Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.) August 28- Sept.2
The JEGS Mail Order team will be represented at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis by Jeg Coughlin Jr., who will be competing in the Pro Stock class, his nephew, Troy Coughlin Jr., who will be pulling double-duty in Top Alcohol Dragster and Super Comp. The team will be joined by longtime family friend and four-time world champion Jeff Taylor, who is racing Jeg Jr’s Dodge Challenger Drag Pak in Super Stock
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is continuing his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh overall) at this weekend’s Indy event. Jeg Jr. will once again be racing as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Earlier this year in Phoenix, Jeg Jr. won his 62nd Pro Stock event and 81st overall when he defeated Matt Hartford in the final round. The final round represented the 1,000th round of professional competition for Jeg Jr.
Last season, Jeg Jr. finished at the No. 2 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class. He finished in the top ten for the 18th time in his career, which began in 1997.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racers Alex Laughlin and Richard Freeman. Jeg Jr.’s crew chief is multi-talented Rickie Jones, who has extensive experience as a driver, chassis builder, and tuner. The Elite team also includes crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self, who regularly share data.
After the first 11 events of the season, Jeg Jr. enters this week’s event at the No. 8 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class. He reached the quarterfinals at the most recent event in Brainerd, Minn.
Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities including Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis. The only stops on the on the NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not won a race are Norwalk, Ohio and Epping, N.H.
Jeg Jr. has three career Pro Stock victories at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, having won there in 2000, 2002, and 2009. Jeg Jr. defeated Ron Krisher in the 2000 final and stopped Jim Yates in 2002 and Greg Stanfield in 2009.
Last year, Jeg Jr. reached the final of the U.S. Nationals where he lost a close race to eventual world champion Tanner Gray.
In 19 career appearances at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 26-15 in Pro Stock competition, making it one of his most successful tracks.
As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the Super Gas title in Indy in 1992, beating Sherman Adcock Jr. in the final round. Jeg Jr. also won the prestigious Mopar Hemi Challenge at Indy in 2004, driving Michael Ogburn’s West Coast Hemi’s Barracuda to a final round win over Rick Houser.
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 62 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (93), and the late Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.
In 440 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 108 times, recording 62 wins. Including his 19 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 81 times, good for ninth place on NHRA's all-time list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 133 final rounds, 108 as a professional and 25 as a sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 440 events and has a round-win record of 656-362. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
Jeg Jr. has been the low qualifier 30 times in Pro Stock including the recent NHRA race in Seattle.
Troy Jr. is a seven-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), and most recently Norwalk (2019).
Troy Jr. was crowned the 2018 North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion and finished the season as the No. 4 ranked driver in the country. He was also crowned the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
So far this season, Troy Jr. has appeared in seven final rounds in Top Alcohol Dragster and has a win at the Norwalk national event and the Lucas Oil Series regional events at Atco Dragway and Bowling Green, Ky. He enters this event as the No. 4 ranked driver in the country.
In 1991 Troy’s father, Troy Coughlin Sr .won the Bowling Green Lucas Oil Series event in Super Comp and one week later, won the U.S. Nationals in Super Gas, his first national event title.
During his successful rookie season (2018) in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, Troy Jr. won four races and appeared in six final rounds. He won his first race when he drove his Rich McPhillips-owned dragster to the win at the NHRA Regional event in Norwalk. He later claimed additional regional wins in Cecil County, Md., and Bowling Green, Ky. He also won the national event in Reading, Pa.
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.
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.
Jeff Taylor is a 45-time national event winner and a four-time NHRA world champion. Taylor’s championships have come in Stock (1981), Super Stock (1988, 1991), and Comp (2005).
Three of Taylor’s 45 national event wins have come at Indy. He won the Stock title in 1981, the Super Stock title in 1991, and the Comp class in 2000.
Taylor is also regarded as one of the sport’s best engine builders with numerous event wins, championships, and national records to his credit.
The Coughlin family has enjoyed incredible success at NHRA’s biggest event with a total of nine victories. In addition to the four wins by Jeg Jr. and two more by Troy Jr., Troy Sr. won the 1991 Super Gas title and Mike won the Pro Stock Truck class in 1999 and 2001. Brother John Coughlin also won Indy as a car owner when Brad Plourd drove his JEGS.com dragster to the 2005 U.S. Nationals Super Comp title.
Overall, the Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 123 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 (Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals edition):
4: U.S. Nationals wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. (3 in Pro Stock, and 1 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)
9: U.S. Nationals victories for the Coughlin family
11: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
18: Top-10 finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
123: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family