Auto Club Pomona Raceway (Pomona, Calif.) November 10-13
Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals. Jeg Jr. will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Dodge Dart as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Jeg Jr. enters the Las Vegas event ranked No. 9 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings. His best finish of the season is a semifinal final at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
All told, Jeg Jr. has six wins and seven runner-up finishes in Pro Stock competition in Pomona. He won the season-opening Winternationals in 1999 and 2000 and the season-ending Auto Club Finals in 1995, 2005, and 2007. He also won the special 50th anniversary event held in Pomona during the summer of 2001 as part of NHRA’s golden anniversary celebration.
In 1998, Jeg Jr. made his first Pro Stock start at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona at the Winternationals and reached the final round. A year later, Jeg Jr. defeated his older brother, Troy in the final, to win his first Winternationals Pro Stock title. The Coughlin brothers also raced in the final of the 1999 Denver event, where Jeg Jr. also claimed the win in that event.
In addition to his Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. was also a runner-up in the Super Stock class in Pomona during the 1995 Winternationals.
In 34 career appearances at Auto Club Pomona Raceway in all events, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 59-27 in Pro Stock competition.
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 19 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, 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.
Last season, Jeg Jr. accomplished a longtime goal with his first national event double. Racing at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, he won the Super Gas and Stock titles. In Stock, Jeg Jr. drove his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the title.
Including The Strip at Auto Club Pomona Raceway, Jeg Coughlin 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.
With 586 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching ten-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
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 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (85) have more titles.
In 380 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 18 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 76 times, 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 380 events and recorded 586 round wins while incurring just 306 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 112 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
Auto Club NHRA Finals Edition
5 – Las Vegas wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock (2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009)
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
13 – Finals rounds in Pro Stock in Pomona for Jeg Coughlin Jr.
15 – Top ten finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
112 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family