Team JEGS Prerace Notes:
NHRA Spring Nationals
NHRA Spring Nationals
Royal Purple Raceway
Baytown, Texas
(April 21-23, 2017)
The JEGS Mail Order team will be well represented during this weekend’s 30th annual NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in Pro Stock and the JEGS.com Corvette Roadster in Super Gas, while nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. will make his fifth start in the Top Fuel class behind the wheel of the SealMaster dragster fielded by Kalitta Motorsports. Troy Coughlin Sr. will also be in action in the J&A Services Pro Mod series.
Jeg Jr. will continue his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh championship overall) at this weekend’s event.
Jeg Coughlin Jr.
After a semifinal finish at the most recent event in Las Vegas, Jeg. Jr. enters this week’s Houston race as the No. 6 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
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.
Jeg Jr. won his first Pro Stock race in Houston in 1997 when he defeated Mark Osborne in the final. It was just his second start in the Pro Stock class. Jeg Jr. has also earned Pro Stock titles at Royal Purple Raceway in 1998, 2000, and 2010, beating Tom Martino, Jim Yates, and Allen
Johnson, respectively.
In addition to his four wins, Jeg Jr. also was runner-up at the Spring Nationals in 2009. As a sportsman racer, Jeg Jr. won the Super Stock title in Houston in 1994, giving him a total of five wins at the facility.
In 19 career appearances at Royal Purple Raceway, Jeg Jr. has a 34-15 record in Pro
Stock eliminations.
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. will race for his fifth Royal Purple Raceway Pro Stock title this weekend
Jeg Jr. 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.
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. claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.
Including Royal Purple Raceway, Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities making him the all-time leader in that category. The only current venues on the NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not won are the tracks in Norwalk and Epping.
Jeg Jr. is the only driver to win national event titles in seven different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas and Top Dragster.
Jeg Jr. is the only professional racer in history to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots. During his Indy win in 2000, Jeg qualified No. 16.
With 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (87), and Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.
With 592 round wins, Jeg Jr. is on the verge of catching 10-time champion Bob Glidden, who registered 597 wins during his career.
In 385 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 100 times, recording 58 wins. Including his 18 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 76 times, good for ninth place on NHRA’s all-time victory list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 124 final rounds, 100 as a professional and 24 as a sportsman racer.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 385 events and has a round-win record of 592-311. He has red-lighted 22 times and failed to qualify 16 times.
SealMaster dragster driven by
Troy Coughlin Jr.
In 2017, Troy Coughlin Jr. joined his grandfather, Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr. when he made his Top Fuel debut in Pomona. Jeg Sr. raced in the Top Fuel class from 1977-79. He finished No. 7 in the 1978 standings and recorded career bests of 5.97 seconds and 249.30 mph during his career.
Troy Jr. will be making his fifth start behind the wheel of the SealMaster Top Fuel dragster, which is owned by drag racing and aviation legend Connie Kalitta. The car is tuned by veteran crew chief Jim Oberhofer. Troy Jr. is racing will as a teammate to 42-time national event winner Doug Kalitta and 2013 Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon. Troy Jr.’s teammates also include Funny Car drivers J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria.
Troy Jr. enters the Baytown event as the No. 8 ranked driver in the class. So far, he has reached the quarterfinals in Pomona and Gainesville. His best elapsed time is a 3.696 recorded in Phoenix and his best speed is 328.86 mph recorded in Gainesville.
Troy Jr. is driving the same SealMaster dragster that Todd drove to six final rounds last season, including a victory in Sonoma.
Troy Jr. is expected to be one of the leading contenders for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award that honors NHRA’s top professional rookie. Troy Jr.’s uncle, Jeg Jr. was named NHRA rookie of the year in 1998 after a second-place finish in the Pro Stock class.
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. He won a pair of national events last season, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.
Troy Jr. is also the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion.
During his career, Troy Jr. has appeared in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional final rounds and has claimed three victories.
In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. is also 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.
Troy Coughlin Jr. with father Troy Coughlin Sr.
The NHRA Spring Nationals will mark the second race in the 12-event 2016 J&A Services Pro Mod Series. Two-time series champion Troy Coughlin Sr. will continue his quest for a third title behind the wheel of his turbocharged JEGS.com C7 Corvette.
The JEGS.com Pro Mod Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty. With a top speed in excess of 260-mph, Troy Sr. is one of the fastest drivers in the Pro Mod class. He has also recorded a personal best elapsed time of 5.766-seconds.
At the season-opening event in Gainesville, Fla., Troy Sr. drove to a semifinal finish. He enters this race ranked fourth in the points standings, just 42-points behind leader Steven Whiteley.
At last year’s Houston event, Troy Sr. qualified No. 2 with a 5.798 and reached the semifinals before losing to eventual race winner
Jim Whiteley.
Last year, Troy Sr. battled for the title until the final event of the season before finishing a close second to eventual champ Rickie Smith. He claimed three wins in Englishtown, St. Louis, and the season-ending event in Las Vegas.
Last season, Troy Sr. was one of just four Pro Mod racers, along with Michael Biehle, Steven Whiteley, and Rickie Smith, who qualified for all 10 events on the schedule. In the last two seasons, Troy Sr. is the only driver to qualify for all 20 races. His last DNQ was the 2013 Charlotte event. He has since qualified for 32 straight events.
Troy Sr. 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 Sr. defeated Mary Ann Jackson in the final. Troy Sr.’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 a win over Zack Barkledge.
Troy Sr. 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 Sr. 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 Sr. has 10 NHRA national event wins in 25 final-round appearances in Pro Mod, Pro Stock, and Super Gas competition.
Troy Sr. is a past 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 Coughlin family, including John, Troy Sr., Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 113 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in nine different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.