Family always has been the top priority for Team JEGS.
When Jeg Coughlin Sr. began his drag racing career in the 1950s, the sport helped serve as a great outlet to bring his expanding family together. One by one, sons John, Troy, Mike and Jeg. Jr. came on the road with Jeg Sr., serving as young crew members and becoming a part of the NHRA family themselves.
The four boys all fell in love with the sport, cherishing their early memories with their family at race tracks across the Midwest. They all followed in their dad’s footsteps, too, climbing behind the wheel of a variety of race cars as soon as they were old enough to drive themselves.
Like dad, they were all successful too, winning multiple professional and Sportsman championships in many levels of drag racing. In 2014, Troy Sr. scored the 100th NHRA national-event victory for the family, and fittingly, dedicated the trophy to Jeg Jr., winner of so many of those races.
A third generation of the Coughlin family is now on the scene, joining their fathers and uncles at the race track. Family patriarch Jeg Sr. is still very much a part of the mix, serving as a vital consultant to his sons and grandkids.
While the JEGS High Performance business has blossomed under the leadership of Jeg Sr.’s four sons, it’s the Coughlin family dynamic that still takes precedence over everything else. As such, each of the Coughlin brothers have taken sabbaticals from the sport through the years to devote more attention to their home lives.
JEGS Automotive Inc. started in small garage on 11th Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, simply as a way for Jeg Sr. to find the best parts for his own hot rods. Before long, Jeg Sr. had begun helping his friends who were also figuring out ways to go faster and JEGS Automotive began to grow. Nowadays, JEGS has become a premiere source for high-performance parts for racing enthusiasts around the world.
When John, Troy, Mike and Jeg Jr. became old enough, they took over the growing company and have since taken it to new heights. Each son manages distinct areas of the business, enabling it to operate to maximum effectiveness.
JEGS High Performance has become a giant in the industry with one retail store, two call centers, and a massive distribution warehouse that delivers more than $300 million worth of products to automobile enthusiasts each year.
The third generation of the Coughlin family has already begun working at JEGS, learning the business from the ground up to carry it forward into the 21st century and beyond.
Racing and family just seem to go together, as countless families participate in motorsports together across the country and around the world. It’s no different for the Coughlin clan, who have been racing together since the infancy of NHRA in the 1950s. Success on the racetrack has turned into success in business, setting the Coughlin family apart from the competition through the years.
With a combined seven NHRA World Championships, 17 Division Championships, and 100s of victories at both the national, divisional and local level, it could also be argued that Team JEGS is one of the most accomplished racing entities in the seven-decade history of organized drag racing.
John has competed in Pro Stock Truck, Top Dragster and Super Stock, while Troy Sr. is a three-time champion in the NHRA Pro Mod Series. His son, Troy Jr., is currently racing in Top Alcohol Dragster with numerous victories already on his fledgling resume.
Mike races in Top Dragster, and Jeg Jr. is renowned as one of the top drag racers in history, winning his fifth Pro Stock championship in 2014 and topping 80 career victories in 2018.
John has taken a step back from driving to aid his son, Cody, in his pursuit of a stock-car career. Troy, Mike and Jeg Jr., all spend time helping their children pursue their athletic careers, whether it be behind the wheel, on the golf course or on horseback.
The Coughlin family created the JEGS Foundation more than a decade ago to benefit the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.
With 100 percent of proceeds going directly to cancer research, the JEGS Foundation already has raised millions of dollars. Team JEGS also has set-up mobile cancer screening centers at NHRA events and keeps the topic front and center with millions of racing fans each weekend with extensive signage on Team JEGS racecars and uniforms.
