Team JEGS Pre-Race Notes:
Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Team JEGS Pre-race Notes
Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Denver (July 22-24)

Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title at this weekend’s Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. He will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Dodge Dart as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Coughlin is racing as a teammate to two-time 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.

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.
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.
On Thursday night, July 21, Coughlin will appear in historic downtown Golden, Colo., for the annual Mopar Big Block Party, a pre-race gathering featuring numerous NHRA drivers, race cars, and a Mopar-themed car show.
Coughlin enters the Denver event ranked No. 9 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings. His best finish this season is a semifinal effort at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
Coughlin won back-to-back Pro Stock titles at Bandimere Speedway in 1998 and 1999, driving to a final-round victory over Warren Johnson in 1998 and brother Troy Coughlin Sr. in 1999. He was also a runner-up in Denver in 2003, 2011, and in his most recent appearance in 2014. He lost to Warren Johnson in the 2003 final and to Allen Johnson in 2011 and 2014.

In 15 career appearances at Bandimere Speedway, Coughlin has a round-win record of 23-13 in Pro Stock competition.
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’s average qualifying position in Denver is No. 8. His best qualifying efforts came in 1999 and 2010, when he was No. 2. He has qualified in the top half of the field in nine of his 15 appearances in Denver.
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 18 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, Greg Anderson, and Jason Line.
With 584 round-wins, Coughlin is on the verge of 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 race wins.
In 370 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 370 events and recorded 584 round-wins while incurring just 295 losses. He has red-lighted 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.
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.

Team JEGS – By the Numbers (Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Edition)

5
Pro Stock final rounds for Jeg Coughlin Jr. at Bandimere Speedway (2 wins, 3 runner-ups)

7
Different classes in which Coughlin has won at least one NHRA national event (the only driver to do so)

10
Different classes in which the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory

24
Different facilities where Coughlin has won at least one NHRA national event title

110
Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family

584
Career Pro Stock round-wins for Coughlin