JEG, SR. - "BACK IN THE DAY"
In 1979, Jeg Coughlin Sr. was riding high in the drag racing world. He had a
top-10 race car and was vying for the trophy at every event he attended. But the
founder of JEGS High Performance hit a big hurdle, literally, at his home
racetrack of National Trail Raceway in
His JEGS racer wasn't so fortunate, however, as the severe damage caused by the incident reduced his car to a twisted bit of wreckage that was deemed undrivable by Coughlin and crew.
In 1979, Jeg Coughlin Sr. was riding high in the drag racing world. He had a
top-10 race car and was vying for the trophy at every event he attended. But the
founder of JEGS High Performance hit a big hurdle, literally, at his home
racetrack of National Trail Raceway in
His JEGS racer wasn't so fortunate, however, as the severe damage caused by the incident reduced his car to a twisted bit of wreckage that was deemed undrivable by Coughlin and crew.
At the time, Coughlin's crew
consisted of his wife and four sons and his fledgling parts business and speed
shop was a long way from the colossal industry leader it is today. A wrecked
racecar meant it was time to reload, and for Coughlin that meant a full year of
saving up for another car before he could race again.
One season later, at the same
race where he suffered the worst accident of his career, Coughlin made a
triumphant return, much to the delight of the partial hometown crowd.
Fortunately for historians, the entire episode was captured by a local news channel and the footage was recently released to the Coughlin family for their archives. Team JEGS is now making the interesting piece available online by clicking this link:
