Heartland Park Topeka (Topeka, Kan.) May 20-22, 2016
Six time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title this weekend’s event at Heartland Park Topeka. Jeg Jr. has returned to the Pro Stock class on a full-time basis in 2016 racing a new 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-season 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 will also include the Pro Stock entries of Drew Skillman and 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 as the crew chiefs for Skillman and Nobile, respectively. All four 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.
After the first seven events of the season, Jeg Jr. enters the Topeka event ranked No. 7 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings. He reached the quarterfinal round of the most recent event in Atlanta..
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 Jr. is a two-time Pro Stock winner in Topeka. In 2013, he drove to a final round win over Allen Johnson in an all-Mopar final round. Jeg Jr. also won the Pro Stock title at the 2000 Topeka event, driving his Team JEGS entry to a final round win over Darrell Alderman.
In addition to his two wins, Jeg Jr. also has a pair of runner-up finishes in Topeka. In 1998, his first appearance at Heartland Park Topeka as a professional, Jeg Jr. lost to Warren Johnson in that final. In his most recent event in 2014, Jeg Jr. was a runner-up to Allen Johnson.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field in 12 of his 15 appearances at Heartland Park Topeka including a best of No. 1 in 2000. Jeg has been the No. 1 qualifier 20 times in his career.
As a sportsman racer, Jeg Jr. won the Super Stock title in Topeka in 1994 and earned a runner-up finish in Competition Eliminator in 1997. That season, he set an NHRA record by winning national events in four separate classes; Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, and Super Gas.
In 15 career appearances at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 25-12 in Pro Stock competition.
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.
Including Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities. 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 one of just 16 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 and Greg Anderson.
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 (81) have more titles.
In 364 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 364 events and recorded 580 round wins while incurring just 290 losses. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 109 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 (NHRA Kansas Nationals Edition)
4 – Pro Stock final round for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Topeka
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
24 – Number of different facilities where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title
109 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family