Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park (Phoenix, AZ) Feb. 21-23
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his title defense at this weekend’s Carquest Nationals at the newly re-named and renovated Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix. Coughlin will once again drive the familiar yellow and black JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger that carried him to his fifth NHRA Pro Stock title and sixth overall championship last season.
Overall, Jeg Jr. has 14 top ten finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class since his debut in 1997.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue to race as a teammate to former NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson. Coughlin’s Dodge will once again be powered by engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and will be tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Adam Hornberger.
Jeg Coughlin 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 Coughlin Jr. enters this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event as the fifth-ranked driver in Pro Stock following his quarterfinal finish at the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona last week. Jeg Jr. defeated Rodger Brogdon before losing to Vincent Nobile.
During his career, Jeg Jr. has won the Pro Stock title twice in Phoenix. He claimed his first win in 2000 by beating Mark Pawuk in the final round and stopped Kurt Johnson to win his second title in 2009.
As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also won the Super Stock title in Phoenix in 1995. He returned in 1997 to claim the Comp title at the track’s Division 7 Lucas Oil Series event.
In 14 previous appearances at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Jeg Jr. has a win-loss record of 19-12 in Pro Stock Competition.
Jeg Jr’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.487-seconds recorded last season in Gainesville and his best speed is 213.47 recorded last season at the spring event in Concord, N.C. Jeg Jr. is one of just seven drivers who have run in the 6.4-second zone in NHRA competition. He is one of eight drivers who have run over 213-mph.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the field in nine of his 14 appearances at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park including a best of third in 2000 and 2004.
Jeg Jr is one of only two drivers, along with Peter Biondo, to win national event titles in six different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.
Jeg Coughlin Jr finished the 2013 season with four wins, four runner-up finishes and seven semifinals in 24 events. For the season, he finished with a 48-20 record in eliminations, second only to Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon, who finished with a 54-17 record.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 331 events and recorded 534 round wins while incurring just 259 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
Jeg Jr.’s most recent NHRA Pro Stock victory came at last October in Reading, Pa. He defeated teammate Allen Johnson to help secure the top spot in the points standings.
In 331 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr has reached the final round 93 times, recording 56 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr has won a total of 72 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr has appeared in 115 final rounds, 93 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
With 56-career Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (96), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (74) have more titles
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr, and Troy Jr. has combined for 100 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in 9 different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA Carquest Nationals Edition)
2 – Pro Stock victories for Jeg Jr. in Phoenix (2000, 2009)
4 – Total victories for Jeg Jr. at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park (including his two sportsman wins)
19 – Pro rounds won by Jeg at the NHRA Arizona, against just 12 losses
56 – Career Pro Stock victories for Jeg Coughlin Jr., fourth most in class’ history
100 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
792 – Pro Stock elimination rounds for Jeg Jr. with 534 wins, 259 losses (.673-percent)