Gateway Motorsports Park (St. Louis) Sept. 25-27
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis will mark the ninth event in the ten-race 2015 J&A Service NHRA Pro Mod Series. Former series champion Troy Coughlin and his son, Troy Jr., will be behind the wheel of their matching turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Corvettes.
The father-son team will be joined by Mike Coughlin, who is entered in the Top Sportsman class. Troy Coughlin Jr. is also planning to race his JEGS.com Chevy Corvette in the Super Gas class
Troy enters the Concord race as the second-ranked Pro Mod driver in the series. He is currently just 46-points out of first place. Troy Jr. is the sixth-ranked driver in the series, 99-points behind leader Mike Janis.
At the most recent NHRA Pro Mod event in Charlotte, Troy Sr. qualified in the No. 13 spot and lost his round two match against eventual runner-up Eric Latino. Troy Jr., was the No. 5 qualifier and also lost to Latino in round one.
Troy Sr. won the St. Louis race in 2012, a victory that was crucial to his late-season run to the NHRA Pro Mod series championship.
Troy is one of just seven Pro Mod racers who have qualified for all eight events contested this season. His best performance thus far has come in Bristol and Indianapolis, where he was the No. 4 qualifier in the 16-car field.
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.
Both of the JEGS.com Corvettes are 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’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 Pro Mod, 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 ten NHRA national event wins in 24 final round appearances in Pro Mod, Pro Stock, and Super Gas competition.
Before the start of the 2015 season, Troy Jr. upgraded his NHRA competition license to join his father in the Pro Mod class with a best run of 5.96-seconds at over 248-mph. Thus far, T.J. has recorded a best official run of 5.87-seconds at 251.53-mph in Pro Mod.
Troy Jr. is a five-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event. Troy Jr. won Super Comp titles at the 2009 Las Vegas race and the 2010 U.S. Nationals. He won a pair of national events last season, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.
Troy Jr. is also the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion. Last year, he finished No. 3 in the national standings out of nearly 1,000 competitors.
During his career, Troy Jr. has appeared in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional final rounds and has claimed three victories.
Although he has decided to concentrate primarily on the Pro Mod class this season, T.J. drove his Super Gas Corvette to a fourth round finish at the Lucas Oil Series event at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis earlier this year. A week ago, Jeg Coughlin Jr. drove the team’s Corvette to the Super Gas title at the JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. is also regarded as one of the sport’s best E.T. bracket racers. He has accumulated several major victories including a $25,000 payday at the Atco Dragway Superbucks event and a $10,000 win the Spring Buck Blast at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Troy is the reigning NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion. He also finished third nationally; just 23-points behind world champion Rick Beckstrom.
During his career, Troy Jr. has appeared in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional final rounds and has claimed three victories.
Mike Coughlin is a two-time North Central Division champion in the Top Sportsman class. He won titles in 2007 and 2009.
During his career, Mike has won 13 NHRA national event titles in 19 final rounds. Mike has won in three classes; Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, and Top Sportsman. In addition to his 13 NHRA national event titles, Mike also has 11 Lucas Oil Series divisional victories. He won his first LODRS title at Beech Bend Raceway Park in 1989.
Mike has raced in six Top Sportsman events this season and is currently ranked No. 23 in the national standings. This season is the first time that NHRA will crown a national champion in the Top Sportsman and Top Dragster classes.
Mike’s JEGS Camaro is capable of mid 6-second runs at speeds of over 210-mph, comparable to today’s NHRA Pro Stock cars. It is powered by an 832-cubic inch big block with electronic fuel injection.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 109 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.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers
NHRA Midwest Nationals Edition
4 – JEGS Mail Order entries scheduled to compete in St. Louis
5 – NHRA national event victories for Troy Coughlin Jr.
10 – Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
10 – NHRA National event wins for Troy Coughlin
109 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family