The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, Nev.) Oct. 24-27
The NHRA Nationals is the fifth of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff that will determine the 2013 Full Throttle Champions. Jeg Coughlin Jr. enters the event as the leader in the Pro Stock class. He currently leads second-ranked Mike Edwards by 45 points.
Jeg Jr. appeared in seven Pro Stock final rounds in the first 22 events of the season and claimed four victories in Topeka, Joliet, Charlotte, and the recent Reading race.
During his career, Jeg Jr. has won the Pro Stock title five times in Las Vegas. He claimed a win at the inaugural event in 2000 by beating Warren Johnson and returned in 2001 and 2002 to post final round wins over Jim Yates and Warren Johnson, respectively. Jeg Jr. also won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009, beating Greg Stanfield in both final rounds.
In addition to his five Pro Stock wins in Las Vegas, Jeg Jr. has also posted a pair of runner-up finishes at both the spring and fall events in 2001. In both finals, he lost to Greg Anderson.
Jeg has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field 11 times in Las Vegas including a best of No.1 in 2007 and 2008. During his career, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top spot 17 times.
In 23 appearances at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (including the Spring event held in April), Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 40-16 in Pro Stock competition.
In addition to his Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. also won the Super Comp title at the Spring Las Vegas race in 2012.
The JEGS Mail Order team made a major change to their Pro Stock program this winter when Jeg Jr. joined forces with reigning NHRA Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson. This year, Coughlin’s Dodge is powered by HEMI engines from Johnson’s J&J Racing team and is tuned by Johnson’s crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Jim Yates.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
During his victory earlier this year at Heartland Park Topeka, Jeg Jr. became just the 12th professional racer to win 500 rounds of NHRA competition. He joins fellow pros John Force, Warren Johnson, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson, Kurt Johnson, Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, and Tony Pedregon in that exclusive club.
Jeg Jr. is the only professional racer in the history of NHRA to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots.
With 56-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.
Jeg Jr. is one of only two drivers, along with Peter Biondo, 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.
Of Jeg Jr’s 530-career round wins, 91 have come via a starting line holeshot, which is the most of any past or current Pro Stock driver.
In the first 22 races of the 2013 season, Jeg Jr. has four wins, four runner-up finishes and six semifinals to his credit. His overall record for the year is 45-18.
Jeg Jr‘s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.487-seconds and his best speed is 213.47-mph both recorded during the 2013 season in Gainesville and Charlotte, respectively.
Jeg Jr. has won national events in 24 different NHRA facilities. The only current tracks where he has now won are Norwalk and Epping.
In 327 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 93 times, recording 56 wins. Including his 16 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 72 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 115 final rounds, 93 as a professional and 22 as a sportsman racer.
During the Las Vegas event, Jeg Jr. will host a group of local Cub Scouts. Cub Scout Pack 830 recently completed its popcorn sales drive to help benefit military families with loved ones serving overseas. The pack exceeded its goal of $15,000, due in some part to the incentive that the pack's top-five sellers would get to go to the race and meet Jeg Jr. and the rest of the JEGS Mail Order team.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr., and Troy Jr. has combined for 99 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.
The NHRA Toyota Nationals will also mark the final race in the ten-event 2013 NHRA Pro Mod Series. Troy Coughlin is the defending event champion and will be behind the wheel of his turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Camaro
Troy enters the event as the fifth-ranked Pro Mod driver in the series. While he cannot win the championship, he can finish as high as second.
Earlier this year, Troy won the NHRA Four Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway and drove to runner-up finishes at the events in Englishtown, N.J. and Bristol, Tenn.
Troy’s JEGS.com Corvette is 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 one of the few Pro Mod competitors who have raced all three current engine combinations; turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous oxide assisted
Last year, Troy drove to a victory at the Las Vegas race when he defeated Don Walsh Jr. in the final round. The victory officially clinched the 2012 NHRA Pro Mod Series title.
Before moving to the Pro Mod class, 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.
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.
In recognition of breast cancer awareness month, both JEGS Mail Order entries will be adorned with special pink paint schemes during this weekend’s Las Vegas event.
Team JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA Toyota Nationals Edition)
5 World championships for Jeg Coughlin Jr. (four in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas)
7 Wins for Troy and Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Las Vegas (6 by Jeg Jr. and one by Troy)
9 Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
99 NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
530 Round wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class