Jeg Coughlin Jr. aiming for first Norwalk NHRA win

Jeg Coughlin Jr., once the wunderkind of NHRA pro stock drag racing, turns 47 on Friday. For those seeking a last-minute gift idea, how about victory in this weekend’s Summit Nationals in Norwalk?

Then again, scratch that. He’s not expecting someone to hand him a Wally, the nickname by which NHRA national event trophies are known. It's not store-bought; it's performance-wrought, earned by winning four-straight side-byside races in the Sunday eliminations. It's the one thing he’s yet to do in what otherwise is shaping up to be a resurgent year for the five-time pro stock season champion.

“Making the transition into a Chevrolet for 2017, we’ve had almost immediate success, a lot of late-race finishes, a couple of final-round finishes,” said Coughlin, who was the top qualifier in the most recent national event, showing that the speed is there. “We haven’t gotten that coveted first win of the season, but we feel like if we stick to our guns on being aggressive behind the wheel and being aggressive from the crew chief (car setup) angle and engineers putting the package together, it’s certainly bound to happen.”

He has 58 pro stock wins, so one has to figure he can sense a surge. Then factor in the way he feels every time he walks into the Bader-family-run Norwalk facillty, which replaced Kirkersville’s National Trail Raceway as the annual Ohio stop for the NHRA more than a decade ago.

“The way they treat both the fans and the competitors is top-notch, which makes it one of those places you really enjoy going to on the schedule,” Coughlin said.

Then add the Coughlin family factor: Also racing will be his nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. (top fuel) and his brothers Troy (pro modified) and Mike (top dragster in the Sportsman category).

“That always makes it a fun weekend,” Jeg Jr. said.

What would add to that special feeling for him, though, would be walking out of there on Sunday afternoon with a Wally in hand. Norwalk is one of only a handful of regular NHRA stops where victory has eluded him, although he did win the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge for pro stock racers in 2009, a non-points paying invitation-earned special event.

“So we’ve had some success there for sure, but not for the one trophy we’re really after,” Coughlin said. “We’d love nothing more than for it to happen this weekend.”