The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas (Oct. 29 – Nov. 1)
The NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas will mark the tenth and final event in the 2015 J&A Service NHRA Pro Mod Series. Former series champion Troy Coughlin and his son, Troy Jr., will be behind the wheel of their matching turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Corvettes.
Troy enters the Vegas race as the second-ranked Pro Mod driver in the series. He is currently just 28-points out of first place. Troy Jr. is the sixth-ranked driver in the series, 120-points behind leader Mike Janis. In order to win the championship, Troy must advance two rounds further than Janis. However, should Janis fail to qualify, Troy can win the title by winning the opening round of eliminations.
At the most recent NHRA Pro Mod event in St. Louis, Troy Sr. qualified in the No. 4 spot and reached the semifinal round before losing to Mike Knowles. Troy Jr. qualified No. 3 but broke in round one.
Troy Sr. won the Las Vegas race back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Troy he defeated Don Walsh Jr. in the final round. It was a victory that sealed his late-season run to the NHRA Pro Mod series championship. A year later, Troy successfully defended his Las Vegas title by beating Danny Rowe in the final round.
In five appearances at the NHRA Toyota Nationals, Troy has a record of 12-3 in Pro Mod competition. He has qualified lower than No. 6 only once.
Troy is one of just four Pro Mod racers who have qualified for all nine events contested this season along with Mike Janis, Bill Glidden, and Danny Rowe. A total of 42 drivers have competed in at least one Pro Mod series race this season.
Both of the JEGS.com Pro Mod Corvettes are tuned by noted turbocharger 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 is a former National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) Pro Street champion. While racing his Pro Street car, he also won the $50,000 Big Dog event at Piedmont Dragway in Greensboro, N.C.
Troy’s first Pro Mod victory came at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey in 2005 when as he drove his supercharged Mustang to as win over Zack Barkledge in the final round.
Troy is one of the few Pro Mod competitors who have raced all three current engine combinations; turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous oxide assisted
Before moving to Pro Mod, Troy enjoyed success in the NHRA Pro Stock class, recording two wins in 12 final round appearances. He also won the $50,000 top prize at the 2000 Winston No Bull Showdown at Bristol Dragway, a special non-points event for Pro Stock competitors.
All told, Troy has ten NHRA national event wins in 24 final round appearances in Pro Mod, Pro Stock, and Super Gas competition.
Before the start of the 2015 season, Troy Jr. upgraded his NHRA competition license to join his father in the Pro Mod class with a best run of 5.96-seconds at over 248-mph. Thus far, T.J. has recorded a best official run of 5.87-seconds at 254.62-mph in Pro Mod.
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. He won a pair of national events last season, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.
Troy Jr. is also the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion. Last year, he finished No. 3 in the national standings out of nearly 1,000 competitors.
During his career, Troy Jr. has appeared in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional final rounds and has claimed three victories.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. is also 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.
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 Toyota Nationals Edition
2 – JEGS Mail Order entries scheduled to compete in Las Vegas
5 – NHRA national event victories for Troy Coughlin Jr.
10 – Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
10 – NHRA National event wins for Troy Coughlin
109 – Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family