Lucas Oil Raceway (Indianapolis, Ind.) Sept. 2-7
Six time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will return to the Pro Stock class during this weekend’s NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind. Coughlin Jr. will be racing the Chevrolet Camaro he drove to a runner-up finish in his last race in Seattle.
Last month in Seattle, Jeg Coughlin Jr. drove the Elite Motorsports Camaro to the final round before he was defeated by Chris McGaha. The event marked Jeg Jr’s 100th final round in NHRA Pro Stock competition.
In 15 career appearances at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 23-11 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 earlier this year in Gainesville.
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 18 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 and Greg Anderson.
Jeg Jr. is one of only four drivers, along with Peter Biondo, Scotty Richardson, and Justin Lamb, to win national event titles in six different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super 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.
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.
Including Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, Jeg 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 58 career Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (96), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (78) have more titles.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 356 events and recorded 576 round wins while incurring just 282 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
In 356 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 74 times. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 122 final rounds, 100 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 107 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in nine different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super 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
4 – JEGS Mail Order entries in action at Indy in the following classes; Pro Stock, Pro Mod 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
107 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family