Team JEGS Prerace Notes
NHRA Arizona Nationals
Team JEGS
Prerace Notes
NHRA Arizona Nationals
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Ariz. (Feb. 23-25)
Jeg Coughlin Jr. will continue his pursuit of a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock title (and seventh national championship overall) at this weekend’s 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz. Jeg Jr. will once again be driving a Rick Jones Race Cars-built Chevy Camaro as a member of the Elite Motorsports team.
Last season, Jeg Jr. finished as the No. 7 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class. It was the 17th top-10 finish of his career, which began in 1997.
Jeg Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to two-time world champ Erica Enders. The Elite team also includes Pro Stock racers Vincent Nobile and Alex Laughlin. Jeg Jr.’s crew chief is multi-talented Rickie Jones, who has extensive experience as a driver, chassis builder and tuner. The Elite team also includes crew chiefs Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian “Lump” Self, who regularly share data.
Jeg Jr. will be pulling double duty in Phoenix as he also is entered in the Top Sportsman class. Jeg Jr. will be driving a turbocharged 2018 Corvette for team owner and former JEGS Allstars champion Phil Unruh of McPherson, Kan.
Jeg Jr. has never competed in the Top Sportsman class. Should he win the event, he will become the first driver to win an NHRA national event in eight different classes. Jeg Jr. already 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.
At the season-opener in Pomona two weeks ago, Jeg Jr. dropped a close Round 1 battle against Enders. Jeg Jr. enters this week’s event at the No. 10 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
During his career, Jeg Jr. has won the Pro Stock title twice in Phoenix. He claimed his first win in 2000 by beating Mark Pawuk in the final round and stopped Kurt Johnson to win his second title in 2009.
As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also won the Super Stock title in 1995 in Phoenix. He returned in 1997 to claim the Comp title at the track’s Division 7 Lucas Oil Series event.
In 17 previous appearances at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Jeg Jr. has a win-loss record of 22-15 in Pro Stock competition.
In his 17 appearances in Phoenix, Jeg Jr. has qualified in the top half of the field 11 times, with a best of No. 3 in 2004.
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 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.
Including Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, 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.