Team JEGS Prerace:
Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Team JEGS Prerace:
Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals (Sonoma, Calif.)
July 28-30
The JEGS Mail Order team will be represented at this weekend’s 30th annual Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals by six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who will lead the effort behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Camaro in Pro Stock, and his nephew, Troy Coughlin Jr., will be driving the SealMaster Top Fuel 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 the Elite Motorsports team.
Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Following the most recent event in Denver, Jeg. Jr. enters this weekend’s race as the fifth-ranked driver in the Pro Stock class. So far this year, Jeg Jr. has earned runner-up finishes in Houston and Topeka to go with four semifinal results.
Last year, Jeg Jr. raced his first full season for the Elite team and recorded the 16th top-10 finish of his career.
Jeg Jr. is teammates with two-time world champ Erica Enders, Vincent Nobile and Alex Laughlin. Veteran crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self are the tuners of the Elite Pro Stock cars and regularly share data.
This season, Jeg Jr. has been Pro Stock’s No. 1 qualifier in Houston, Charlotte and Bristol. He has been the low qualifier 23 times in his career.
Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities including Sonoma Raceway. The only stops on the on the current NHRA Mello Yello tour where he has not won are Norwalk, Ohio, and Epping, N.H.
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. Earlier this season in Houston, he ran a best of 6.499 seconds, his best run in the fuel injection era.
Earlier this season, Jeg Jr. became just the 10th NHRA racer to win 600 elimination rounds when reached the semifinals in Topeka. He currently has 604 round wins. The other nine drivers with 600 wins are: John Force (1,276), Warren Johnson (874), Tony Schumacher (798), Greg Anderson (741), Kenny Bernstein (682), Larry Dixon (678), Ron Capps (661), Antron Brown (656), and Doug
Kalitta (607).
Jeg Jr. has recorded two Pro Stock wins in Sonoma. He defeated Greg Anderson in the final round in 2003 and Jason Line in the 2010 finals. In addition to his two wins, Jeg Jr. has a pair of Sonoma runner-up finishes to his credit. He finished second to Vincent Nobile at the 2013 event and was runner-up to Dave Connolly at the 2008 race.
In 17 career appearances in Sonoma, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 28-15 in Pro
Stock competition.
Jeg Jr. qualified No. 1 at the 2001 Sonoma Nationals; He has qualified in the top spot 23 times in his Pro Stock career. In 17 career appearances in Sonoma, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the field 11 times and his average starting position is No. 7.