Images courtesy of Team JEGS

When Jeg Coughlin Jr. announced his return to NHRA Pro Stock competition last season, it was widely thought the four-time champion would have picked up right where he left off. Aside from a final round appearance at the Winternationals, Coughlin’s season was filled with struggles. The team squeaked into the Countdown at Indy, DNQ’d three times and won just 12 rounds of racing. It is said that you ultimately need to have your own engine program to be successful in Pro Stock, but it can sometimes take years to find enough horsepower starting from scratch. While Team JEGS was able to make the top 10, the tradition of winning races and championships eluded them this year.

Today, Jeg Coughlin Jr. announced that he will become teammates with 2012 Pro Stock Champion Allen Johnson beginning next season. Both drivers will continue to drive Mopar-backed Dodge Avengers powered by Hemi motors, which will originate from Johnson’s J&J Racing shop. Given the success Allen Johnson and Vincent Nobile have had over the past two years, this was an easy decision for the Mopar-backed driver.

“Allen and I were teammates this year under the Mopar umbrella so it was a very natural progression to become actual teammates moving forward,” Coughlin said. “Allen and his father Roy, along with the rest of the guys at J&J Racing, really put on a show this year and proved to everyone that Mopar can compete with and triumph against the best of the best in one of the toughest categories in racing. We’re very excited about joining with them.”

“The plan is for Allen and I to start a tradition of Mopar winning titles with regularity,” Coughlin said. “They have given both Allen and I all the tools we need to succeed and I think the first year of the Mello Yello NHRA Drag Racing Series will be a great one for both of us. We hope to get these cars as close to matching clones as possible so we can really work off one another at every race. The multi-car team approach works, as we’ve seen in the past, and hopefully it will work for us as well.”

Vincent Nobile driving the Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, will continue to use J&J Racing engines.