Gainesville Raceway (Gainesville, Fla.) March 16-19
The JEGS Mail Order team will be out in force for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, the third stop in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort with a pair of entries in Pro Stock and Super Gas while nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. will make his third start in the Top Fuel class behind the wheel of the SealMaster Toyota dragster fielded by Kalitta Motorsports. Troy Coughlin Sr. will make his 2017 debut in his JEGS.com Corvette in the J&A Service Pro Mod series.
Jeg Jr. will continue his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh overall) at this weekend’s event. Jeg Jr. will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Chevy Camaro as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
After a solid semifinal finish at the most recent event in Phoenix, Jeg. Jr. enters this week’s Gainesville race as the No. 3 driver in the Pro Stock class.
Last season, Jeg Jr. raced a Dodge Dart for the Elite team and recorded his 16th top-10 finish.
Jeg Jr. is racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile. Veteran crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian "Lump" Self are the tuners of the three Elite Pro Stock cars and regularly share data.
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 Jr. also was runner-up in Gainesville in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2013.
In 16 career appearances at Gainesville Raceway, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 28-12 in Pro Stock competition
In his 16 Gainesville races, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field 13 times, including a best of No. 1 at the 1998 event.
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 in Gainesville in 2014.
Jeg Jr. is one of just 18 professional racers to win 500 elimination rounds in NHRA competition, a landmark he passed at the 2013 Topeka race. The only other Pro Stock drivers with 500 wins are Warren Johnson, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson and Jason Line.
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.
Including Gainesville Raceway 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.
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. also will be driving the team’s JEGS.com Chevy Corvette Super Gas entry. All told, Jeg Jr. has five national event wins in the Super Gas class including his first victory in 1990. His most recent national event win also came in the Super Gas class, at the JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals in 2015. At that event, he also won the Stock title.
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 Jr. qualified No. 16.
With 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (87) and Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.
With 589 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching 10-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
In 383 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 18 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has a total of 76 wins, good for ninth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 124 final rounds, 100 as a professional and 24 as a sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 383 events and recorded 589 round wins while incurring just 309 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
Troy Coughlin Jr. recently joined his grandfather, Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr. when he made his Top Fuel debut in Pomona, Calif. Jeg Sr. raced in the Top Fuel class from 1977-79. He finished No. 7 in the 1978 standings and recorded career bests of 5.97 seconds and 249.30 mph during his career.
Troy Jr. will be making his third start behind the wheel of the SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel dragster, which is owned by drag racing and aviation legend Connie Kalitta. The car is tuned by veteran crew chief Jim Oberhofer. Troy Jr. is racing as a teammate to 42-time national event winner Doug Kalitta. Troy Jr.’s teammates also include Funny Car drivers J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria.
In his debut in Pomona, Troy Jr. qualified in the No. 6 spot with a 3.730-second run. In eliminations, Troy Jr. posted a 3.728 at 328.46 mph in a Round 1 win over Shawn Reed. Coughlin lost to reigning champion Antron Brown in the quarterfinals despite a career-best 3.727. Two weeks later in Phoenix, Troy also qualified No. 6 but lost to Scott Palmer in Round 1. He enters Gainesville as the eighth-ranked driver in the class.
Troy Jr. is driving the same SealMaster Toyota dragster that Todd drove to six final rounds last season, including a victory in Sonoma.
Troy Jr. is expected to be one of the leading contenders for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award that honors NHRA’s top rookie. Troy Jr’s uncle, Jeg Jr., was named NHRA rookie of the year in 1998 after a second-place finish in the Pro Stock class.
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. also is the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion
During his career, Troy Jr. has appeared in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional final rounds and claimed three victories.
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.
The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will mark the first race in the 12-event 2016 J&A Services Pro Mod Series. Two-time series champion Troy Coughlin Sr. will begin his quest for a third title behind the wheel of his turbocharged JEGS.com C7 Corvette.
The JEGS.com Pro Mod Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty. With a top speed in excess of 260 mph, Troy Sr. is one of the fastest drivers in the Pro Mod class. He has also recorded a personal best elapsed time of 5.766 seconds.
Last year, Troy Sr. battled for the title until the final event of the season, eventually finishing a close second to eventual champ Rickie Smith. He claimed three wins during the season in Englishtown, St. Louis, and the season-ending event in Las Vegas.
Last season, Troy Sr. was one of just four Pro Mod racers, along with Michael Biehle, Steven Whiteley and Rickie Smith, who qualified for all 10 events. In the last two seasons, Coughlin is the only driver to qualify for all 20 races. His last DNQ was the 2013 Charlotte event. He has since qualified for 32 straight events.
Troy Sr. 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, defeating Mary Ann Jackson in the final. Troy Sr.’s first Pro Mod victory came at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey in 2005 when he drove his supercharged Mustang to a win over Zack Barkledge.
Troy Sr. 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 Sr. enjoyed success in the 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 Sr. has 10 NHRA national event wins in 25 final-round appearances in Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Super Gas competition.
Troy Sr. 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.
On Wednesday, March 15, family patriarch Jeg Coughlin Sr. will celebrate his 79th birthday. Jeg Sr. will be on hand in Gainesville and also has plans to attend the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame ceremony on Thursday, March 16. Jeg Sr. was a 2001 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy Sr., Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 113 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, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.
TEAM JEGS – By the Numbers
Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Edition
2 – Pro Stock wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Gainesville Raceway
4 – Coughlin family members in action in Gainesville
7 – Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver to do so)
10 – Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
16 – Top ten finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
32 – Straight Pro Mod events that Troy Coughlin has qualified for, the longest streak in the class.
113 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family