Bristol Dragway (Bristol, Tenn.) June 13-15
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his title defense at this weekend’s event at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. Jeg Jr. will be racing the new Dodge Dart that was debuted last March in Gainesville, Fla.
Jeg Jr. drove to a victory in his most recent appearance in Englishtown, N.J. He defeated Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock final. Jeg Jr. also won the Atlanta event last month, also beating Anderson in the final. In between, he earned a runner-up finish in Topeka to teammate Allen Johnson. All told, Jeg Jr. has won 11 of his last 12 elimination rounds.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. continues to race as a teammate to former NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson in 2014. Jeg Jr’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 late in 1997, Jeg Jr. has earned 14 top ten finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class.
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.
After appearing in the last three final rounds, Jeg Coughlin 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 123points.
After the first nine events of the 2014 season, Jeg Jr. has a 17-7 record in Pro Stock elimination rounds. During last season’s championship run, Jeg Jr. had an 18-8 record after the first nine events.
Including Bristol Dragway, Jeg Coughlin 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 track in Norwalk and Epping.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. won the Pro Stock title at Bristol in 2007 defeating current Nitro Fish team owner Kenny Koretsky in the final round.
In 11 career appearances at Bristol Dragway, Jeg Coughlin Jr. has a 13-9 record in Pro Stock eliminations.
Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the field in six of his 11 appearances in Bristol including a best of No. 1 in 2007. He has qualified No. 1 20 times in his career.
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 15 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.
Of Jeg Jr’s 550-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.
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.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 339 events and recorded 550 round wins while incurring just 265 losses. He has failed to qualify just 16 times.
In his 339 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.
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.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented in Englishtown by Troy Coughlin, who will be racing in the NHRA Pro Mod series with his 257-mph turbocharged Corvette.
After four of ten events, Troy is ranked No. 9 in the NHRA Pro Mod Series points standings. He is one of just 9 drivers to qualify for all four events thus far in 2014.
At the 2005 Englishtown event, Troy won his first Pro Mod title when he defeated Zack Barklage in the final round.
At the most recent NHRA Pro Mod series event in Englishtown, N.J., Troy qualified in the No.12 spot and lost to Von Smith in the opening round.
Troy Coughlin is the 2012 NHRA Pro Mod series champ. He is once again driving the turbocharged Corvette that carried him to the season title.
Troy has also had success in Pro Stock at Bristol Dragway, having won the $50,000 Winston Showdown in 2000.
Troy’s Pro Mod Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty. Last year, Coughlin drove to a best elapsed time of 5.82-seconds, and a top speed of 257.97 mph, making him the quickest and fastest member of the Coughlin family.
Troy Coughlin has won NHRA national event titles in three classes; Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented in Bristol by third-generation driver Troy Coughlin Jr., who will be competing in Super Comp and Super Gas.
In 2009, a then-19-year old Troy Coughlin Jr. became the first third-generation Coughlin racer to win an NHRA national event title when he won the Super Comp title at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
Last season, Troy Jr. drove his JEGS Corvette to a third-place finish in the national Super Gas standings out of over 950 competitors.
In his brief NHRA racing career, Troy Coughlin Jr. has already won three national event titles including the 2009 Las Vegas event, the 2010 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and the 2013 Gatornationals. He also has a runner-up finish at the 2011 JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus.
In addition to his success in NHRA racing, Troy Jr. has also won several big E.T. races including a $25,000 top prize at a race in Atco, N.J. in 2011.
Troy Jr. has reached the final round in his two most recent NHRA appearances at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events in Reading, Pa., and Joliet, Ill. Troy Jr. was a runner-up in the Super Gas class at both events. He also drove to a semifinal finish in Super Comp in Joliet.
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 Thunder Valley Nationals Edition)
7 Number of positions Jeg Jr. has gained in the Pro Stock standings in the last five 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
24 Number of facilities where Jeg Jr. has won an NHRA national event title, including Bristol Dragway
102 Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
815 Pro Stock elimination rounds for Jeg Jr. with 550 wins, 265 losses (.678-percent)