Jeg Coughlin Jr.: “We need to qualify in the top five this weekend and go to semis at very Least”
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Sep 19, 2007
JEGS
A strong semifinal finish this past Sunday in Memphis lifted Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. up two spots in the Countdown to Four standings to the No. 3 position overall. With just two races left, Coughlin needs to stay in the top four to advance to the Countdown to One sprint to the 2007 title, which will take place over the final; two races of the season.
“Dave (Connolly) and Greg (Anderson) have virtually locked up two of those four spots, so that leaves six of us fighting for those final two slots, “ Coughlin said. “As much as we’d like to be up at the top tangling with Dave and Greg at the moment, the reality is we need to concentrate on staying in the top four and making that next cutoff. In my estimation we need to qualify in the top five this weekend and go to the semis at the very least. “
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is a three-time series champion with 50 national event wins to his credit. Only 11 racers in the history of drag racing have won 50 or more NHRA titles. One of Coughlin’s wins came at Texas Motorplex in 2002, the year he won his second Pro Stock world title.
As one of the only turbocharged cars in the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, Troy Coughlin and his JEGS.com Pontiac crew have been building their program from scratch since the series decided to lift a three-year ban and allow turbocharged cars to compete once again this past off-season. Since then, they’ve also had to adapt to a few rules changes that allow for bigger motors, manual transmissions, and three-disc clutch systems.
“It’s been a giant learning curve for us but we knew that going in, “ Coughlin said. “What’s exciting to me is that we’re making serious advances and, as I said, the fans out there that are into turbochargers and electronics are really digging what we’re doing. “
Currently sixth in the Northeast Division Super Stock championship points, JEGS.com pro John Coughlin is aiming for a win at this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Atco Dragway in Atco, N.J., to propel him into the No. 1 slot.
In the national Super Stock standings, Coughlin is ranked 25th out of a field of more than 800 competitors and can land a spot in the top 10 with one or two more late-round finishes. Competitors who finish the season in the top 10 are rewarded with a single-digit competition number for the following season and also earn a highly coveted NHRA “Silver Card” which entitles them to free entry fees for a full season.
After securing the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division title, JEGS.com short track racer Gary St. Amant opened the five-race Championship Series with a strong second-place finish in Mansfield, Ohio, to take sole possession of first place. He now leads Mansfield winner Bobby Gill by 20 markers and former champion Benny Gordon by 60 points heading into this weekend’s Soy Biodiesel 225 at Iowa Speedway.
St. Amant is averaging a series-best 4.6 finish per event. Over the course of the regular season, he collected a win, four third-place finishes, one fifth-place result, and a 10th- and 12th-place ending.
Team JEGS chef Nicky Morse has prepared meals for royalty, distinguished diplomats, and Ohio’s ultra wealthy at the only four-star restaurant in Columbus. He’s cooked for country music’s brightest stars as part of the support crew for CMT’s “Showcase” program. He’s mentored young apprentices at Ohio State University, and worked elbow-to-elbow with Wolfgang Puck to raise money for cancer research.
Now motorsport’s most decorated chef has opened his personal cookbook to race fans and members of the media by featuring one of his creations each week of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Complete with step-by-step instructions, Morse divulges a complete recipe on teamjegs.com and NHRA.com that allows budding cooks a chance to create a masterpiece of their own at home.
For this weekend’s 22nd annual O’Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec, Morse shares “The Big Show” Chicken Sandwich. “This is a pretty easy recipe to make, “ he said. “It is packed with incredible flavors. You may wonder how all of these flavors fit together, but I promise you they are a great combination. “
