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At a press conference held at the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas last week, Mopar and four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. announced the second generation racer’s return to the factory hot rod ranks in 2012 after a one year hiatus, behind the wheel of a brand new Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Avenger on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
“The adrenaline is definitely pumping,” Coughlin said. “The level of factory support Mopar is providing is fantastic and I think it’s going to be very special. The passion the CTC and Mopar folks have for drag racing and for taking the their brand to the top of the sport is invigorating. These guys and gals are on a mission and we’re thrilled to be working with them.”
Coughlin Jr., a four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion, will team with longtime Mopar racer Allen Johnson and his father Roy in 2012.
“There’s no doubt we have the capacity to be frontrunners right from the start of the season in Pomona (Calif.). We’ve spent the last several months building JNR Racing Engines from the ground up and Roy and Nick have worked tirelessly to make this program happen. They are both world champions in their own right and have the same desire to win as we do here at Team JEGS. Everything is coming together perfectly.”
Coughlin, who is not only a four-time Pro Stock champion, but a four-time division 3 champion and winner of 67 national events, will team with longtime Mopar racer Allen Johnson and father Roy’s J&J Racing Team in his Pro Stock efforts for 2012.
“I expect I’ll have the jitters the first time I get back in a Pro Stock car but I took off nine months once before and it all came back very quickly that time,” the 41-year-old Coughlin said. “We’ll be testing the car in the off season and that should help me get back in rhythm.
“We just took delivery of the car and I can say that Jerry Haas and his staff have really done an outstanding job with this Dodge Avenger. It’s beautiful, and it looks great in our familiar JEGS yellow and black. We’re also very honored to have partners like Mopar, Mac Tools, Oakley, Speedco and KYMCO USA. It’s going to be a special year.”
During DRAGZINE’s travels of this year’s SEMA Show, we stopped to snag a few photos of Coughlin’s new mount, displayed alongside the Dodge Avenger of Johnson.
