The JEGS Team Hit Their Hometown Strip This Past Weekend

1528-01570The JEGS quarter-mile team was back at it this weekend, but this race was even a little more special than normal. The National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio is the home track for the Coughlin family.

1527-01502aMike Coughlin, a two-time divisional champion, was able to boost himself into the number 2 spot in the NHRA Division Three Standings within his class, Top Sportsman.

“It’s been a struggle, really dating back to last year, but I think we finally turned the corner this weekend,” Coughlin said. “You look back at the races we’ve had over the last six, eight months and see a lot of .00 losses. It’s just so close every round, there’s no doubt you need a little touch of Lady Luck to win out here and we just haven’t had it.”

1527-10126Interestingly enough, a broken engine at the Norwalk event in early July may have been a bit of good luck after all. Coughlin explained, “Sonny Leonard builds our motors and he took the busted one back for a total redo. They didn’t have the same size crank we’d been using, so he put a bigger one in there, and when we got the engine back in the car it was a different animal. We basically had to change everything. We were at square one. We didn’t get the engine until Thursday, and the first time we ran it down the track was in Q1 of the Columbus points meet. The tune-up was basically an educated guess by my father (Jeg Coughlin Sr.), Greg Cody, Tony Collier, and Rick Rossiter. I’m just so impressed with what these guys were able to do with no testing.”

Once Coughlin had a firm grasp on the new build, he was able to beat out Kyle Dumke by .003 seconds, passed Robert Wright who had a mechanical failure, and gained an easy win when Greg Clevenger pulled a red-light. These wins would push Coughlin into the finals that day, but would lose out to Curt Fredrich with a red-light of his own… I guess that’s racin’!

Coughlin fill us in later, “I squeezed it a little too hard at the Tree, but by the time we made it to the finals it was all smiles for the JEGS.com team, believe me. The biggest factor was having Dad there. He’s so good at just reading what you have and making the right calls. I truly believe he’s changed our luck for the season.”

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Joining Coughlin and his father at the event was Mike’s nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. We’ve shown him running a C6 ProMod, but this weekend he went back to his old favorite and ran their C1 in both Super Comp and Super Gas. He bowed out in Round 2 in both of his race cars.

Troy Coughlin added, “I went -.003 red in Super Comp and made a bad driving decision in Super Gas, so my day ended earlier than I wanted. I still had a blast with my grandfather and Uncle Mike. Competing at this level is no joke. These drivers are just as tough as the pro drivers. It was good to get some more seat time, and I’m already looking at the next chance I get to compete at the Sportsman level.”

We are glad everyone had a safe, fun, and successful weekend, and wish everybody on the Jegs team continued luck throughout the season!

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About the author

Brent Davis

Brent was born and raised in Southern California. After earning a Bachelors Degree in business marketing from California State University San Marcos, and a project management certificate from the University of California at San Diego, he decided to turn a lifelong passion for automobiles and motorsports into a career. Brent has a specific passion for diesel-powered and all-terrain vehicles that have helped him haul and recover recreational toys over the years.
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