Gateway Motorsports Park (Madison, Ill.) Sept. 27-29
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals is the third of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff that will determine the 2013 Full Throttle Champions. Jeg Coughlin Jr. enters the event as the second-seeded driver in the Pro Stock class. He currently trails leader Jason Line by just eight points.
Jeg Jr. appeared in seven Pro Stock final rounds in the first 20 events of the season and claimed three victories in Topeka, Joliet, and the recent Charlotte race.
In 13 career appearances at Gateway Motorsports Park, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 24-11 in Pro Stock competition.
As a sportsman racer, Jeg Jr. has won two titles at the St. Louis track. He won the Super Stock title in 1997 and the Top Dragster title in 2010. In both cases, Jeg Jr. was driving a car owned by his older brother, John.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field in 11 of his 13 appearances at Gateway Motorsports Park including a best of third in 2000 and 2010. His average qualifying position at this track is No. 6
Jeg Jr. has won two Pro Stock titles at Gateway Motorsports Park. He defeated Greg Anderson to win in 2002 and stopped Jason Line in the final round of the 2009 event. Jeg Jr. was also a runner-up in Pro Stock here in 1998, 2007, and 2010.
The JEGS Mail Order team made a major change to their Pro Stock program this winter when Jeg Jr. joined forces with reigning NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson. This year, Coughlin’s Dodge is powered by HEMI engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and is tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Jim Yates.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
During his victory earlier this year at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. became just the 12th professional racer to win 500 rounds of NHRA competition. He joins fellow pros John Force, Warren Johnson, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson, Kurt Johnson, Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, and Tony Pedregon in that exclusive club.
Jeg Jr. is the only professional racer in the history of NHRA to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots.
With 55-career Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (96), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (74) have more titles.
Jeg Jr. is one of only two drivers, along with Peter Biondo, 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.
Of Jeg Jr’s 525-career round wins, 89 have come via a starting line holeshot, which is the most of any past or current Pro Stock driver.
In the first 20 races of the 2013 season, Jeg Jr. has three wins, four runner-up finishes and six semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 40-17.
Jeg Jr‘s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.487-seconds and his best speed is 213.47-mph both recorded during the 2013 season in Gainesville and Charlotte, respectively.
Jeg Jr. has won national events in 24 different NHRA facilities. The only current tracks where he has now won are Norwalk and Epping.
In 325 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 92 times, recording 55 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 71 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 114 final rounds, 92 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will also mark the ninth race in the ten-event 2012 NHRA Pro Mod Series. Troy Coughlin is the defending event champion and will be behind the wheel of his turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Camaro
Troy enters the event as the fourth-ranked Pro Mod driver in the series. He is currently 125-points behind leader Rickie Smith.
Earlier this year, Troy won the NHRA Four Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway and drove to runner-up finishes at the events in Englishtown, N.J. and Bristol, Tenn.
Troy’s JEGS.com Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty. With a top speed in excess of 257-mph, Troy is officially the fastest member of the Coughlin family, eclipsing the performance of his father, Jeg Sr., who raced in the Top Fuel class in the early 1980s.
Troy is one of the few Pro Mod competitors who have raced all three current engine combinations; turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous oxide assisted
Last year, Troy drove to a victory at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals when he defeated Danny Rowe in the final round. The victory keyed his late-season surge to the 2012 NHRA Pro Mod Series title.
Before moving to the Pro Mod class, Troy enjoyed success in the NHRA Pro Stock class, recording two wins in 12 final round appearances. He also won the $50,000 top prize at the 2000 Winston No Bull Showdown at Bristol Dragway, a special non-points event for Pro Stock competitors.
Troy is a former National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) Pro Street champion. While racing his Pro Street car, he also won the $50,000 Big Dog event at Piedmont Dragway in Greensboro, N.C.
Troy’s first Pro Mod victory came at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey in 2005 when as he drove his supercharged Mustang to as win over Zack Barkledge in the final round.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented by third-generation racer Troy (T.J.) Coughlin Jr. who will be competing in Super Comp and Super Gas.
Troy Jr. is a three-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event.
Troy Jr. is currently ranked second in the Lucas Oil Series Super Gas standings after posting a national event win and two divisional wins this season.
Troy Jr. is a two-time national event champion in the Super Comp class with wins at the 2009 Las Vegas event 2010 U.S. Nationals at Indy. He also claimed the Super Gas crown in Gainesville earlier this year and has several major E.T. Bracket titles to his credit.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. has combined for 98 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in 9 different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals Edition)
4 Troy Coughlin’s current points position in the NHRA Pro Mod Series
5 World championships for Jeg Coughlin Jr. (four in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas)
9 Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
98 NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
525 Round wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class.