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NHRA: Jeg's Mail Order Englishtown Preview

20 May 1999

The JEG'S Mail Order Racing Team has regrouped in preparation for the Mopar Parts Nationals in Englishtown, NJ this weekend. The Pro Stock car program spent a full day of testing in Darlington, while the Pro Stock Truck program headed to Englishtown to prepare for this weekends battle.

Jeg CoughlinSr., "Our performance triangle is becoming a reality. Our team has the ingredients to win races, which is what our program is committed to." The entire team has sat down and reevaluated where they currently are and what their goals for the season are. The team is recharged and focused on winning. "I feel that the team is back on track and we will be a force to deal with for the rest of the '99 NHRA season."

Last year, Jeg Coughlin, Jr. won his second Pro Stock NHRA national event and returns to Englishtown as the defending champion. Jeg successfully defended his first Pro Stock victory last year at the MACTCO Supernationals and would like to have the same outcome at the Mopar Parts Nationals. "We spent a full day testing in Darlington before coming to Englishtown. The team made some changes to my car that both the car and myself really liked and responded well to," said Jeg. Things have been a little silent from Jeg since winning the '99 season opener in Pomona. Jeg has slipped from the number one position all the way down to the number eight spot and comes into this race with 304 points. Jeg trails Mike Edwards (320), Allen Johnson (346), Troy Coughlin (362), and Richie Stevens (369) all of whom are with in striking distance.

Jeg will race in the Holly Dominator Duel race, which takes place Saturday as part of the Mopar Parts Nationals. This race takes the top eight cars in qualifying points and puts them head to head for a $50,000 pay day. "I am honored to be a part of this race for the first time in my career. JEG'S has had a long standing relationship with Holly Performance and I would like nothing more then to win this special event and strengthen the partnership between JEG'S and Holly," stated Coughlin. Jeg will face off against Kurt Johnson in the first round.

Troy Coughlin comes into the Mopar Parts Nationals in the number five spot with 362 points. Troy trails Richie Stevens (369) and Jim Yates (394), he would like to reclaim the number three spot in the '99 NHRA Winston points at the conclusion of this race. Troy commented, "I feel very good coming into E-town. We have a great handle on our cars again and the entire team is extremely fired up for this race. You can feel the increased energy level of our team, we are very hungry for a win!" Two years ago at this race Troy flipped his Pontiac Firebird and he would like to show the track who the boss is.

Mike Coughlin continue to show that he is a force to deal with if you are going to win a Pro Stock Truck race. Mike currently is resting in the number nine spot with 219 points. Pro Stock Truck chassis builder Jerry Haas is hot on Mike's trail with 207 points. While, Craig Eaton holds the number eight position with 241, Todd Patterson (264) and Tim Freeman (280). With a strong finish here Mike could certainly rearrange the order. "We have been so close to getting to the final round, we just need a little bit of luck to play into our hands. The team is really getting a good handle on our new truck. You can expect a win out of us at anytime," noted Mike.

Pro Stock Truck "rookie" John Coughlin is turning some heads. John switched to running Mike's former Jerry Haas built truck and feels right at home. "There really is a difference in this truck. I feel more comfortable in it and the team has more data on it, which is really helping us to give the truck the setup that it wants," said Coughlin. John qualified in the number twelve position in Atlanta and is looking forward to continuing his streak of qualifying. "Maskin and the team are really making some strong performance strides. Our goal is to have both trucks in the top half of the field and the rest will take care of itself on race day," noted John.

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