[coverattach=1]INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April 22) – After a long off-season, Team JEGS racers John Coughlin and his nephew, Troy Coughlin Jr., will finally hit the track for the first time in 2009 at this weekend’s NHRA North Central Division opener at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. John will once again be pulling double duty as he races his JEGS.com Cobalt in Super Stock and his all-new Mullis Race Cars built dragster in the Top Dragster division. Troy Jr., begins his second season of NHRA competition in Super Comp Eliminator.
“I haven’t raced since last season so to say that I’m ready to get back out there would be an understatement,” said John, who is the defending event winner in the Super Stock class. He also won the Indianapolis Lucas Oil Series opener in Super Gas in 1994. “My new dragster should be the fastest race car I’ve ever owned. I think it will run in the 6.60s at over 200-mph so it should be a fun ride. [O’Reilly Raceway Park] is also one of my favorite places to race. There isn’t another track in the country that has as much history and I have been fortunate to win a few races there so obviously I’m looking forward to going back there.”
At the age of 18, Troy Jr. is still seeking his first major drag racing win, but if history is any indication, he’s likely to get it sooner rather than later. Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., has claimed national event victories in Pro Stock and Super Gas and all three of his uncles; John, Mike and Jeg Jr. have won multiple national events. Jeg Jr. is a five-time NHRA world champion and the current Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock points leader. Troy Jr., who represents the third generation of Coughlin racers, plans to draw on his family’s vast knowledge and experience to help accelerate his own learning curve.
“I know that Super Comp is a very tough class but I learned a lot racing last year and my dad, my uncles, and even my grandfather [Coughlin family patriarch Jeg Sr.] have been really helpful,” said Troy Jr. “I might be young, but I’ve been around racing my entire life. For as long as I can remember; this is what I’ve wanted to do and now I’m out here racing with my family and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.”
Mike Coughlin, who was runner-up in the Top Sportsman class at the recent JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., is planning on joining his brother, John in the Top Dragster class this season, but he is not expected to make his debut until the next North Central Division event in Norwalk, Ohio, May 16-18.
“I haven’t raced since last season so to say that I’m ready to get back out there would be an understatement,” said John, who is the defending event winner in the Super Stock class. He also won the Indianapolis Lucas Oil Series opener in Super Gas in 1994. “My new dragster should be the fastest race car I’ve ever owned. I think it will run in the 6.60s at over 200-mph so it should be a fun ride. [O’Reilly Raceway Park] is also one of my favorite places to race. There isn’t another track in the country that has as much history and I have been fortunate to win a few races there so obviously I’m looking forward to going back there.”
At the age of 18, Troy Jr. is still seeking his first major drag racing win, but if history is any indication, he’s likely to get it sooner rather than later. Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., has claimed national event victories in Pro Stock and Super Gas and all three of his uncles; John, Mike and Jeg Jr. have won multiple national events. Jeg Jr. is a five-time NHRA world champion and the current Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock points leader. Troy Jr., who represents the third generation of Coughlin racers, plans to draw on his family’s vast knowledge and experience to help accelerate his own learning curve.
“I know that Super Comp is a very tough class but I learned a lot racing last year and my dad, my uncles, and even my grandfather [Coughlin family patriarch Jeg Sr.] have been really helpful,” said Troy Jr. “I might be young, but I’ve been around racing my entire life. For as long as I can remember; this is what I’ve wanted to do and now I’m out here racing with my family and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.”
Mike Coughlin, who was runner-up in the Top Sportsman class at the recent JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., is planning on joining his brother, John in the Top Dragster class this season, but he is not expected to make his debut until the next North Central Division event in Norwalk, Ohio, May 16-18.
