NHRA - Team JEGS SportNationals Preview

Hebron, Sept 20, 2011: There will be a total of six JEGS Mail Order entries in competition this weekend at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals. Mike Coughlin will race in Top Sportsman while his brother Jeg plans to compete in Super Comp and Stock and Jeg’s wife, Samantha will also be in Super Comp with her JEGS.com dragster. In addition, third-generation racer Troy Jr. will be pulling double-duty as he is scheduled to take the wheel of his uncle John’s Top Dragster as well as his own JEGS.com Super comp entry.

With three wins and a runner-up, Mike Coughlin is the most successful racer in the history of the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals. He won the Top Sportsman titles in 2009, 2007 and 2006, and was a runner-up in Super Comp at the inaugural event in 2005.

All told, the Coughlin brothers, John, Troy, Mike and Jeg Jr., have combined to win 11 national events at National Trail Raceway, the team’s longtime home track. They have also tallied five runner-up finishes here.

On Thursday, Sept. 22, the day before the official start of the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals, National Trail Raceway will complete final eliminations for the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event that was postponed in July. Among the racers still in the hunt for the title will be Mike Coughlin, who is currently fighting for the North Central Division Top Sportsman championship.

The coveted JEGS Crown trophy will once again be up for grabs at this weekend’s event. The JEGS Crown is a handcrafted trophy that can only be won by winning two of the three JEGS SPORTSnationals events in a calendar year. The winners of the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., and the JEGS Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, Calif., are in the running for the trophy this year.

Since its inception, the JEGS Crown has been awarded just once, to Pro Mod competitor Mike Ashley, who won the Pro Mod class in Belle Rose and Columbus in 2005.

Following his Super Comp victory at the JEGS Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, Calif., earlier this year, Jeg Coughlin Jr will be one of the drivers eligible to win the JEGS Crown.

In the first six years of the event, three women have earned titles at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals. Lynn Hoosigian won the Super Street title in 2007. Katie Sepanek claimed a victory in Stock in 2008 and Mary Meints won the Stock title in 2009.

Thus far, the only driver to score a double win at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals is Peter Biondo, who earned both the Super Stock and Stock titles at the 2005 race.

In addition to Biondo, and Mike Coughlin, the only other driver with multiple titles at this event is Jeff Taylor, who claimed the title in Comp Eliminator in 2005 and 2008.