NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Down by 94 points with four races remaining in the season, the arithmetic is fairly straightforward for Jeg Coughlin Jr. to win a sixth Pro Stock championship (and seventh overall). If Coughlin can pick up even one round on his closest rivals at each event, he’ll be in contention for another title when the tour arrives in Pomona for the season-ending Auto Club Finals in Pomona. Of course, that view might be a big over-simplified since Coughlin is currently ranked No. 6 in the standings and must climb over Jason Line, Erica Enders, Bo Butner, Matt Hartford, and Alex Laughlin to advance.

“You just about have to win races to climb the ladder at this point,” Coughlin said. “Fortunately, the JEGS.com Elite Camaro is extremely capable of doing just that. This will be our third race with new configuration, and it's been working well for us. We just haven't served ourselves a whole lot of good luck so far.”

 Coughlin jumped from eighth to sixth thanks to a semifinal finish in Reading, and was able to maintain that position despite a quarterfinal exit in St. Louis. Coughlin’s uptick can be at least in part credited to switch to a new combination prior to the start of the playoffs. Coughlin qualified No. 5 in Reading and No. 2 in St. Louis and have also earned bonus points at both stops. If not for a rare holeshot loss in St. Louis, Coughlin could be much closer to the front of the tightly-bunched pack.
 
“We missed a big opportunity in St. Louis but that's old news at this point,” Coughlin said. “You can't change the past but you can affect the future and we have four big races left that are all very important. The reason we're optimistic is we have proven we can run at the top of the charts these last two races. It's been a few years since we won at zMax [2013] but it has been a favorite of mine since they opened the doors 12 years ago.”
 
Almost  without exception, all of Coughlin’s 81 national event wins have come behind the wheel of race cars that carry the familiar yellow and black colors of JEGS Mail Order. This week, Coughlin is rolling out a new look with an all-pink Chevy Camaro in support of breast cancer awareness month.

Coughlin missed out on a chance to collect a qualifying bonus point during Friday's opening qualifying session, but added two points to his score on Friday evening with a 6.524. He's currently second in the field behind teammate Erica Enders.

"I could tell right away that I didn't get all of it," said Coughlin. "It moved around a bit in third gear so we know there is more left. The second run was much better. We might have left a tiny bit on the table but I'll take it. We're in pretty good shape right now."