Jegs
Speedco to support Coughlin’s return to Pro Stock
Courtesy of JEGS
LAS VEGAS, NV – Speedco Truck Lube and Tires president Mark Clark announced his company’s support of five-time world champion drag racer Jeg Coughlin Jr. in 2012 as the decorated professional returns to the Pro Stock category in a
new JEGS.com/Mopar-sponsored Dodge Avenger.
“At Speedco, we like to say we’re, ‘Built for speed, staffed for quality, and deliver world class value,'” Clark said. “I believe the same could be said for JEGS Mail Order and JEGS.com and we’re happy to be a part of this race team in 2012 and beyond.”
Coughlin captured Pro Stock titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008, and was the 1992 world champion in Super Gas. Although he didn’t compete in Pro Stock racing in 2011, he remained active in the sport by participating in numerous high-dollar bracket races and a handful of NHRA national events, several of which he won.
Five-time world champion Coughlin announces return to Pro Stock
Courtesy of JEGS
LAS VEGAS, NV- Five-time world champion drag racer Jeg Coughlin Jr. used the main stage of the world-renowned 
SEMA show to announce a return to the NHRA’s Pro Stock class in 2012 behind the wheel of a JEGS.com and Mopar-sponsored Dodge Avenger, which will be powered by a 500 cubic inch HEMI motor built in-house at JNR Racing Engines.
Coughlin, along with engine builders Nick Ferri and Roy Simmons, have been working closely with motorsports experts at Chrysler Technology Center (CTC) for the past several months to prepare for a full-scale assault on the Full Throttle Championship.
“The adrenaline is definitely pumping,” Coughlin said. “The level of factory support Mopar is providing is fantastic and I think it’s going to be very special. The passion the CTC and Mopar folks have for drag racing and for taking the their brand to the top of the sport is invigorating. These guys and gals are on a mission and we’re thrilled to be working with them.
Coughlin misses the cut in Vegas, but got a second chance
Courtesy of JEGS
LAS VEGAS, NV – JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro driver Troy Coughlin got an extra roll of the dice at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he couldn’t hit the jackpot.
Coughlin qualified No. 17 for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series season finale but got in the field when another car crashed in qualifying and couldn’t make the first round of eliminations.
Coughlin, however, spun the tires in his JEGS.com turbocharged ’68 Camaro not long after he left the starting line in his first-round matchup against Jay Payne, handing Payne the victory.
“I wish we could’ve had a little bit better luck or done a little bit better job with our setup this weekend,” Coughlin said. “It was great to make the run, and we tried some stuff that should’ve made more power, but we had a bit of a traction issue.”
The JEGS Chevy crossed the line in 11.210 seconds at 99.54 mph while Payne drove away with a finish in 5.983 seconds at 240.68 mph.
Troy Coughlin intent on top-10 finish in Pro Mod
Courtesy of JEGS
LAS VEGAS, NV – World champion drag racer Troy Coughlin arrives at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals intent on securing another top-10 finish in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Racing most of the 2011 season in crew chief Jake Hairston’s small-block Pontiac GTO, Coughlin was a crowd favorite at every stop. But having less horsepower than the others was too much to overcome and he enters the season finale in 13th place. But the class has been so tough this year that he’s only 21 points, or about one round of action, out of the top 10, giving the team purpose.
Now wheeling a brand-new, twin-turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Camaro, Coughlin has the same engine and combination as the class leaders and with a couple of races worth of experience under his belt, he says contending for the event win, and a spot in the top 10, is very realistic.
Million Dollar experience beneficial to JEGS team
Courtesy of JEGS
MONTGOMERY, AL – It wasn’t the result either of them were looking for but JEGS Mail Order teammates Jeg Jr and T.J. Coughlin both described the experience of racing in this weekend’s Nitro Fish Million Dollar Drag Race at Montgomery
Motorsports Park as both rewarding and educational.
Both Coughlin’s were brimming with confidence as they entered Saturday’s main event, which paid a whopping $175,000 to the winner, but in the world of high stakes bracket racing, where races are often won and lost by just a few thousandths of a second, the arithmetic did not fall in their favor and they both posted a round two finish. A pair of $20,000 to win companion events held on Thursday and Friday produced similar results while on Sunday, T.J. finally broke through for a very respectable semifinal showing.
“We both drove well and our cars were solid but we were just never able to get in a groove,” said Jeg Jr. “We both managed to win two or three rounds each day but we never got on that roll that you need to go the distance. I had a lot of good close races and I know T.J. did as well.
JEGS team has a million reasons to savor Montgomery trip
Courtesy of Jegs
MONTGOMERY, AL – The lure of an enormous paycheck and the opportunity to race against world-class competition has led JEGS Mail Order teammates Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Troy Coughlin Jr. to Montgomery Motorsports Park for this
weekend’s 16th annual Nitro Fish Million Dollar Drag Race.
One of the crown jewels of high stakes E.T. bracket racing, the Million Dollar Drag Race offers competitors a chance to win a life-changing amount of money, perhaps as much as a million dollars, for winning a single event.
The Nitro Fish Million Dollar Drag Race features several support events offering a generous $20,000 top prize, but the real attraction is the main event, which boasts one of the largest payouts in drag racing. The entry fee is a stiff $2,000, and drivers who are defeated in the first or second round have the option to “buy back” into the field for an additional $500, creating an enormous prize pool. If 500 competitors enter the main event, the champion will receive $1 million, one of the largest single-day paydays in all of motorsports.
Coughlin moves to No. 1 in the BTE Power Rankings
Courtesy Of Jegs
Wilmington, OH – Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s double win at last weekend’s Tenn-Tuck Triple Crown at Beech Bend Raceway Park 
has lifted him to first place in the BTE Power Rankings on Luke Bogacki’s ThisIsBracketRacing.com. Coughlin has earned 82 points in 2011, one more than second-place Jody Lang and 10 more than Tommy Phillips, who is third.
“I’ve followed the BTE Power Rankings in the past and it’s been neat to see the champions crowned,” Jeg Jr said. “Honestly, I didn’t think of our spot in the BTE Power Rankings this year because of our limited schedule, but we have had some great race finishes that have accumulated some big points.
“It will be fun to see how this closes out as the season draws to the end.”
Points in the unique ranking system are mostly based on dollars earned at approved bracket races around the country. Roughly speaking, each $1,000 earned translates to one point. Coughlin has earned points at nine different events this year, including a whopping $25,000 at the Great American Race at No Problem Raceway earlier this summer. His take last weekend added 15 points to his total.
Coughlin banks a pair of big wins in Bowling Green
Courtesy of Jegs
BOWLING GREEN, KY – Five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., put together a dominant performance by banking two wins during this weekend’s Tenn-Tuck bracket race at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. Driving his
JEGS.com dragster, Coughlin claimed a win in Friday’s $5,000 event and then carried that momentum into Saturday where he claimed a $10,000 paycheck during the Big Bucks event.
The dual victories were the latest in a long string of high stakes E.T. bracket titles for Coughlin, who earlier this year collected three wins in one weekend at the Ultimate 64 Shootout at Edgewater Sports Park. He also won a dragster in the America Race Cars Shootout at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La., last month.
“We had a couple of good days,” said Coughlin. “I drove consistently and aggressively and we also had a few breaks along the way which is what it takes at these events because these big bracket races are so tough. I decided to come to this race at the last minute because we were switching my dragster from gas to alcohol. I worked on the set-up with [noted racer and fuel systems expert] George Rupert and we quickly found the right tune-up.”
Broken Transmission stops Coughlin’s Championship Bid
Courtesy of Jegs
WEST POINT, KY – Following a heroic comeback season that included two victories in the NHRA North Central Division Top Sportsman series, Mike Coughlin entered the final rounds of Sunday’s annual Doorslammer Nationals with a
chance to clinch his third championship in the last five seasons.
Coughlin needed only to win the second round of eliminations to clinch the title but fate intervened as he suffered a broken transmission in the deciding round, allowing rival John Scali to win the title for the second-consecutive year.
“This hurts but it’s one of those things that you learn to live with,” Coughlin said. “I suppose it would have hurt a lot more if this had been my first championship, but I’ve been there before and I know what it takes to win. In the end, we just came up a little short. It was something that was totally out of our control. No matter what, I’ve had a great year so I’m not too disappointed.”
Coughlin was sidelined for most of the 2010 season following hip and knee surgery, but quickly regained his championship form this season, driving his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to back-to-back wins in Indianapolis and Chicago.
After qualifying in the top half of the field at the eighth-mile Ohio Valley event, Coughlin easily won his round one race. In the second and deciding round, he gained a big starting line advantage against his opponent and appeared to be well on his way to a victory when disaster struck.
Brown claims Jr. Dragster 2 title for Team JEGS
Courtesy of Jegs
HEBRON, OH – Makenna Brown delivered her grandmother a surprise birthday present Sunday by surging to the Jr. Dragster 2 JEGS ET Series championship at National Trail Raceway.
Makenna’s grandmother, Sue, is married to JEGS founder Jeg Coughlin Sr. The Coughlin family has produced champions in drag racing for years, and Makenna joined the tradition Sunday.
She came into Sunday’s final race of the JEGS ET Series 10 points behind leader Nick Altenbach in the Jr. Dragster Division 2 for 10-12-year olds. But Makenna advance one round farther, reaching the semifinals, and clinched the championship by one point.
“I feel great,” Makenna said with a smile. “I’m still trying to process it in my mind.”
Makenna won three of the 13 races in Jr. Dragster 2 at National Trail and made one other final-round appearance and four semifinal appearances – including the final three races.
