Change of pace as Coughlin heads for JEGS U.S. Open Bracket event
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 10) – On June 12-15, in between the NHRA POWERade Series events national in Joliet and Englishtown, Jeg Coughlin will be competing in the prestigious JEGS U.S. Open Bracket Championships at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. The four-time world champion will step out of the seat of his 210-mph JEGS.com Pro Stock Cobalt and into his dragster and Chevy Nova bracket cars - as he competes for a share of the more than $200,000 in prize money that is posted for the event.
“Over the past few years, the JEGS U.S. Open has grown to become one of the sport’s premiere bracket races,” said Coughlin. “[Promoters] Mike Fuqua and Dave Szerlag have created a great event that not only features a huge payout, but is also a lot of fun. There’s so much money on the line this weekend that I’m sure this race will attract a who’s who of great bracket racers. I’d expect the competition to be extremely intense but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The JEGS U.S. Open features four-separate days of high stakes E.T. bracket racing, including two $20,000-to-win events on Friday and Saturday and two more races on Thursday and Sunday that pay $10,000 to the champion. There are numerous other special promotions including a race for a complete Steve Schmidt-built engine and a dragster chassis from Racecraft. Nearly 400 of the nation’s best sportsman drag racers are expected to participate in the event, which recently moved to its new home in Indianapolis.
With 24 national events and various test sessions and media-related events filling his calendar, Coughlin rarely gets a chance to compete in events such as the JEGS U.S. Open Bracket Championships, but he doesn’t feel as though he’s at a disadvantage, even against large and talent-laden fields. During his one-year hiatus from Pro Stock in 2006, Coughlin raced primarily in large bracket racing events at dragstrips across the Eastern U.S. and enjoyed a tremendous amount of success, banking more than $100,000 in winnings.
“I try to bracket race as much as possible because I really enjoy it,” said Coughlin. “In fact, I’d love to be able to run this race every year but in the past we’ve often had a scheduling conflict. Fortunately, that’s not the case this year. The fact that they moved this race to Indy is also a plus. It’s the most famous drag strip in the world and I’ve also had quite a bit of success here in my career.”
O’Reilly Raceway Park, located in the Indianapolis suburb of Clermont, Ind., is also the home of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, NHRA’s oldest and most prestigious national event, which is held each Labor Day weekend. In his career, Coughlin has three U.S. Nationals titles to his credit including two in Pro Stock (2000 and 2002) and one more in the Super Gas class (1992).
