Lucas Oil Raceway, Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.) Aug. 31 – Sept. 5
Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals. Jeg Jr. will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Dodge Dart as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Last season, Jeg Jr. took a breather from the Pro Stock class but returned at mid-year for a brief stint with the Elite Motorsports team. In three events, Jeg Jr. raced to a runner-up and a semifinal.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile. Rickie Jones is the crew chief for Coughlin’s HEMI-powered Dodge while his father, Rick, is the crew chief for Enders. Veteran crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self, round out the Elite roster. All three Elite teams and their crew chiefs, regularly share data and tuning advice.
The NHRA Pro Stock class has an entirely different look this season thanks to a number of major rules revisions. Electronic fuel injection has replaced carburetors and as a result, the cars will no longer have big hood scoops. Pro Stock engines are now limited to a maximum of 10,500 rpm and the wheelie bar length has been shortened.
Jeg Jr. enters the Indy event ranked No. 10 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings. His best finish of the season is a semifinal final at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
In 16 career appearances at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 23-12 in Pro Stock competition, making it one of his most successful tracks.
As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the Super Gas title in Indy in 1992, beating Sherman Adcock Jr. in the final round. Jeg Jr. also won the prestigious Mopar Hemi Challenge at Indy in 2004, driving Michael Ogburn’s West Coast Hemi’s Barracuda to a final round win over Rick Houser.
Jeg Jr.’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.484 seconds and his best speed is 214.62 mph, both recorded at Gainesville in 2014.
Jeg Jr. has three career Pro Stock victories at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, having won there in 2000, 2002, and 2009. Jeg Jr. defeated Ron Krisher in the 2000 final and stopped Jim Yates in 2002 and Greg Stanfield in 2009.
Jeg Jr. is one of just 19 professional racers to win 500 elimination rounds in NHRA competition, a feat he accomplished at the 2013 Topeka race. The only other Pro Stock drivers with 500 wins are Warren Johnson, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson, and Jason Line.
Jeg Jr. is a five-time NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007-2008 and 2013. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
Last season, Jeg Jr. accomplished a longtime goal with his first national event double. Racing at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, he won the Super Gas and Stock titles. In Stock, Jeg Jr. drove his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the title.
Including Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities making him the all-time leader in that category. The only current venues on the NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not won are the tracks in Norwalk and Epping.
With 585 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching ten-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
Jeg Jr. is the only driver to win national event titles in seven different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas and Top Dragster.
Jeg Jr. is the only professional racer in history to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots. During his Indy win in 2000, Jeg qualified No. 16.
With 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (85) have more titles.
Jeg Jr’s wife, Samantha Coughlin, will return to the driver’ seat this weekend in the Super Comp class. Samantha Coughlin is a former NHRA national event champion.
In 374 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 18 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 76 times, good for ninth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 124 final rounds, 100 as a professional and 24 as a sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 374 events and recorded 585 round wins while incurring just 300 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 110 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in ten different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.
Collectively, the Coughlin family has won the U.S. Nationals nine times. Jeg Coughlin Jr. has four wins (three in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas). Troy, won the Super Gas title in 1991. Mike collected two wins in the Pro Stock Truck class in 1999 and 2001 and third generation racer Troy Coughlin Jr. won the Super Comp title in 2010. In addition, John Coughlin won the U.S. Nationals as a car owner in 2005 when Brad Plourd drove his JEGS Mail Order dragster to the Super Comp title.
JEGS family patriarch Jeg Coughlin Sr. drove to two U.S. Nationals finals during his career. He was runner-up in Little Eliminator in 1959 and runner-up in Pro Comp in 1975.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA U.S. Nationals Edition)
5 – JEGS Mail Order entries in action at Indy in the following classes; Pro Stock, Pro Mod, Super Comp, and Super Gas
9 – Wins for the Coughlin family at the U.S. Nationals
9 – Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
20 – Number of times Jeg Jr. has qualified No. 1 in a Pro Stock field
110 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family