Gateway Motorsports Park (St. Louis) Sept. 26-28
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his title defense at this weekend’s AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis. Coughlin Jr. will be racing the Dodge Dart he debuted last March in Gainesville, Fla.
At the most recent NHRA event in Dallas, Jeg Coughlin Jr. suffered a rare first-round loss in his HEMI-powered Dodge Dart.
This is the third event in the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff to determine the season champions. Jeg Jr. will enter the St. Louis race as the No. 8 driver in Pro Stock. Jeg is 116 points behind leader Jason Line.
During the 18-race regular season, Jeg Jr. appeared in five final rounds and claimed victories in Atlanta and Englishtown.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. continues to race as a teammate to former NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson in 2014. Jeg Jr.’s Dodge Dart is powered by HEMI engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and is tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Adam Hornberger.
During his professional career, which began in 1997, Jeg Jr. has earned 14 top-10 finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class. He already has clinched a 15th top-10 finish.
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 was also a runner-up in Pro Stock here in 1998, 2007, and 2010.
In 14 career appearances at Gateway Motorsports Park, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 25-12 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 was driving a car owned by his older brother, John.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field in 12 of his 14 appearances at Gateway Motorsports Park including a best of third in 2000, 2010, and 2013. His average qualifying position at this track is No. 6
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. is one of just 16 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 three drivers, along with Peter Biondo and Scotty Richardson, 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.
Jeg Jr. finished the 2013 season with four wins, four runner-up finishes and seven semifinals in 24 events. For the season, he finished with a 48-20 record in eliminations, second only to Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon, who finished with a 54-17 record.
Including Gateway Motorsports Park, 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.
In 20 races this season, Jeg Jr. has two wins, three runner-up finishes and three semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 31-18.
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 (74) have more titles.
In 350 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 98 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 74 times, tying him with Greg Anderson for ninth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 120 final rounds, 98 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
Of Jeg Jr.’s 564-career round wins in Pro Stock, 93 have come via a starting line holeshot, the most of any past or current NHRA Pro driver.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 350 events and recorded 564 round wins while incurring just 276 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will also mark the ninth race in the ten-event 2014 NHRA Pro Mod Series. Former series champion Troy Coughlin will be behind the wheel of turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Corvette.
The St. Louis race will also feature the continuation of the most recent Pro Mod series event in Charlotte that was halted after round one. After qualifying No. 11, Troy drove his Corvette to a win over Kevin Fiscus. He is scheduled to face Don Walsh Jr. in round two.
Troy enters the Carolina Nationals in a three-way tie for the No. 5 spot in the Pro Mod points standings. He is currently 119-points out of first place pending the completion of the Charlotte race. .
Troy was the winner at NHRA Pro Mod Series event in Norwalk, Ohio in July. At that race, Troy qualified No. 6 in the field and drove to wins over Eric Latino, Mike Janis, Rickie Smith, and Von Smith. In the final round, Troy used a starting line holeshot to take a 5.94 to 5.92 win over Smith.
Troy is one of just seven Pro Mod racers who have qualified for all eight events completed this season. His best performance thus far has come in Indianapolis, where he was the No. 2 qualifier in the 16-car field.
Troy won his first NHRA national event title at the U.S. Nationals in 1991 when he drove his Pro Stock-style Olds to the win in Super Gas. Troy defeated Mary Ann Jackson in the final. 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.
Troy is one of the few Pro Mod competitors who have raced all three current engine combinations; turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous oxide assisted
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.
All told, Troy has nine NHRA national event wins in 23 final round appearances in Pro Mod, Pro Stock, and Super Gas competition.
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 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.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also feature third-generation race Troy Coughlin Jr., who plans to pull double-duty in Super Comp and Super Gas.
Troy Jr. is one currently of the hottest drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, He has appeared in four-straight final rounds in the Super Gas class and claimed back-to-back national event wins at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and last weekend’s JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.
Troy Jr. is currently ranked third in the NHRA Super Gas national standings and is on pace for his second-straight top five finish. He was also the No. 3 driver in the 2013 Super Gas standings.
Troy Jr. is a five-time NHRA national event champion including two victories at the U.S. Nationals, NHRA’s oldest and most prestigious event. He also has wins in Las Vegas, Gainesville and Columbus.
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.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals Edition)
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
24 – Number of different facilities where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title
107 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
840 – Pro Stock elimination rounds for Jeg Jr. with 564 wins, 276 losses (.671-percent)