JEGS is Family
Ever since Jeg Coughlin Sr. began his drag racing career
in the 1950s, 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 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 his sons 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.
JEGS is Business
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 hotrods. 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 two 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.
JEGS is Racing
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 five 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 60-year history of organized drag
racing.
John competes in Top Dragster and Super Stock, Troy Sr.
races in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series, Mike
races in Top Sportsman, and Jeg Jr. recently took a step
back from NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock competition to
race in several different NHRA Sportsman categories.
The third generation is led by Troy Jr., already a multi-time
national event winner in Super Comp, and Cody, a circle
track phenom who already has a championship to his credit.
JEGS is Caring
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.
