Joliet, Ill. (July 7-10)
Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s K&N Filters Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. Jeg Jr. will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Dodge Dart as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Last season, Jeg Jr. took a breather from the Pro Stock class but returned at mid-year for a brief stint with the Elite Motorsports team. In three events, Jeg Jr. raced to a runner-up and a semifinal.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile. Rickie Jones is the crew chief for Coughlin’s HEMI-powered Dodge while his father, Rick, is the crew chief for Enders. Veteran crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self, round out the Elite roster. All three Elite teams and their crew chiefs, regularly share data and tuning advice.
The NHRA Pro Stock class has an entirely different look this season thanks to a number of major rules revisions. Electronic fuel injection has replaced carburetors and as a result, the cars will no longer have big hood scoops. Pro Stock engines are now limited to a maximum of 10,500 rpm and the wheelie bar length has been shortened.
At the midway point in the season, Jeg Jr. enters the Chicago 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.
During his professional career, which began in 1997, Jeg Jr. has earned 15 top-10 finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class.
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.’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 Coughlin Jr. has enjoyed tremendous success at Route 66 Raceway during his Pro Stock career with five victories and three runner-up finishes since 2002. Jeg’s wins have come against Ron Krisher (2002), Greg Anderson (2003, 2013), Jason Line (2007) and Mike Edwards (2009). He has also finished runner-up to Kurt Johnson (2003 Spring event and 2008), and Jason Line (2005).
In 20 career appearances at Route 66 Raceway, Jeg has a round win record of 36-13 in Pro Stock competition.
At the 2008 Chicago event, Jeg Jr. qualified No. 1 in the Pro Stock field. It was one of 20 times in his career that Jeg Jr. has been the top qualifier in Pro Stock.
The K&N Route 66 Nationals will also be the site of the 32nd annual JEGS Allstars competition which will be held on Saturday, July 9. The JEGS Allstars is a special invitation race for competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. A field of 80 drivers from all across the North America will compete for individual and team honors and more than $150,000 in cash and contingency awards.
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.
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.
With 583 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 (83) have more titles.
In 369 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 369 events and recorded 583 round wins while incurring just 295 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented in Chicago by Mike Coughlin, who is racing in Top Dragster, and third-generation racer, Troy Coughlin Jr., who is pulling double duty in Super Comp and Super Gas.
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 returned to the Top Dragster class events this season and has raced in five events with his new 6.2-second dragster. His best performance so far is a quarterfinal at the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event in Indianapolis.
At the season-opener in Indianapolis, Mike debuted his new dragster with a career-best elapsed time of 6.17-seconds. Mike’s crew consists of Greg Cody, Dave Ruark and Tony Collier.
Mike has won three NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing series events at Route 66 Raceway. He won the Super Comp title in 2005 and returned to claim wins in Top Sportsman in 2007 and 2011.
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 also has three Super Gas victories in Gainesville (2013) Indianapolis (2014) and the JEGS SPORTSnationals in Columbus (2014).
Last year, Troy Jr. raced in the J&A Services Pro Mod series. More recently, he earned his NHRA license in the Top Fuel category in a Don Schumacher Racing dragster, running over 320-mph in the process.
Troy Jr. is also the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
In May, Troy Jr. was a runner-up in Super Comp at the North Central Division event in Norwalk. He enters this weekend’s event ranked No. 14 in the NHRA national standings for the Super Comp class.
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.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 110 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in ten 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
K&N Route 66 Nationals Edition
4 Different JEGS Mail Order vehicles in action this weekend.
7 Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver to do so)
8 Pro Stock finals for Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Route 66 Raceway with five wins
10 Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
24 Number of different facilities where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title
110 Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family