zMax Dragway (Concord, N.C.) – Sept. 13-15
The Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolinas Nationals is the first of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff that will determine the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello series professional Champions. Jeg Coughlin Jr. enters the event as the third-seeded driver in the Pro Stock class and will begin the Countdown with 2,070 points, just 40 less than top seeded Mike Edwards.
Jeg Jr. appeared in six Pro Stock final rounds in the first 18 events of the season and claimed two victories in Topeka and Joliet. He will now have six playoff events in order to make a run at his fifth NHRA Pro Stock world championship and sixth overall title.
The JEGS Mail Order team made a major change to their Pro Stock program this winter when Jeg Jr. joined forces with reigning NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson. This year, Coughlin’s Dodge is powered by HEMI engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and is tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Jim Yates.
Jeg Jr. and then-teammate David Connolly helped christen zMax Dragway in Concord and were the first professional drivers to make a run on the drag strip when it opened in 2008.
At the inaugural zMax Dragway NHRA event in 2010, Jeg Jr. qualified No. 1 in the Pro Stock class. During his career, Jeg Jr. has qualified No. 19 times including twice this season.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
During his victory earlier this year at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. became just the 12th professional racer to win 500 rounds of NHRA competition. He joins fellow pros John Force, Warren Johnson, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson, Kurt Johnson, Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, and Tony Pedregon in that exclusive club.
With 54-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.
Jeg Jr. is one of only two drivers, along with Peter Biondo, 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.
Of Jeg Jr’s 519-career round wins, 88 have come via a starting line holeshot, which is the most of any past or current Pro Stock driver.
In the first 18 races of the 2013 season, Jeg Jr. has two wins, four runner-up finishes and five semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 34-16.
Jeg Jr’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.487-seconds and his best speed is 213.47-mph both recorded during the 2013 season in Gainesville and Charlotte, respectively.
zMax Dragway in Concord is one of just three current facilities on the NHRA tour (along with Norwalk and Epping) where Jeg Jr. has yet to win an NHRA national event title. Thus far, he has won national event titles at 23 former and current facilities.
In 324 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 91 times, recording 54 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 70 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 113 final rounds, 91as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
Jeg Jr. will take part in the pre-race Media Day event which is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12. at 12:30 p.m. in the Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jeg Jr. will be joined by fellow NHRA pros Antron Brown, Ron Capps, and Matt Smith.
The Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals will also mark the eighth race in the ten-event 2013 NHRA Pro Mod Series. Reigning series champion Troy Coughlin will be behind the wheel of turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Corvette.
Earlier this year, Troy won the NHRA Four Wide Nationals, which is also held at zMax Dragway. This season, Troy also drove to runner-up finishes at the events in Englishtown, N.J. and Bristol, Tenn.
Troy’s JEGS.com Corvette is 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 enters the event as the second-ranked Pro Mod driver in the series. He is currently just 98-points behind leader Rickie Smith.
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 the Pro Mod class, 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.
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.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. have combined for 97 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in 9 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 (Charlotte 2)
2 Troy Coughlin’s current position in the NHRA Pro Mod series standings
6 Combined world championships for Troy Coughlin (1) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (5)
9 Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
97 NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
519 Round wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class.