Team JEGS Prerace Notes:
Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals
Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas (March 31- April 2)

The JEGS Mail Order team will be represented in two professional classes and one Sportsman category during this weekend’s 18th annual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Camaro in Pro Stock and the JEGS.com Corvette Roadster in Super Gas, while nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. will make his fourth start in the Top Fuel class behind the wheel of the SealMaster Toyota dragster fielded by Kalitta Motorsports.

Jeg Jr. will continue his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh overall) at this weekend’s event. Jeg Jr. will be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Chevy Camaro as a member of Elite Motorsports.

Jeg Coughlin Jr.
After a quarterfinal finish at the most recent event in Gainesville, Jeg. Jr. enters this week’s Las Vegas race as the No. 5 ranked driver in Pro Stock.

Last season, Jeg Jr. raced a Dodge Dart for the Elite team and recorded his 16th top-10 finish.

Jeg Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. Elite Motorsports also includes Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile. Veteran crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self are the tuners of the three Elite Pro Stock cars and regularly share data.

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 both times.

In addition to his five Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr. has also posted three runner-up finishes in Las Vegas. He reached the final round at both the spring and fall events in 2001 and the fall race in 2014.

Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field 14 times in Las Vegas including a best of No.1 in 2007 and 2008, and 2014. During his career, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top spot 20 times.

In 28 appearances at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (including the Fall event), Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 46-21 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.

Jeg Jr.’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.

Jeg Jr. is one of just 18 professional racers to win 500 elimination rounds in NHRA competition, a feat he accomplished in 2013 at the Topeka race. The only other Pro Stock drivers with 500 wins are Warren Johnson, Bob Glidden, Greg Anderson and Jason Line.

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.