Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill. (June 4-7)
The lone JEGS Mail Order entry in this weekend’s North Central Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Route 66 Raceway will be Mike Coughlin’s Top Sportsman Chevy Camaro.
Coughlin will be once again racing his Jerry Haas-built Camaro in the Top Sportsman class. The car uses a Sonny Leonard-built engine and is capable of 6.4-second runs at speeds of more than 210-mph. Coughlin's crew consists of Greg Cody and Tony Collier.
Coughlin has completed six Top Sportsman events thus far in 2015 and his best finish is a quarterfinal result at the Amalie NHRA Gatornationals. This is the first season that competitors in Top Sportsman are competing for a national championship and Coughlin is currently ranked No. 12.
Coughlin is a three-time winner of the Route 66 Raceway Lucas Oil Series event. He won the Super Comp title in 2005 and claimed Top Sportsman wins in 2007 and 2011.
All told, Coughlin has won 11 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events during his career. His first divisional victory came in 1989 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. Collectively, the Coughlin family has won 54 Lucas Oil Series races in 81 final-round appearances.
Coughlin is a two-time Division 3 champion in the Top Sportsman class. He claimed the top spot in 2007 and 2009. He also finished as a runner-up in 2011 and 2012.
Last year, Coughlin qualified for the prestigious JEGS Allstars event, held annually at Route 66 Raceway during the track’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.
The Coughlin family has won 15 North Central Division championships. Jeg Coughlin Sr., Jeg Coughlin Jr., and John Coughlin have each won four North Central Division season championships while Mike Coughlin has two and T.J. Coughlin has one.
The Coughlin’s have won Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events in nine different classes, Top Fuel, Pro Comp, Super Eliminator, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman.
The Coughlin’s have won Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events at 20 different tracks across North America including races in six of NHRA’s seven geographic divisions. They have not won in Division 6, the Pacific Northwest.
Family patriarch Jeg Coughlin Sr. won his first Lucas Oil Series event when he claimed the Super Eliminator title at Windsor Dragway in Windsor, Ontario in 1969.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA North Central Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series – Joliet Edition)
3 – Divisional wins in Joliet for Mike Coughlin (two in Top Sportsman and one in Super Comp)
15 – Total North Central Division championships for the Coughlin family
20 – Different tracks has featured divisional event victories by a member of the Coughlin family
54 – Total NHRA Divisional wins for the Coughlin family