Norwalk, Ohio (June 21-24)
The JEGS Mail Order team will be well represented at this weekend’s event in Norwalk, Ohio with six yellow and black entries in the field. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., his wife, Samantha, brothers, Troy and Mike, nephew, Troy Jr. and niece, Paige, will all be in competition.
Jeg Jr. will be racing in Pro Stock as a member of the Elite Motorsports team. Troy is racing in the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod series while his son, Troy Jr., will be in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and daughter, Paige, will be racing in Super Comp. Mike will be trading his normal ride in the Top Dragster class for a stint behind the wheel of the team’s JEGS.com Super Gas Corvette, and Jeg’s wife, Samantha, will also be racing in Super Comp.
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 Norwalk. At the most recent event, in Bristol, Jeg Jr. won his 60th Pro Stock title and 79th race overall when he defeated Greg Anderson in the final. It was Jeg’s third-straight win including a Pro Stock win in Chicago and a Super Comp victory in Richmond.
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 11 events of the season, Jeg Jr. enters this week’s event at the No. 6 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities but has yet to win an event in Norwalk. The only other stop on the on the NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not is New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
In nine career appearances in Norwalk, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 9-9 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 23 times in his career that Jeg Jr. has been the top qualifier in Pro Stock.
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 416 events and has a round-win record of 622-340. He has red-lighted just 23 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
As a sportsman racer, Jeg Jr. has won 19 times in six different classes; Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.
Three-time and defending champion Troy Coughlin will continue his comeback to the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod series. Troy will be wheeling a turbocharged Mustang that is tuned by Steve Petty and powered by engines from Proline Racing.
Troy made his return to the class in Richmond, and also competed in last week’s Bristol race, where he qualified No. 13 and lost to eventual winner Mike Janis in round one.
Having run over 260 mph in last year’s Corvette, Troy is one of the fastest drivers in the Pro Mod class. He has also recorded a personal best elapsed time of 5.766-seconds.
Last year, Troy was one of just four Pro Mod racers, along with Michael Biehle, Steven Whiteley, and Rickie Smith, who qualified for all 10 events. In 2015-16, Coughlin is the only driver to qualify for all 20 races.
In 2014, Troy won the Pro Mod title in Norwalk when he defeated Von Smith in the final round. At that event, Troy shared the winner’s circle with his brother, Mike, who won in the Top Sportsman class.
Troy won his first NHRA national event title at the U.S. Nationals in 1991 when he drove his Pro Stock-style Olds to the win in Super Gas. Troy defeated Mary Ann Jackson in the final. 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 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.
All told, Troy has 15 NHRA national event wins in Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Super Gas competition.
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 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. This year, he began racing in the Top Alcohol Dragster class.
Troy Jr. won his first Top Alcohol Dragster race when he drove his Rich McPhillips-owned dragster to the win at the NHRA Regional event in Norwalk.
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.
Paige, 17, made her debut in the Super Comp class last year and recently competed in her first national event, the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. She reached the second round of the Division 3 opener in Columbus. Her crew chief is Justin Beaver.
Paige is the daughter of three-time NHRA Pro Mod series champion Troy Coughlin. She is a freshman at Miami [Ohio] University.
This weekend, Mike will park his low six-second Top Dragster and will return to competition in the Super Gas class behind the wheel of the Team JEGS ’57 Corvette roadster.
Mike is a 14-time NHRA national event winner. He has won national event titles in Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.
Mike began his career in the Super Gas and Super Comp classes in the 1980s and has extensive experience in the heads-up “super classes”
In 2014 Mike won the Top Sportsman title in Norwalk by beating John Hochstedler in the final round.
Mike is a two-time Division 3 champion in the Top Sportsman class.
Samantha Coughlin will be joining the JEGS.com team behind the wheel of their Super Comp dragster.
Samantha is a former NHRA national event champion. She won the Super Comp title at the 2009 Norwalk event.
Samantha is the daughter of former NHRA Super Comp national champion Al Kenny and the brother of multi-time Divisional champ, Jason Kenny.
The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 119 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 Norwalk Nationals Edition)
3: consecutive national event wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr. this season (two in Pro Stock and one in Super Comp).
6: Members of the Coughlin family entered in the event (Troy, Jeg Jr., Mike, Troy Jr., Paige, and Samantha Coughlin).
7: Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver in history to do so)
10: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory
17: Top-10 finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998
119: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family