Auto Club Pomona Raceway (Pomona, Calif.) February 10-12
The JEGS Mail Order team will be out in force for the Circle K Winternationals, the traditional NHRA season-opener in Pomona, Calif. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort with a pair of entries in Pro Stock and Super Gas while older brother, Mike Coughlin will compete in the Top Dragster class. Troy Coughlin Jr. will make his professional debut in the Top Fuel class behind the wheel of the SealMaster dragster fielded by Kalitta Motorsports
Jeg Coughlin Jr. will begin 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.
Last season, Jeg Jr. raced a Dodge Dart for the Elite team and recorded his 16th top ten finish.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is once again 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.
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 35 career appearances at Auto Club Pomona Raceway in all events, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 59-28 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 18 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.
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.
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. will also 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 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.
With 586 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching ten-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
In 381 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 381 events and recorded 586 round wins while incurring just 307 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
Troy Coughlin Jr. will join his grandfather, Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr. when he makes his Top Fuel debut in Pomona. 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.
During pre-season licensing and testing runs, the third-generation driver has run in the 3.8s at over 325-mph (1,000-foot) making him the quickest and fastest member of the JEGS Mail Order team.
Troy’s Top Fuel car is owned by drag racing and aviation legend Connie Kalitta and will be tuned by veteran crew chief Jim Oberhofer. He will race as a teammate to 42-time national event winner Doug Kalitta. Troy’s teammates also include Funny Car drivers J.R. Todd, Alexis DeJoria, and Paul Lee.
Troy Jr. will be driving the same Seal Master dragster that Todd drove to six final rounds last season including a victory in Sonoma. Todd was also a runner-up at both Pomona races in 2016 and was the low qualifier at the final event of the season.
Troy’s father, two-time NHRA Pro Mod champ Troy Sr., and grandfather Jeg Sr. will also be on hand for his professional debut in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series.
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 professional 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. is also 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 has claimed three victories.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. is also 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.
Mike Coughlin has elected to start his season early by bringing his Top Dragster entry to Pomona. Mike’s dragster features an engine built by Proline Race Engines. It is fitted with a ProCharger supercharger and it is capable of running in the 5-second zone at over 230-mph.
Mike Coughlin is a two-time North Central Division champion in the Top Sportsman class. He won titles in 2007 and 2009.
During his career, Mike has won 13 NHRA national event titles in 19 final rounds. Mike has won in three classes; Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, and Top Sportsman. In addition to his 13 NHRA national event titles, Mike also has 11 Lucas Oil Series divisional victories. He won his first LODRS title at Beech Bend Raceway Park in 1989.
Mike is a versatile driver who has competed and won in a variety of classes including Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.
Mike’s crew consists of veterans Greg Cody and Tony Collier.
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 (Circle K Winternationals Edition)
6 – Members of the Coughlin family to race professionally in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. (Jeg Sr.,
7 – Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver to do so)
8 – Pomona wins for the Coughlin family (six by Jeg Jr, one by Mike, and one by John Coughlin).
10 – Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
13 – Final rounds in Pro Stock in Pomona for Jeg Coughlin Jr.
16 – Top ten finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
112 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family