Jegs
Jeg Coughlin Jr. claws back some points in Dallas by beating title rival Jason Line
ENNIS, TX – Five-time Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. managed to keep his title hopes alive Sunday at the 35th annual AAA 
NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex by beating Jason Line in the quarterfinals and advancing to the final four in his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Line entered the weekend as the class points leader but dropped to second Saturday when Coughlin’s Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders beat Line to win the postponed St. Louis race, which had been put on hold two weeks ago. With both Enders and Coughlin advancing to Sunday’s semifinal, the pair were able to gain a little ground on Line, who remained second, three rounds ahead of Coughlin and a round and half behind Enders.
“We chipped away a little bit but left some there as well,” Coughlin said. “It was great to get Jason out of the way in Round 2 and, although I would never, ever wish Erica to lose, I was sitting in the waterbox watching in Round 3 when she lost to Matt Hartford, so there was a big chance to go another round or two, but Greg (Anderson, Coughlin’s semifinal opponent) and his crew had other plans.
Uncertainty abounds as five-time Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. arrives in Texas
ENNIS, TX – A frustrating and dangerous weekend of drag racing in St. Louis a fortnight ago has left the chase for the Pro Stock 
championship in a state of disarray and five-time class champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. feeling a touch unsettled.
To avoid crashing at a racetrack that witnessed several catastrophic accidents due to a suspect track surface, Coughlin was forced to abort his second-round race well before the finish line. NHRA officials immediately cancelled the remainder of the action in the class but two days later decided to simply pick-up the action where it left off during this weekend’s 35th annual AAA NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex.
Considering no qualifying had taken place and that the track surface was literally coming apart, desperate pleas were made to redo the race in its entirety but they were ignored by NHRA brass.
As it stands, Coughlin, who led the points for half the season but has since fallen to third place in his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, can only look forward and do his best to finish the season strong.
Regaining control of Pro Stock class on Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s agenda
Top Dragster’s Mike Coughlin turns attention to national rankings
ST. LOUIS – Considering the month he’s had, five-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. is one of the happiest drivers in drag racing as 
the NHRA tour heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for this weekend’s ninth annual Mopar Express Lanes Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil.
After leading the championship points for three of the first four races of the season on the strength of two victories and a runner-up result in his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, the 65-time national event winner has endured an uncharacteristic stretch of two first-round losses in as many events. A 44-point advantage over Jason Line has been replaced by a 34-point deficit to the new points leader.
“While you never like giving up points it’s been a bit of a blessing that things have fallen the way they have,” Coughlin said. “We haven’t been hurt too badly; it definitely could have been worse.
“This just sets us up perfectly for a nice, big, fun rebound weekend in St. Louis. I’ll personally be making some test passes in Tulsa (Okla.) on Wednesday. After a pretty decent qualifying session last weekend in Gainesville, we had an ECU crap out on us in Round 1. It was an untimely event, for sure, but we’ll test as much as necessary to make sure everything is firing like it has been the last 12 months, where we’ve really enjoyed some great momentum.”
Worth the wait: Mike Coughlin earns Bowling Green D3 victory one month later
ST. LOUIS – Three-time and reigning D3 champion Mike Coughlin took a big step towards defending his North Central Division Top 
Dragster title with an impressive victory over one of his chief rivals Thursday night at World Wide Technology Raceway. Finishing the final two rounds of an event that began in late August in Bowling Green, Ky., Coughlin outlasted three championship hopefuls to earn his 15th Wally at the divisional level.
“What a great way to start a very important weekend,” said Coughlin, a 29-time winner in all NHRA competition. “We have a unique chance to win three races in one weekend and you can’t win all three if you don’t win the first one so we’re very happy to earn this trophy. It’s certainly a heckuva confidence booster.”
Winning this race was simply a continuation of a dominant outing at Beech Bend Raceway where Coughlin qualified No. 1 with 6.108 at 224.77 mph and powered through a bye run and victories over Phillip Oakley and John Biagi to reach the semifinals before the event was postponed.
Picking up where he left off on Thursday, Coughlin was able to cruise past Al Peavler and John Strassweg — who both fouled out at the starting line — to reach the winner’s circle for the first time this season.
Rare chance for 3 wins in one weekend excites reigning champ Mike Coughlin
ST. LOUIS – This drag racing season has been very different with schedule constrictions necessitating more double-up weekends than ever 
before. But for reigning Division 3 Top Dragster champion Mike Coughlin and a few others, this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway will present three chances to visit the victory circle.
Due to a late-round rainout on August 30 at the last D3 race in Bowling Green, Ky., Coughlin and his fellow remaining survivors from Beech Bend will start this extended weekend by finishing the last few rounds of the previous race. Together with the regularly scheduled double-header, Coughlin knows this year’s Division 3 championships will likely be decided under the famous St. Louis Arch.
“It’s going to be a really exciting four days,” Coughlin said. “I’ve always enjoyed double-header weekends because they’re like bracket races where you’re just constantly on the go. This weekend will be even more crazy with three races. I’ve never had three NHRA races in a weekend before. I actually doubt it’s happened very often. I just know we won’t have a chance to catch our breath until Monday. It’ll be awesome.”
Reigning D3 Top Dragster champ Mike Coughlin leads Team JEGS into Beech Bend
BOWLING GREEN, KY – The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns to Beech Bend Raceway Park this weekend for a North Central Regional 
event at one of Division 3’s most historic and beloved facilities. Reigning D3 Top Dragster champ Mike Coughlin will lead a three-car assault from Team JEGS that features his nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. and niece Paige Coughlin, who will both compete in Super Comp.
“Beech Bend Raceway Park has always been a favorite stop of mine dating all the way back to the 1970s when my brothers and I would go watch our dad (Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr.) race there,” Mike said. “With the amusement park right across the way from the drag strip, the place was a wonderland for kids like us, and I’ve noticed through the years there are many other drag racing families that feel the same way.”
Mike raced to his third Division 3 title last year, adding a Top Dragster championship to two previous D3 titles in Top Sportsman. Although it’s been awhile since he’s found the winner’s circle at Beech Bend — he last won in 1989 in Super Comp — he still has a lot of enthusiasm for this weekend’s event, which runs Friday-Sunday.
Pro Stock points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. has work ahead of him at U.S. Nationals
INDIANAPOLIS – After winning two of the first four national events of the year and building more than a two-round lead in the Pro Stock 
championship points, Jeg Coughlin Jr. came back down to earth a little on Saturday by qualifying 10th at the 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals.
It’s certainly not the end of the world qualifying in the bottom half of the elimination field, as Coughlin himself proved at this event 20 years ago when he raced from the 16th and final spot to his first win at the “Big Go,” but it’s reason enough for his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports crew to plan a late night of work at Lucas Oil Raceway.
“The team tested in Tulsa (Okla.) prior to coming here
and we felt like we had genuinely made some big improvements in our overall performance, which, as we’ve seen, has already been really good,” said Coughlin, a five-time Pro Stock champion with 65 class wins. “We talked about the risk/reward of continuing what we started in testing when we got here and decided to go for it.
JEGS Allstars participant Paige Coughlin leads Team JEGS sportsman contingent into Indy
INDIANAPOLIS – Upstart Super Comp racer Paige Coughlin successfully earned her first start in the prestigious JEGS Allstars event, which 
will take place Friday as part of the 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals. A junior at Miami University of Ohio, Paige joins her four uncles — John, Troy, Mike and Jeg Jr. — and her brother Troy Jr., as a bona fide JEGS Allstar.
“Being a part of the JEGS Allstars team this year is such an honor,” said Paige, the only Coughlin to make the Allstars squad this season. “It’s very special to have this chance to compete against the best sportsman racers in the country and I am extra excited to be representing Division 3.”
Paige is one 80 racers vying for individual and team honors at the event. Racers must qualify for the JEGS Allstars by earning points in their home divisions during year-long battles in each of the NHRA’s 10 sportsman categories.
“It would be a dream to win Super Comp at my first JEGS Allstars race but it would be even more special if Division 3 can pull off the team championship,” Paige said. “I am super thankful for my family, my crew chief Justin Beaver, crewman Tony Collier, and everyone else at JEGS.com for helping me become this year’s Allstars rep.
Pro Stock point leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. looking for one more Indy memory
Nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. anxious to go one step further
INDIANAPOLIS – The victories continue to add up for Pro Stock points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. and heading into this weekend’s 66th annual 
Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals, the NHRA tour’s most recent winner simply hopes to return to the winner’s circle yet again.
Coughlin has two wins and one runner-up showing in the four races contested this season, including the Dodge NHRA Nationals three weeks ago at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, where he beat nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. in the money round.
Jeg Jr. also is six-time winner of the U.S. Nationals, considered drag racing’s most prestigious event. He won the Pro Stock class in 2000, 2002 and 2009. He also claimed the 1992 Super Gas title and the 2004 Mopar Hemi Challenge.
“We’ve certainly had a wonderful run of late, including here in Indy,” said Jeg Jr., who plans to retire from full-time competition at the conclusion of this year. “It would be wonderful to close things out with another U.S. Nationals victory. I know everyone working on the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has that some opinion.
Fields are set for first JEGS SPORTSnationals contested at New England Dragway
EPPING, NH – After a fast-and-furious day of qualifying, the elimination fields for the JEGS SPORTSnationals have been set at historic New 
England Dragway. The event marks the first time a JEGS SPORTSnationals race has been contested in the NHRA’s Northeast Division, and nearly 400 sportsman racers have packed the facility in a strong show of support.
Heading into Sunday’s final eliminations, Frank Aragona Jr. (Comp), Scott Gove (Super Stock), Eric Merryfield (Stock), Michael Lubniesski (Top Sportsman) and Mike Coughlin (Top Dragster) lead their respective fields. Racers, including those in Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street, also made time trial runs Saturday before completing the first round of eliminations.
Aragona is the three-time and reigning NHRA Comp world champion. He drove his J/AA roadster to a 7.388-second run to claim the top spot over Ronald Proctor and Richard Schonberger. Aragona was a semifinal finisher in the Northeast Division Lucas Oil Series event held Friday at New England Dragway.
