Gainesville Raceway (March 12-15)
The JEGS Mail Order team will be represented at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gator Nationals in Gainesville by Jeg Coughlin Jr., who will be competing in the Pro Stock class and Troy Coughlin Jr. and Makenna Brown, who will each be racing in Super Comp.
Jeg Jr. began his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock title (and seventh overall) with a victory in Pomona and a quarterfinal finish in Phoenix. Jeg is once again racing as a member of the Elite Motorsports team. His Chevy Camaro will carry the familiar yellow and black colors of JEGS Mail Order along with the special edition JEGS 60th anniversary logo this season.
Last year, Jeg Jr. finished as the No. 2 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class behind Elite teammate Erica Enders. It was the second-straight year that he’s been the championship runner-up. Jeg Jr. has now finished in the top ten 19-times in his professional career, which began in 1997.
Jeg Jr. has announced 2020 as his last full-time season in professional drag racing. Coughlin's final campaign will be dubbed the “Breaking Barriers Tour,” in reference to his many racing accomplishments.
Last weekend, Jeg Jr. won the $75,000 top prize in the World Doorslammer Nationals race in Orlando, Fla. Jeg defeated Greg Anderson in the final round of the inaugural event, which featured the sport’s best Pro Stock and Pro Mod cars.
Jeg Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to three-time champion Erica Enders. The Elite Motorsports team also includes Alex Laughlin, Aaron Stanfield, and Marty Robertson, who is making his Pro Stock debut this season. Jeg’s crew chief is Rickie Jones, who has extensive experience in the class as a driver, chassis builder, and tuner. The Elite team also features crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll, and Brian “Lump” Self, who regularly share data.
Jeg Jr has won at least one national event at 24 different facilities including Gainesville Raceway. The only current stops on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour where he has not won are the races in Norwalk, Ohio and Epping, N.H.
During his career, Jeg Jr. has won the Pro Stock title twice in Gainesville. He claimed his first win in 2001 by beating Mark Osborne in the final round and then stopped Jason Line to win his second title in 2008. Jeg was also a runner-up in Gainesville in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2013.
In 19 career appearances at Gainesville Raceway, Jeg has a round win record of 29-15 in Pro Stock competition
In his 19 Gainesville races, Jeg has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field 15 times, including a best of No. 1 at the 1998 event.
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. is the only driver to win national event titles in seven different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, 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.
With 64 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (94), and the late Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.
In 449 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 112 times, recording 64 wins. Including his 19 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 83 times. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 137 final rounds, 112 as a professional and 25 as a sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 449 events and has a round-win record of 676-369. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
Jeg Jr. has been the low qualifier 43 times in Pro Stock including the first two events in Pomona and Phoenix this year.
Troy Jr. is an eight-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event. Troy Jr. won the U.S. Nationals in Super Comp in 2010 and also won the Indy Super Gas title in 2014. His other wins have come in Las Vegas (2009), Gainesville (2013), Columbus (2014), Reading (2018), Norwalk (2019) and Reading (2019).
Troy Jr. was crowned the 2018 and 2019 North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion. He was also crowned the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
Last season, Troy Jr. appeared in ten final rounds in Top Alcohol Dragster and earned five wins including national event titles in Norwalk and Reading. Troy Jr. has also earned victories at regional events at Atco Dragway, Beech Bend Raceway Park, and Virginia Motorsports Park.
During his career, the versatile Troy Jr. has raced in Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Dragster, Pro Mod, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Dragster, E.T. Brackets, and Jr. Dragsters. Last week in Orlando, he made his debut in the Pro Stock class alongside his uncle, Jeg Jr. The JEGS Mail Order teammates raced in round two with Jeg taking a narrow victory.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. also is 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. He also won a $20,000 race at the Powerball of Bracket Racing event in Darlington, S.C.
After a successful career in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League, Makenna Brown is making her national event debut in the Super Comp class behind the wheel of Samantha Coughlin’s JEGS.com dragster. Makenna is the granddaughter of JEGS founder Jeg Coughlin Sr.
Overall, the Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 126 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin's have won in 11 different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Dragster, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals edition)
3: Gainesville wins for Team Jegs. Two by Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock and one by Troy Coughlin Jr. in Super Gas.
7: Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver in history to do so)
11: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
19: Top-10 finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
126: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family