Jeg Coughlin Jr. put an exclamation point on his regular season No. 1 ranking by winning Pro Stock at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon. The victory over Greg Stanfield marked the seventh victory of the season for the defending world champion.

Coughlin didn’t play the favorite out of the gate over the course of the weekend, qualifying 12th in the 16-car field. His list of defeated opponents included Greg Anderson, Rodger Brogdon and Mike Edwards leading up to the race with Stanfield.

The Indy triumph marked his 77th career final round of his career.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. put an exclamation point on his regular season No. 1 ranking by winning Pro Stock at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon. The victory over Greg Stanfield marked the seventh victory of the season for the defending world champion.

Coughlin didn’t play the favorite out of the gate over the course of the weekend, qualifying 12th in the 16-car field. His list of defeated opponents included Greg Anderson, Rodger Brogdon and Mike Edwards leading up to the race with Stanfield.

The Indy triumph marked his 77th career final round of his career.

The final round was the toughest for Coughlin as he needed every bit of a 6.689 elapsed time at 206.48 mph to beat out Stanfield's 6.691 at 206.37 mph.

"We had Lady Luck on our side today, no doubt about it," Coughlin said. "We started with a huge match-up against Greg Anderson and it seemed like the weight of the world was on us there. He beat me off the line but we had the power to track him down and take the win. That sort of set the day in motion.”

If Coughlin gained a lucky break throughout the day, it came in the second round when Brogdon fouled and Coughlin blew the tires off, crossing the finish line with a silent engine.

"Against Rodger in the second round we went into severe tire shake and couldn't make it down the track but when I looked up I saw the win light on in our lane and I realized he had fouled out at the starting line. That was another huge break.

Then came his semi-final run against Edwards.

"Me and Mike have had some battles this year and we all know how good that car can be. I got up on the wheel to race him and felt like I hit the tree real well but I still sensed that he had left first. Once again, I looked up and saw that he had fouled out, so we got another round win right there.”

In the final round, Coughlin needed every ounce of horsepower his Jegs Chevrolet Cobalt motor could generate.

"Greg (Stanfield) and me were welded together all the way down the track. He beat me by a thousandth of a second off the line and I beat him by two-thousandths at the other end so we won by the slenderest of margins. I'll tell you right now, I've got nothing left in my emotional tank. I'm completely drained."

Coughlin scored another milestone for the Victor Cagnazzi Racing team by securing the No. 1 ranking heading into the NHRA's Countdown to 1. The feat is worth 20 bonus points after the standings are reset for the Countdown to 1.

"Winning Indy is a dream for drag racers," Coughlin said. "Keeping that No. 1 ranking was a big goal and it's great to get it done because we worked darn hard for it. Now we start over, for all intents, and we need to reset and get set for the playoffs. It's going to be a thrill."  

Advertisement