JEGS is...

Ever since Jeg Coughlin Sr. began his drag racing career in the 50's, the sport has always served as a great outlet to bring his ever-expanding family closer together. At first, his wife was the only crew person he had. Then, one-by-one, his four boys joined the fun until, not surprisingly, they all fell in love with the quarter-mile and began competing in a variety of classes on their own with great success.

Now, a third generation of Coughlin's is blossoming and the racetrack is still one of the places where the family routinely gets together. And family patriarch Jeg Sr. is still very much a part of the mix, serving as a vital consultant to all of his kids and grandkids.

At the same time, even when considering the importance of marketing their high performance mail order parts business, family always takes precedence over on-track activities. Each of the Coughlin brothers has taken sabbaticals from the sport through the years to devote more attention to their home lives.

Family has always been, and will remain, the top priority for Team JEGS.

Jeg Sr. started JEGS Automotive Inc. in a tiny garage near downtown Columbus (Ohio) simply because there was no other place in the Midwest to get the high-performance parts he and his friends needed to jazz-up their hot rods. As word spread that JEGS had everything a racing enthusiast would ever need, the company grew and quickly became a viable business entity.

When Jeg Sr.'s four boys, John, Troy, Mike, and Jeg Jr., were old enough, they bought the burgeoning company from their Dad with his assistance and took it to new heights, each managing distinct areas of the operation to maximum effectiveness. JEGS High Performance has become a giant in the industry with three retail stores, four call centers, and a massive distribution warehouse that delivers more than $250 million worth of products to automobile enthusiasts all over the world each year.

Before long, the third generation will be in the mix as many of the older kids already spend their summer months learning the business.

There is no question the Coughlin family loves motorsports. Dating back to Jeg Sr.'s early on-track achievements in the 1960s, the family has successfully parlayed their love of drag racing into a worldwide marketing effort that has set them apart from the competition.

With a combined 4 NHRA World Championships, 12 Division Championships and well over 100 victories at both the national, divisional, and local level, it could also be argued that Team JEGS is one of the most accomplished racing entities in the 57-year history of organized drag racing.

Currently, three of the four Coughlin boys are reigning champions in their respective categories and all four remain trophy contenders whenever they pull through the gates of a racetrack. John competes in Top Dragster and Super Stock, Troy races in the JEGS ProMod Challenge, Mike races in Top Sportsman and Jeg Jr is the defending NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion.

Jeg Sr., his sons and their families created the JEGS Foundation Racing for Cancer Research program benefiting the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at the Ohio State University, and the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Health System.

With 100 percent of proceeds going directly to cancer research, the JEGS Foundation Racing for Cancer Research program already has raised several million dollars. Team JEGS also has set-up mobile cancer screening centers at NHRA events and keeps the topic front and center with millions of drag racing fans each weekend with extensive signage on Team JEGS racecars and uniforms.

Food -- One of the most unique members of Team JEGS is Chef Nicky Morse, who has risen to prominence through his weekly cooking column on NHRA.com entitled "Quarter-mile Cuisine" and his On Demand TV program "The Racing Chef." A cancer survivor himself, Chef Nicky has become a darling of the media at each of the 24 stops on the POWERade Drag Racing Series, becoming a regular contributor to cooking sections and variety shows across the country.