Jegs
Team JEGS heads south for Great American $50K Bracket Race
Courtesy of Jegs
BELLE ROSE, LA – After a successful trip into the semifinal round of Super Comp at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Samantha Coughlin is changing her latitude and getting a little out of her comfort zone to lead Team JEGS into
Louisiana.
Samantha, along with Team JEGS members Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Samantha’s husband) and Troy Coughlin Jr. are heading to No Problem Raceway this weekend for the Great American $50,000 Bracket Race.
Bracket races are a discipline that are fairly new to Samantha, but she said it’s the kind of challenge she welcomes.
“We’re planning on having some fun down in Belle Rose,” she said. “I’m comfortable Super Comp racing, because it’s what I’ve always done. Bracket racing is still new to me.
Ohio Valley SCCA presents another check to JEGS Foundation
Courtesy of Jegs
DELAWARE, OH – The Ohio Valley Region of the Sports Car Club of America recently made its annual donation to the JEGS Foundation Racing for Cancer Research.
“The Ohio SCCA has become a tremendous partner of the JEGS Foundation,” said Jeg Coughlin Jr., vice president of JEGS Mail Order. “This is a generous group of racers and we’re fortunate they think of us every year.”
Rusty Bell of the Ohio Valley SCCA recently gave Coughlin and his brothers, John, Troy and Mike another check that brings the SCCA’s seven-year donation total to over $16,000.
The JEGS Foundation Racing for Cancer Research benefits the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University, one of 39 nationally designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, as well as the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio
Samantha Coughlin beats Stinnett, races to Indy semis in JEGS.com Super Comp dragster
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In her first race as a member of the renowned drag racing Coughlin family, newlywed Samantha Coughlin survived five cutthroat rounds of Super Comp racing before red-lighting against Britt Cummings in the
semifinals of drag racing’s longest running and most prestigious race — the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
“Running on Monday at Indy is a lot fun,” said Coughlin, who married five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. on Aug. 6. “It doesn’t really matter what happens after you get to Monday because just the fact that you made it this far is a huge accomplishment.”
Coughlin got lots of tuning help from her husband, a four-time U.S. Nationals champion, both at the track and later over the phone as previous commitments had him to leaving town before her racing activities were concluded. She also got an assist from Jeg’s nephew Troy Coughlin Jr., a fellow Super Comp racer and defending champion of the race. Samantha also had support and help from her dad, mom and brother Jason.
Coughlin’s new car debut show promise for the future
Courtesy of Jegs
Picture by Roger Richards
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Troy Coughlin made a successful debut of his JEGS.com Pro Mod Chevrolet Camaro, racing his way into the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series field at the 57th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. 
Coughlin unveiled his Jerry Bickel-built ’68 Camaro with a 520-cublc inch turbocharged Chevrolet big block engine this weekend. Pro Mod cars can be a handful at any age, but new cars are unusually recalcitrant.
A past NMCA Pro Street champion, Coughlin qualified for the race in the final qualifying session at No. 10 with a pass of 6.025 seconds at 245.67 mph. He then faced Pro Mod points leader Khalid Balooshi in the first round of eliminations, and Balooshi proceeded to make one of the best passes of the weekend to get the win light.
Still, Coughlin is encouraged with the potential of the new JEGS.com Camaro.
Troy Coughlin to unleash new Pro Mod car on Indy field
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Champion drag racer Troy Coughlin used the two-month break in the Get Screened America Pro 
Mod Drag Racing Series calendar to perfect his new twin turbo-charged JEGS.com Pro Mod Camaro and the veteran racer says he’s as ready as can be for this weekend’s 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
“We’ve tested four different times and feel as though this car is about as ready as we can make it,” said Coughlin, a past world champion in NMCA competition. “We started at Norwalk, went to Michigan, came over here to Indy, and then had one more test in Michigan and have sorted this thing out, we believe.
“Testing never fully replicates a national event. The track’s are never quite prepared the same way and the pressure certainly isn’t there, but you do the best you can do. The real first test will come in Round 1 of qualifying.”
Defending Indy Super Comp champ Coughlin ready for the big Go!
Courtesy of Jegs
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – One year ago, Troy Coughlin Jr. reached a high-water mark in his brief drag racing career by driving his JEGS.com dragster to the Super Comp title of the sport’s most prestigious event — the Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
Now T.J. is back with dreams of defending his Indy triumph, and not even his drag racing aunt Samantha, who recently joined the Coughlin clan by marrying T.J.’s uncle Jeg, is going to get in his way.
“Winning Indy was beyond anything I could have imagined,” T.J. said. “I can’t wait to get back to the track and breathe it all in again. I love that place and everything it represents.
“In order to win this race again I’m going to have to beat the best of the best, and if Aunt Sam happens to be in the other lane, well, we’ll race each other as hard as we can and see who wins. Otherwise, I’ll be her biggest fan. I can tell you she knows how to drive a racecar. She’ll be a tough draw for anyone.”
Final-round finish in Kentucky boosts Coughlin’s championship hopes
Courtesy of Jegs
BOWLING GREEN, KY – Mike Coughlin exited the Division 3 event at Beech Bend Raceway Park with his head held high after driving his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to runner-up finish in the Top Sportsman class. 
Although he lost a close final-round race against his good friend, Ricky Adkins, Coughlin made a big move in the points standings as he continues his pursuit of a third North Central Division championship.
After qualifying No. 4 in the 32-car field, Coughlin used consistent 6.8-second runs to reach his third final round of the year. Coughlin and Adkins then locked horns in a memorable race that was decided by a fraction of a second at the finish line. Coughlin had a competitive .014-second reaction time and ran a 6.826 on his dial-in time of 6.81 seconds, but he was still just two-thousandths of a second — approximately five inches — behind Adkins at the finish line.
“I hate to lose any race but that one was so close, it could have gone either way,” Coughlin said. “I really can’t complain about anything this weekend. My car was absolutely flawless and I feel like I did a good job driving. I just came up a tiny bit short.
Mike Coughlin looking for points lead while nephew T.J. eyes first divisional win
Courtesy of Jegs
BOWLING GREEN, KY – Two-time class champion Mike Coughlin enters this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Beech Bend Raceway Park just 53 points behind John Scali Jr. in the Division 3 Top Sportsman standings, but
he knows that a strong outing at one of his favorite racetracks could turn that deficit into a lead.
Coughlin has only raced at four divisional events this year so he still has one full race to claim the maximum of 95 points should he reach the winner’s circle in his JEGS.com Chevrolet. Scali already has claimed five divisional races so he can only improve on previously posted numbers, giving a decided edge to Coughlin at Bowling Green. In all, sportsman racers can enter eight divisional races, with only their best five counting towards the championship.
“It’s going to be a fight to the end,” Coughlin said. “You know, on one hand I’d love to dominate the class and win the title with room to spare, but the competition in this class is just too good. It’s a fight for every position and every elimination round, and the truth is I like it that way. It’s always such a battle and that keeps it exciting.
Troy Coughlin readies new car for Pro Mod action
Courtesy of Jegs
DELAWARE, OH – The much anticipated debut of champion drag racer Troy Coughlin’s new twin turbo-charged JEGS.com Pro Mod Camaro has arrived with Coughlin hitting the strip Tuesday and Wednesday in Norwalk, Ohio, for
some quarter-mile test runs.
Noted chassis builder Jerry Bickel designed and built the ’68 Chevrolet, which will be powered by a twin turbo 504 cid big block built by Duttweiler Performance. The projected 2,500-plus horsepower the combination should generate will be transferred through a triple-disc Crower clutch and a Lenco three-speed transmission. The engine utilizes electronic fuel injection and will run on methanol, utilizing an air to water intercooler.
Mike Coughlin’s ’71 Vega nearing completion
Courtesy of Jegs
Coughlin hired Woody’s Hot Rodz of Bright, Ind., to rebuild and enhance a 1971 Chevy Vega GT, and the build is almost complete.
“With the LSX-454 engine we’ve put in it right out of the JEGS catalog, it would probably make a pretty quick race car,” Coughlin said. “But the closest this car will get to the starting line of a drag strip is the parking lot. Don’t get me wrong, I plan on driving this car.”
The Vega was a light-bodied car assembled in Ohio that screamed for big horsepower from the time it rolled off the factory floor. Coughlin said he’s seen photos as the build has progressed, and can’t wait to see the final product.
