Team JEGS Pre-race Notes:
NHRA Norwalk Nationals
Team JEGS Pre-race Notes
NHRA Norwalk Nationals
Norwalk, Ohio (June 22-26)
Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s NHRA Nationalsin Norwalk, Ohio. He will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Dodge Dart as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Last season, Coughlin took a breather from the Pro Stock class but returned at midyear for a brief stint with the Elite Motorsports team. In three events, he raced to a runner-up and a semifinal.
Coughlin is racing as a teammate to two-time and reigning world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes the Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile. Rickie Jones is the crew chief for Coughlin’s HEMI-powered Dodge while his father, Rick, is the crew chief for Enders. Veteran crew chiefs Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self round out the Elite roster. All three Elite teams and their crew chiefs regularly share data and tuning advice.
The NHRA Pro Stock class has an entirely different look this season thanks to a number of major rules revisions. Electronic fuel injection has replaced carburetors and as a result the cars no longer have big hood scoops. Pro Stock engines are limited to a maximum of 10,500 rpm, and the wheelie-bar length has been shortened.
After the first 11 events of the season, Coughlin enters the Norwalk event ranked No. 8 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings following a semifinal finish at last weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
During his professional career, which began in 1997, Coughlin has earned 15 top-10 finishes in the NHRA Pro Stock class.
Coughlin 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, he also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
Coughlin’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.484 seconds and his best speed is 214.62 mph, both recorded in Gainesville in 2014.
Coughlin has never won a Pro Stock race in Norwalk. It is one of just two facilities on the current schedule where he is winless, along with New England Dragway, which has hosted just three NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. He has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities, making him the all-time leader in that category.
In seven career appearances in Norwalk, Coughlin has a round-win record of 8-7 in Pro Stock competition.
Troy Coughlin Sr.
At the 2012 Norwalk event, Coughlin qualified No. 1 in the Pro Stock field with a 6.592-second elapsed time. It was one of 20 times in his career that he has been the top qualifier in Pro Stock.
Last season, Coughlin accomplished a longtime goal with his first national event double. Racing at the JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, he won the Super Gas and Stock titles. In Stock, he drove his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the title.
Coughlin is one of just 17 professional racers to win 500 elimination rounds in 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.
With 583 round-wins, Coughlin is close to catching 10-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 round-wins during his career.
Coughlin is the only driver to win national event titles in seven different categories: Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.
Coughlin is the only professional racer in history to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots. During his Indy win in 2000, he qualified No. 16.
With 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Coughlin ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Bob Glidden (85), and Greg Anderson (83) have more titles.
In 368 career Pro Stock races, Coughlin has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 18 Sportsman victories, he has won a total of 76 times, good for ninth place on NHRA’s all-time wins list. During his career, Coughlin has appeared in 124 final rounds, 100 as a professional and 24 as a Sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Coughlin has competed in 368 events and recorded 583 round-wins while incurring just 294 losses. He has red-lighted 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
The NHRA Norwalk Nationals will mark the sixth race in the 10-event 2016 NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Reigning series champion Troy Coughlin Sr. will race his turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy C7 Corvette, which is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty.
A week ago in Bristol, Tenn., Troy reached the semifinals, and two weeks ago he claimed his first Pro Mod win of the season in Englishtown, N.J. He enters the Norwalk event ranked second in the standings, 110 points behind leader Rickie Smith.
Last year, Troy won his second NHRA Pro Mod series championship by 14 points over veteran Mike Janis.
Mike Coughlin
Troy has reached the final round in Norwalk the last two seasons. He won the event in 2014 by beating Von Smith in the final. Last season, he earned a runner-up finish to Mike Janis.
In 2015, Troy was one of just three Pro Mod racers, along with Mike Janis and Danny Rowe, who qualified for all 10 events. His best finish was a runner-up in Atlanta. Thus far in 2016, Troy is one of just six drivers who have qualified for all six events.
Troy won his first NHRA national event title at the U.S. Nationals in 1991 when he drove his Pro Stock-style Olds to victory in Super Gas, defeating Mary Ann Jackson in the final. His first Pro Mod victory came at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey in 2005 when he drove his supercharged Mustang to a win over Zach Barklage 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 11 NHRA national event wins in 26 final-round appearances 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.
The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented in Norwalk by Mike Coughlin, who is racing in Top Dragster, and third-generation racer Troy Coughlin Jr., who is pulling double duty in Super Comp and Super Gas.
Mike is a two-time North Central Division champion in the Top Sportsman class. He won titles in 2007 and 2009.
Troy Coughlin Jr.
During his career, Mike has won 13 NHRA national events in 19 final rounds. He has won in three classes: Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, and Top Sportsman. In addition to his 13 national event titles, Mike has 11 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional victories. He won his first LODRS title at Beech Bend Raceway Park in 1989.
Mike returned to the Top Dragster class this season and has raced in four events with his new 6.2-second dragster. His best performance so far is a quarterfinal finish at the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event in Indianapolis.
At the season-opener in Indianapolis, Mike debuted his dragster with a career-best elapsed time of 6.17 seconds. His crew consists of Greg Cody and Tony Collier.
In 2014, Mike won the Top Sportsman title at the Norwalk national event. The same weekend, older brother Troy Sr. won in the Pro Mod class.
Troy Jr. is a five-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event; he won Super Comp titles at the 2009 Las Vegas race and the 2010 U.S. Nationals. He also has three Super Gas victories: in Gainesville, Fla. (2013), Indianapolis (2014), and the JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals in Columbus (2014).
Last year, Troy Jr. raced in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, where he was named Rookie of the Year. More recently, he earned his NHRA license in the Top Fuel category with a Don Schumacher Racing dragster, running over 320 mph in the process.
Troy Jr. is the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
In May, Troy Jr. was a runner-up in Super Comp at the North Central Division race in Norwalk. He enters this weekend’s event ranked No. 17 in the NHRA national standings for the Super Comp class.
In addition to his success at NHRA events, Troy Jr. is regarded as one of the sport’s best 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 110 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlins have won in 10 different eliminators: Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.