Brainerd, Int’l Raceway, Brainerd, Minn. (Aug. 15-18)
Jeg Coughlin Jr. enters this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd as the third-ranked driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock standings. Jeg Jr. has appeared in six final rounds in the first 16 events of the season and has claimed victories in Topeka and Joliet.
At the most recent NHRA event in Seattle, Jeg Jr. drove to his sixth final round of the season, posting a runner-up finish against Vincent Nobile. He is guaranteed to finish in the top ten for the 13th time in his career
Jeg Jr. has officially clinched his spot in the Countdown to the Championship, the six race playoff that will determine the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello champions.
Jeg Jr. has four career Pro Stock victories at Brainerd Int’l Raceway in 1999, 2002, 2007, and 2010. Jeg defeated Warren Johnson in the 1999 final and stopped Minnesota native Greg Anderson in both 2002 and 2007. He defeated Shane Gray in 2010. Jeg Jr. was also the runner-up to Kurt Johnson at the 2000 Brainerd race.
In 13 career appearances at Brainerd Int’l Raceway, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 26-9 in Pro Stock competition, making it one of his most successful tracks.
As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the Super Stock title in Brainerd in 1997, beating his then teammate Jeff Taylor in an all-JEGS Mail Order final round.
The JEGS Mail Order team made a major change to their Pro Stock program this winter when Jeg Jr. joined forces with reigning NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson. This year, Coughlin’s Dodge is powered by HEMI engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and is tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Jim Yates.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
During his victory earlier this year at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. became just the 12th professional racer to win 500 rounds of NHRA competition. He joins fellow pros John Force, Warren Johnson, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson, Kurt Johnson, Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, and Tony Pedregon in that exclusive club.
With 54-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.
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.
Of Jeg Jr’s 517-career round wins, 88 have come via a starting line holeshot, which is the most of any past or current Pro Stock driver.
In 16 races this season, Jeg Jr. has two wins, four runner-up finishes and four semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 32-14.
Jeg Jr‘s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.487-seconds and his best speed is 213.23-mph both recorded at the 2013 Amalie Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
Including Brainerd Int’l Raceway, Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 23 different facilities. The only current venues on the NHRA Full Throttle tour where he has not won are the track in Norwalk, Charlotte, and Epping.
In 322 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 91 times, recording 54 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 70 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 113 final rounds, 901as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
Jeg Jr’s average qualifying position in Brainerd is No. 8. His best qualifying effort came in 1999, when he was No. 3. Jeg has qualified in the top half of the field in five of his 13 appearances in Brainerd.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. has combined for 97 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 (Brainerd)
5 Wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Brainerd Int’l Raceway (Super Stock 1997; Pro Stock 1999, 2002, 2007 & 2010)
9 Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
19 Number of Pro Stock events where Jeg Jr. has been the No. 1 qualifier in his career
97 NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
517 Round wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class.