Pomona, Calif. (February 17-20)
This week’s NHRA season-opening event in Pomona, Calif., will feature the JEGS Mail Order Pro Stock entry of Troy Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com Top Alcohol Dragster of Mike Coughlin.
Troy Coughlin Jr. is entering his second full season of Pro Stock competition. Last year, Troy Jr, finished No. 6 in the Camping World NHRA Pro Stock standings. In 17 events, Troy Jr. compiled an 18-17 record in elimination rounds with a runner-up finish in Gainesville to go with six semifinals.
Troy Jr. will once again be racing as a member of the Elite Motorsports team which also includes world champions Erica Enders, Bo Butner, and Aaron Stanfield. Troy’s crew chief is Mark Ingersoll, who has extensive experience as a championship winning tuner.
Last season, Troy Jr made two starts at Auto Club Pomona Raceway with a quarterfinal and a first round finish. He qualified No. 4 at the 2021 Winternationals, which was held in July.
Troy Coughlin Jr. has run a best of 6.540 seconds in Pro Stock at the 2021 Sonoma race and has a career-best speed of 210.80 at the Spring Charlotte event in 2021.
Troy Jr. is an eight-time national event winner with victories in Top Alcohol Dragster (3), Super Gas (3), and Super Comp (2). He has also competed in Top Fuel and Pro Mod during his career.
Since making his Pro Stock debut in 2020, Troy Jr., has competed in 25 events and qualified for 24 of them. He qualified No. 1 at last year’s Topeka event and has
Overall, Troy Jr. has a 23-24 record in Pro Stock elimination rounds.
Troy Jr. is 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), Norwalk (2019) and Reading (2019).
Troy Jr. was crowned the 2018 and 2019 North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion. He was also crowned the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
In 2019, Troy Jr. appeared in ten final rounds in Top Alcohol Dragster and earned five wins including national event titles in Norwalk and Reading. Troy Jr. has also earned victories at regional events at Atco Dragway, Beech Bend Raceway Park, and Virginia Motorsports Park.
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 $10,000win 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.
Mike Coughlin will be making his second start in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. Mike is driving the injected nitro dragster run by the father-son team of Rich McPhillips Sr. and Jr. Mike made has debut in the car last season in Las Vegas and qualified No. 5 with a 5.242 elapsed time. Mike reached the quarterfinal round and ran a career best 5.227 elapsed time in the process.
Mike is driving the same car that Troy Jr. raced to his two regional titles in 2018-19. Mike successfully upgraded his NHRA competition license during a test session at last Fall at zMax Dragway near Charlotte.
The McPhillips family dragster appeared in 12 final rounds last season and claimed seven victories, by drivers McPhillips Jr. and Matt Cummings. McPhillips Jr. drove the car to a victory in its most recent outing at the 2021 NHRA Finals, also held in Pomona.
Mike has previously won national events in Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman. Racing in Top Alcohol Dragster, he is attempting to add a fifth class to that list.
Mike Coughlin is a two-time Division 3 champion in the Top Sportsman class (2007-2009) and the 2019 Division 3 Top Dragster champion.
Mike is a 14-time NHRA national event winner. He has won national event titles in Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.
Mike is also a two-time U.S. Nationals winner. He won the Pro Stock Truck class in 1999 and 2001.
In 2020, Mike won the Division 3 event in Bowling Green, Ky., on his way to a third-place finish in the North Central Division Top Dragster standings.
Mike began his career in the Super Gas and Super Comp classes in the 1980s and has extensive experience in the heads-up “super classes”
The Coughlin family has enjoyed tremendous success in Pomona with 11 combined wins in both the Winternationals and NHRA Finals. Jeg Coughlin Jr. has eight Pro Stock wins, Mike Coughlin has two wins in Pro Stock Truck and Top Dragster, and John Coughlin has a win in Super Gas.
Overall, the Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 127 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 (Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals)
8: NHRA national event wins for Troy Coughlin Jr. in 3 different classes (Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, Super Gas).
11: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
11: National event wins in Pomona for the Coughlin family
127: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
229: Combined NHRA national event final rounds for the Coughlin family.