Texas Motorplex (Dallas, Texas) Sept. 19-21
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his title defense at this weekend’s AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals in Dallas. Coughlin Jr. will be racing the Dodge Dart he debuted last March in Gainesville, Fla.
The Ennis event will also include the resumption of eliminations from last weekned’s event, the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C., which was postponed. Jeg Jr. won his first round race against Greg Anderson and is scheduled to face the winner of the Larry Morgan/Vincent Nobile match up in the quarterfinals.
The Texas double-headers will mark the first and second events in the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff to determine the season champions. Jeg Jr. entered the Countdown as the No. 4 seed in Pro Stock. Jeg Jr. begins the Countdown 50 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 berth in the 2014 Countdown to the Championship, which guarantees a 15th top-10 finish.
Last year, Jeg Jr. drove to a semifinal finish in Dallas. It was an essential race in his drive to win a fifth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock championship.
Jeg Jr. made his Pro Stock debut at the Texas Motorplex in 1997. He qualified No. 7 and defeated the late Scott Geoffrion in round one before losing to Jim Yates in round two.
In 18 appearances at the Texas Motorplex, Jeg Jr., has a round win record of 23-14 in Pro Stock competition. Jeg Jr. won the Pro Stock title in Dallas in 2002 defeating Gene Wilson in the final round. He also earned runner-up finishes in 2000, 2003, and 2008.
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 the Texas Motorplex, 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 18 completed races this season, Jeg Jr. has two wins, four runner-up finishes and four semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 30-16.
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 348 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 eighth 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 563-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 348 events and recorded 563 round wins while incurring just 274 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 105 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 Texas NHRA FallNationals 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
105 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
837 – Pro Stock elimination rounds for Jeg Jr. with 563 wins, 274 losses (.672-percent)