New England Dragway (Epping, N.H.) June 3-5
After a weekend off to honor American’s veterans on Memorial Day, six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals. Jeg Jr. will be driving a 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-year for a brief stint with the Elite Motorsports team. In three events, Jeg Jr. raced to a runner-up and a semifinal.
Jeg Jr. is racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes 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 eight events of the season, Jeg Jr. enters the Epping event ranked No. 9 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings.
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.
This weekend’s event will mark the fourth time that NHRA has held a Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at New England Dragway and the third time that Jeg Jr. has raced there as a professional. In his first appearance in 2013, Jeg Jr. qualified No. 1 and drove to a semifinal finish.
In his two Pro Stock races at New England Dragway, Jeg Jr. has qualified No. 1 and No. 5. All told, he has been the No. 1 qualifier 20 times in his career.
In two previous appearances at New England Dragway, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 2-2 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.
Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities but he has not yet won at New England Dragway. The only other current venue on the NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not won is Norwalk Raceway Park.
Jeg Jr. is one of just 17 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.
With 580 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching 10-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
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 365 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 365 events and recorded 580 round wins while incurring just 291 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 New England Nationals Edition
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
20 – Number of times Jeg Jr. has qualified No. 1 in a Pro Stock field
24 – Number of facilities where Jeg Jr. has won an NHRA national event title. He has not yet won at New England Dragway.
109 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family