Atlanta Dragway (Commerce, Ga.) May 4-6
The JEGS Mail Order team will be well represented at this weekend’s NHRA Southern Nationals by six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who will be racing in Pro Stock as a member of the Elite Motorsports team. He will be joined by his nephew Troy Jr., in Top Alcohol Dragster and wife, Samantha, will be racing in Super Gas.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh overall) at this weekend’s event in Atlanta. Last weekend in Concord, Jeg Jr. qualified No. 6 and reached the semifinals of the unique Four-Wide Nationals.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racers Vincent Nobile and Alex Laughlin. Jeg Jr.’s crew chief is multi-talented Rickie Jones, who has extensive experience as a driver, chassis builder, and tuner. The Elite team also includes crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self, who regularly share data.
After the first six events of the season, Jeg Jr. enters this week’s event at the No. 11 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
Jeg Jr. is a three-time winner of the Atlanta event. He defeated Bruce Allen to win his first title in 2000 and defeated then-teammate Allen Johnson in the final of the 2010 event, scoring his landmark 50th Pro Stock title. He also won the 2014 event by beating Greg Anderson in the final. In addition to his three wins, Jeg was a runner-up in 2009 to Mike Edwards.
As a sportsman racer, Jeg Jr. also won the Competition Eliminator title in Atlanta in 1997. That season, he made history by winning national event titles in four separate eliminators (Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Super Gas).
In 17 career appearances at Atlanta Dragway, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has a 27-12 record in Pro Stock eliminations.
Prior to the start of the event, Jeg Jr. will attend the annual Night of Champions event at the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta. The special event recognizes all of the past professional champions in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Including Atlanta Dragway, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities making him the all-time leader in that category. 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 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. is NHRA’s all-time leader in holeshot victories with 101.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 411 events and has a round-win record of 612-337. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
After successful stints in Top Fuel, Super Comp, and Super Gas, Troy Jr. will race in the Top Alcohol Dragster class this weekend.
Troy Jr. is driving an injected nitro dragster owned and tuned by multi-time national event winner Rich McPhillips a two-time (2013-2016) Gatornationals winner.
Recently, Troy Jr. recorded a personal-best 5.252, 278.23 to qualify for the record eight-car field at the NHRA regional event in Richmond, Va. He was also a semifinalist at last week’s race in Charlotte.
Family patriarch Jeg Coughlin Sr. enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the Top Alcohol Dragster class (then known as Pro Comp) in the 1970s including six divisional event wins and the 1976 Division 3 Pro Comp championship. He was also a finalist at the 1975 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
Troy Jr. is a five-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event. Troy Jr. won Super Comp titles at the 2009 Las Vegas race and the 2010 U.S. Nationals and the Gainesville event in 2013. He also won a pair of national events in 2014 at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.
Troy Jr. was the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. also is regarded as one of the sport's best E.T. bracket racers. He has accumulated several major victories including a $25,000 payday at the Atco Dragway Superbucks event and a $10,000 win the Spring Buck Blast at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Two weeks ago, he won a $20,000 race at the Powerball of Bracket Racing event in Darlington, S.C.
Samantha Coughlin, the wife of Jeg Jr., will be racing the team’s Corvette roadster in the Super Gas class.
Samantha is a former national event champion, who won the Super Comp title at the 2009 Norwalk event.
Samantha’s father, Al Kenny, and brother, Jason Kenny, are both veteran racers and national event champions.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 116 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin's have won in nine 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 Southern Nationals Edition)
3 – Team JEGS entries in competition this weekend at Atlanta Dragway
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
101 – Holeshot wins by Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class (tops among NHRA pro drivers)
116 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family