Norwalk, Ohio (July 3-6)
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his title defense at this weekend’s event in Norwalk, Ohio. Coughlin will be racing the new Dodge Dart that he debuted last March in Gainesville, Fla.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. continues to race as a teammate to former NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson in 2014. Coughlin’s Dodge Dart is once again be powered by Hemi engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and will be tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Adam Hornberger.
During his career, which began in 1997, Jeg Jr. has earned 14 top ten finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class.
Jeg Jr. has never won a Pro Stock race in Norwalk. It is one of just two current facilities where he is winless along with New England Dragway, which has hosted just two NHRA Mello Yello Series events. Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities making him the all-time leader in that category.
After appearing in three final rounds in the last six events, Jeg Jr. enters this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event as the second-ranked driver in Pro Stock. He trails leader Erica Enders-Stevens by 190 points.
In his last six starts, Jeg Jr. has earned two wins, a runner-up and a semifinal, making him the winningest NHRA pro in that span. His round win record is 14-4 since winning the Atlanta in May.
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.
In six career appearances in Norwalk, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 6-6 in Pro Stock competition.
At the 2012 Norwalk event, Jeg Jr. qualified No. 1 in the Pro Stock field with a 6.592-second elapsed time. It was one of 20 times in his career that Jeg Jr. has been the top qualifier in Pro Stock.
After the first 12 events of the 2014 season, Jeg Jr. has a 20-10 record in Pro Stock elimination rounds. During last season’s 2hampionship run, Jeg Jr. had a 22-11 record after the first 12 events.
Jeg Jr’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.484-seconds and his best speed is 214.62, both recorded earlier this year in Gainesville behind the wheel of his new JEGS/Mopar Dodge Dart.
Jeg Jr. is one of just 16 professional racers to win 500 elimination rounds, rounds of 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 one of only three drivers, along with Peter Biondo and Scotty Richardson, 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 Jr. is the only professional racer in the history of NHRA to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots.
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.
In his 342 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr has reached the final round 96 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr has won a total of 74 times, tying him with Greg Anderson for eighth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr has appeared in 118 final rounds, 96 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
Of Jeg Jr’s 553-career round wins in Pro Stock, 92 have come via a starting line holeshot, which is the most of any past or current NHRA Pro driver.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 342 events and recorded 553 round wins while incurring just 268 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
With 58-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.
Troy Coughlin will also be in action in Norwalk as the NHRA Pro Mod Series makes its sixth stop of the 2014 season. Troy, the 2012 NHRA Pro Mod series champion is currently ranked tenth in the Pro Mod standings.
Troy’s JEGS.com Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharging expert Steve Petty. With a top speed in excess of 257-mph, Troy is officially the fastest member of the Coughlin family, eclipsing the performance of his father, Jeg Sr., who raced in the Top Fuel class in the early 1980s.
Troy has won NHRA national event titles in three classes; Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas. His first Pro Mod title came at the Englishtown event in 2005.
At the 2013 Norwalk event, Troy qualified No. 3 in the Pro Mod field before slowing in a round one loss to Chip King. In 2012, Troy qualified in the top spot in Norwalk and drove to the final round before losing to Don Walsh Jr.
The JEGS Mail Order team in Norwalk will also be represented by Mike Coughlin, brother to Troy, Jeg Jr. and John Coughlin and third generation racer Troy Coughlin Jr. Mike will be driving his Chevy Camaro in the Top Sportsman class while Troy Jr. will pull double duty in Super Comp and his JEGS.com Corvette roadster in Super Gas.
Mike Coughlin is a two-time North Central Division champion in the Top Sportsman class. He won titles in 2007 and 2009.
During his career, Mike has won 12 NHRA national event titles in 18 final rounds. Mike has won in three classes; Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, and Top Sportsman.
In addition to his 12 NHRA national event titles, Mike also has 11 Lucas Oil Series divisional victories. He won his first LODRS title at Beech Bend Raceway Park in 1989.
Mike Coughlin’s JEGS Camaro is capable of mid 6-second runs at speeds of over 210-mph, comparable to today’s NHRA Pro Stock cars. It is powered by an 832-cubic inch big block with electronic fuel injection.
Troy Coughlin Jr. is a three-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event. Last season, he drove his JEGS Corvette to a third-place finish in the national Super Gas standings out of nearly1,000 competitors.
In 2013, Troy Jr. won the Super Gas title at the NHRA Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event in Norwalk. So far this season, Troy Jr. has been a runner-up at the Lucas Oil Series events in Joliet, Ill. and Reading, Pa.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. has combined for 102 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 Norwalk Nationals Edition)
5 JEGS Mail Order entries in action during this weekend’s race in Norwalk.
7 Number of positions Jeg Jr. has gained in the Pro Stock standings in the last seven events (from ninth to second)
9 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
102 Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
821 Pro Stock elimination rounds for Jeg Jr. with 553 wins, 268 losses (.673-percent)