NHRA Pro Stock - Coughlin Preview Notes

Gainesville, Mar. 4, 2012: In 2012, Jeg Coughlin Jr. is making his return to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series after a one-year hiatus. Jeg Jr is driving the all-new JEGS Mopar Dodge Avenger in the Pro Stock class. In his first outing since his return, he drove to a runner-up finish at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals.

After the first two rounds in Pomona and Phoenix, Jeg Coughlin Jr. is ranked fifth in the NHRA Full Throttle points standings.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a four-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992.

During his career, Jeg Jr has won the Pro Stock title twice in Gainesville. He claimed his first win in 2001 by beating Mark Osborne in the final round and then stopped Jason Line to win his second title in 2008. Jeg Jr was also a runner-up in Gainesville in 2002, 2003, 2004.

During his hiatus from Pro Stock racing in 2011, Jeg Jr returned to his roots and spent much of the year racing in various sportsman classes. He enjoyed tremendous success, winning the Super Comp title at the JEGS NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, Calif., and numerous major E.T. bracket racing titles.

In 2010, his most recent season in Pro Stock competition, Jeg Coughlin Jr. won four Pro Stock races in seven final round appearances. He also claimed a win in the Top Dragster class at the St. Louis event.

Coughlin’s JEGS Mopar Dodge Avenger is powered by Mopar Hemi engines supplied by JNR Racing, the JEGS in-house engine program founded by JEGS, Nick Ferri, and Roy Simmons. Former FIA European Drag Racing champion Tomi Laine is Jeg’s crew chief in 2012.

In 285 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr has reached the final round 85 times, recording 52 wins. Including his 15 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr has won a total of 67 times, good for tenth place on NHRA’s all time wins list. During his career, Jeg Jr has appeared in 105 final rounds, 85 as a professional and 20 as a sportsman racer.

With 52-career Pro Stock wins, Jeg Jr ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (96), Bob Glidden (85) and Greg Anderson (70) have more titles.

Jeg Jr’s best elapsed time in a Pro Stock car is 6.520-seconds and his best speed is 212.29-mph both recorded at the inaugural Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C. in 2010.

In 12 career appearances at Gainesville Raceway, Jeg Jr has a round win record of 24-10 in Pro Stock competition.

In his 12 Gainesville races, Jeg Jr has qualified in the top half of the Pro Stock field ten times, including a best of No. 1 at the 1998 event.

Jeg Jr will be pulling double-duty at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals as he will also be behind the wheel of his Mopar Challenger Drag Pak entry in Stock eliminator. Longtime family friend Jeff Taylor recently drove Coughlin’s JEGS.com Challenger to a win at the Gainesville Raceway Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event last month.

Jeg Jr is the only driver in the 60-year history of NHRA to win national event titles in six different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.

The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals will also mark the season debut for Troy Coughlin in the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by Pro Care Rx. There are ten Pro Mod events on the schedule for 2011. Last year, Troy Coughlin drove his JEGS.com Chevy Camaro to a 12th place finish in the highly competitive series.

Troy will be behind the wheel of the turbocharged Chevy Camaro that he debuted late in the 2011 season. The car, which has already topped 250-mph, will be tuned by noted turbocharger expert Steve Petty.

Troy Coughlin has won NHRA national event titles in three classes; Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas. His last Pro Mod title came at the Englishtown, N.J. event in 2005.

Troy also posted a runner-up finish in Pro Stock at the 2000 NHRA Gatornationals, falling to Warren Johnson in the final.

The JEGS Mail Order team will also be represented in Gainesville by Jeg Coughlin Jr’s wife, Samantha, who will be driving her JEGS.com dragster in the Super Comp class.

Samantha is a former national event winner, having won the Super Comp title at the 2009 Norwalk event.

Samantha’s father, Alan, and brother, Jason, are both past national event winners racing in the Super Comp and Super Gas categories.