Jegs Racing–Carolina Nationals Advance

Team JEGS Prerace Notes
NHRA Carolina Nationals
Team JEGS Prerace Notes
NHRA Carolina Nationals (Concord, N.C.)
September 15-17

NOTE: This event marks the 400th Pro Stock race for Jeg Coughlin Jr. The only other active Pro Stock drivers to achieve that feat are Allen Johnson and Greg Anderson.

The JEGS Mail Order team will be well represented at this week’s NHRA Carolina Nationals with four entries in competition. Six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead the effort behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Camaro in Pro Stock. Brother Troy will be competing in the J&A Service Pro Mod Series and brother Mike will be racing in the Top Dragster class. Nephew Troy Jr. is racing in the Super Comp category.

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 JEGS.com/Elite Performance Chevrolet Camaro as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.

Jeg Jr. enters the zMax event ranked No. 7 in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock points standings. This is the first event in the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff. As the No. 7 seed, Jeg Jr. is just 70 points out of first place. So far this year, Jeg Jr. has earned runner-up finishes in Houston and Topeka to go with four semifinal results.

Jeg Coughlin Jr.
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 low qualifier 23 times in his career.

Jeg Jr. is the 2013 NHRA Carolina Nationals Pro Stock champ. He defeated Jason Line in the final round claiming a win that helped him clinch the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock championship.

Jeg Jr. and then-teammate David Connolly christened zMax Dragway as the first professional drivers to make a run on the drag strip when it opened in 2008.

Jeg Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event at 24 different facilities including zMax Dragway. 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 of 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 605 round wins. The other nine drivers with 600 wins are: John Force (1,280), Warren Johnson (874), Tony Schumacher (802), Greg Anderson (748), Kenny Bernstein (682), Larry Dixon (678), Antron Brown (667), Ron Capps (666), and Doug
Kalitta (611).

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.

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 Jr. qualified No. 16.

With 58 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time in the class. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (88) and Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles.

In 399 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 102 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 list. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 126 final rounds, 102 as a professional and 24 as a sportsman racer.

During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has a round-win record of 605-325. He has red-lighted just 22 times and failed to qualify just 16 times.

The zMax race will mark the 10th event in the 12-race 2017 J&A Services Pro Mod Series. Two-time series champion Troy Coughlin will continue his quest for a third title behind the wheel of his twin-turbo JEGS.com Chevrolet Corvette C7.

Troy Coughlin Sr.
At the most recent event in Indianapolis, Troy was runner-up to Brazil’s Sidnei Frigo in a final-round battle between two turbocharged entries. Troy has been to the final round of the last four Pro Mod events, recording a win in Bristol and runner-up finishes in Englishtown, Norwalk
and Indy.

Troy currently is ranked No. 2 in the championship standings behind leader Mike Castellana. As a result of his recent surge, Troy is just 23 points out of first place with three events remaining.

The JEGS.com Pro Mod Corvette is tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty. With a top speed in excess of 260 mph, Troy is one of the fastest drivers in the Pro Mod class. He has also recorded a personal best elapsed time of
5.766 seconds.

Last year, Troy 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 was one of just four Pro Mod racers, along with Michael Biehle, Steven Whiteley and Rickie Smith, who qualified for all 10 events. In 2015-16, Coughlin was the only driver to qualify for all 20 races.

Troy won Pro Mod titles at zMAx Dragway in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, he drove from the No. 11 qualifying spot to the final round where he defeated Mike Janis. Earlier this year at the Four Wide Nationals at zMax, Troy was a semifinalist. He also ran low E.T. of the event at 5.77.

Troy 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 defeated Mary Ann Jackson in the final. Troy’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 as win over Zack Barkledge 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 14 NHRA national event wins 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.

Mike Coughlin
Mike Coughlin will be racing the same Top Dragster he drove to a win earlier this season in his 2017 debut at the Circle K Winternationals in Pomona. In that event, Mike ran as quick as 6.05 seconds and defeated Andy Spiegel in the final round. In addition to his national event win in Pomona, Mike has also earned a Lucas Oil Series victory in Indianapolis.

Mike enters the zMax event as the No. 4 ranked driver in the Top Dragster class. He is just 44 points out of first place and can earn points in Concord by winning three elimination rounds.

Mike’s Dan Page-built dragster is equipped with a ProCharger and is capable of running in the five-second zone at over 230 mph. Mike’s crew consists of Greg Cody, Dave Raurk, Ryan Micke and Tony Collier.

Last year, Mike returned to the Top Dragster class after a successful run in Top Sportsman that included a pair of Division 3 championships in 2007 and 2009.

Mike is a 14-time NHRA national event winner. He has won national event titles in Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.

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 and the Gainesville event in 2013. He also won a pair of national events in 2014 at the U.S. Nationals and the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals.

Troy Coughlin Jr.
Troy Jr. was 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. also is 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.

The Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. has combined for 115 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.

TEAM JEGS – By the Numbers (NHRA Concord Edition)

3: zMax Dragway wins by the JEGS team (2 Pro Mod wins by Troy and one Pro Stock win by Jeg            Jr.)

4: Team JEGS entries in action in Concord driven by Troy, Mike, Jeg and Troy Coughlin Jr.

7: Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only         driver in history to do so)

10: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory

16: Top-10 finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998

115: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family

400: The Concord race will mark the 400th Pro Stock event for Jeg Coughlin Jr.

605: Professional round wins for Jeg Coughlin Jr., one of just 10 NHRA pros to reach that milestone