JEG COUGHLIN JR . IS BACK !
In March 2020 , Jeg Coughlin Jr . kicked off his “ Breaking Barriers ” retirement tour with a $ 75,000 Pro Stock win at the Drag Illustrated-produced CTECH World Doorslammer Nationals in Orlando . Four years later , it looked like he might start his comeback tour with another big-money win at the PRO Superstar Shootout .
Wheeling the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile-Hi Lite Beer Camaro out of the Elite Motorsports camp , Coughlin qualified No . 7 before drawing teammate and fellow Outlaw Beer-backed driver Jerry Tucker in the first round . Coughlin was first off the starting line with a best-of-the-round . 016 reaction time and won with a 6.579 at 209.92 to Tucker ’ s 6.635 .
He was quickest off the line in the second round as well with an . 014 , followed up by a 6.629 at 209.82 to hold off fellow Elite driver Cristian Cuadra ’ s 6.641 .
Coughlin stepped up to a 6.579 in the semifinals against teammate Erica Enders , but an untimely . 063 reaction time meant he was behind Enders and her 6.552 from the start . Still , the fivetime NHRA Pro Stock world champion proved that he ’ s ready to pick up where he left off in 2020 , though this time , he ’ s sporting SCAG ’ s signature “ Cat ’ s Eye Gold ” rather than yellow and black .
“ It was my first official week back in the car for the full season and we did pretty well ,” Coughlin said . “ I was driving really well in testing and the first couple rounds . We just had a mishap against
Erica , which was unfortunate on my side of the track . But we were able to prevail as a team , and that ’ s what ’ s exciting .”
As one of the most accomplished drivers in the class , Coughlin has been a part of Pro Stock ’ s most significant moments , whether in NHRA competition or in standalone events racing for big money . Like many other participants , he saw something special in the PRO Superstar Shootout .
“ When I look at this SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout , it ’ s been really neat to see the PRO organization put such an event together ,” Coughlin said . “ Richard Freeman has been a big part of it , helping pull together the likes of Drag Illustrated , SCAG , JHG , and many other sponsors . For an inaugural event , I think they did very , very well . I was proud to be part of it . I wanted to put my name on that first trophy , but , good Lord willing , we ’ ll have to put it on the second annual PRO Superstar Shootout trophy .” DI
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