The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nev.) March 31- April 2, 2017
The JEGS Mail Order team will be represented in two of three professional classes during this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Camaro in Pro Stock while nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. will make his fourth start in the Top Fuel class behind the wheel of the SealMaster dragster fielded by Kalitta Motorsports.
Jeg Jr. will also be competing in the Super Gas class behind the wheel of his JEGS.com Corvette roadster.
Jeg Coughlin 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 quarterfinal finish at the most recent event in Gainesville, Jeg. Jr. enters this week’s Las Vegas race as the No. 5 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
Last season, Jeg Jr. raced a Dodge Dart for the Elite team and recorded his 16th top ten finish.
Jeg 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.
During his career, Jeg Jr. has won the Pro Stock title five times in Las Vegas. He claimed a win at the inaugural event in 2000 by beating Warren Johnson and returned in 2001 and 2002 to post final round wins over Jim Yates and Warren Johnson, respectively. Jeg Jr. also won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009, beating Greg Stanfield in both final rounds.
In addition to his five Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. has also posted three runner-up finishes in Las Vegas. He reached the final round at both the spring and fall events in 2001 and the fall race in 2014.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field 14 times in Las Vegas including a best of No.1 in 2007 and 2008, and 2014. During his career, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top spot 20 times.
In 28 appearances at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (including the Fall event), Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 46-21 in Pro Stock competition.
In addition to his Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. also won the Super Comp title at the Spring Las Vegas race in 2012.
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 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 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. 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), Greg Anderson (87), and Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.
With 590 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching ten-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
In 384 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 384 events and competed in 900 elimination rounds posting a record of 590-310. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
In 2017, Troy Coughlin Jr. joined his grandfather, Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr. when he made 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.
Troy Coughlin Jr. will be making his fourth start behind the wheel of the SealMaster Top Fuel dragster, which is owned by drag racing and aviation legend Connie Kalitta. The car is tuned by veteran crew chief Connie Kallita and Rob Flynn. Troy Jr. is racing will as a teammate to 42-time national event winner Doug Kalitta. Troy’s teammates also include Funny Car drivers J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria.
In his debut in Pomona, Troy Jr. qualified his in the No. 6 spot with a 3.730 run. In eliminations, Troy Jr. recorded a 3.728, 328.46 In his round one win over Shawn Reed. Coughlin lost to reigning champion Antron Brown in the quarterfinals despite a career-best 3.727. Troy enters Las Vegas as the No. 7 ranked driver in the class.
Troy Jr. is driving the same SealMaster 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 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.
Jeg Jr and Troy Jr. are both planning to attend the annual NHRA Fan Fest event and autograph signing held Thursday, March 30, at the New York New York Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, 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 (Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals Edition)
1 – National event win for Troy Coughlin Jr. in Las Vegas (2009, Super Comp).
3 – JEGS Mail Order entries in competition this weekend (Top Fuel, Pro Stock, Super Gas)
6 – Wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Las Vegas (five in Pro Stock, one in Super Comp)
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
113 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family