JEG COUGHLIN JR.
COUGHLIN HAS RACKED UP AN INCREDIBLE
62 WINS THROUGHOUT HIS BANNER PRO
STOCK CAREER, INCLUDING ONE EARLIER
IN THE 2019 NHRA SEASON AT PHOENIX.
probably three or four weeks later at Dallas at the
end of 1997 and qualified very well. I lost in the
second round to Jim Yates, ironically, and then
went to Houston the next week and ended up
winning the race. It was just one of those things
that came together so quickly and to have that
level of success right off the bat, it was like, “Wow,
this is pretty badass, this is a really cool.” It was
a quick learning curve, but being able to watch
Troy do it for a couple of years it made it a little
more seamless for myself.
You’ve had family race in a lot of different
classes over the years, but you’ve always stayed
true to Pro Stock on a professional level. Was
that intentional or just how it played out?
I’ve always enjoyed the class. I’ve had great
opportunities to hop in Top Fuel dragsters and
even Funny Cars in the last 20 years, just basically
show up for a paycheck and come drive. At the
time, my son was young and there was quite a bit
of blowovers, frames breaking in half, you know,
Tony Schumacher’s crash Memphis – tumbling
along and, him in the cockpit, resting up against
the tree at the end of the racetrack – Larry Dixon’s
horrific crash there at Memphis as well. It was
just a life decision I made. I mean, I love the sport,
I love nitro, I love everything about it. But there
was an element of control that I felt like I would
not have and I just always steered away from the
amazing opportunities I had to get into some
championship-funded teams that have went on
to win championships and have gone on to win
many more championships since these things
were talked about.
That’s how I’ve kind of ended up staying in
Pro Stock. I’m not a thrill seeker for speed. I do
enjoy the acceleration. Like I said, I enjoy the
challenge of the perfect rounds and the imperfect
runs. I have enjoyed the evolution in the class. I
was hoping some things with the technological
side of the class would be a little different today
than what they’ve turned out to be, but you know,
I think NHRA does a great job overall.
Mentioning that, do you feel like the class is
in a good place in 2019?
It’s in as good a position as any NHRA class
right now, in my opinion. Maybe that’s a biased
opinion, heck, I don’t know. I think the class
is in pretty good health. I think it’s in a bit of
a turning point with some of the rule changes
in the last year, allowing any motor to run in
any body of a car. I think that may bring out
some additional vehicle types and/or brands
that would be exciting in the long run. A good
majority of our hardcore fans certainly may not
approve of a GM engine in a Ford or a Dodge in
a Chevy, or however you want to put it. But, at
the end of the day, a majority of the fans wouldn’t
understand that part of the complexity. They
want to see good, entertaining racing, whether
it’s side-by-side racing or you know, one going
sideways through the finish line, whatever the
case may be.
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