGS.com Dodge made a couple of sideways moves and Coughlin had to cut off the power.

"It was a bit of a handful," Coughlin said. "We've been working to try and get this car to be a little more efficient downtrack. The car went a little bit left and we couldn't get it back right into the groove. At every gear change it was getting more upset. It got really loose in third and all the way through fourth gear.

"Eventually, I had to throw in the towel. We were still ahead of him at halftrack, even though I wasn't even under power. It never really felt like we were at that point of no return, but a split-second longer, it might have told me different."

Rodger Brogdon advanced to the semifinals before falling to four-time champ Greg Anderson with a car that was pretty baffling all weekend.

Brogdon and the crew had to make wholesale changes to his ride before the fourth qualifying session, and on elimination day, big changes were a round-by-round phenomenon.

"I learned back in the Sportsman days, when you make a whole bunch of changes and not much happens you need to start looking at the engine," Brogdon said. "I can’t tell you everything we did to the car today, and you probably wouldn't believe me if I could."

Brogdon, who qualified No. 8, started the day with an impressive win over Ron Krisher. Brogdon was off the line first and cruised to a 6.617 second lap at 209.98 mph to Krisher's 7.125 at 140.23 mph.

He followed that up by knocking off No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards. Brogdon raced to 6.640 at 208.68 mph as Edwards got to the 60-foot mark and ran out of power, coasting to a 14.908 at 53.63 mph.

In the semis, Brogdon and Anderson launched at nearly the same time, but Anderson's car proved to be too powerful. Anderson crossed the finish in 6.590 seconds at 210.21 mph with Brogdon right behind with a 6.632 at 208.36 mph.

"We ran pretty much the same every time down the track, no matter what we tried," Brodgon said. "That's why we're going to look and see if we have an engine problem. We're tickled to death to get to the semis. I know it's way early, but every little round helps. I'm not giving anything back, I promise you that."