Troy Coughlin Sr. won the 2015 NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series championship on Sunday, wrapping up the title with a second-round victory in the Aeromotive Inc.-sponsored J&A Service Pro Mod Series event race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The championship was Coughlin’s second in the Pro Mod Series, following up his 2012 title. It was also the ninth for the famed Coughlin family, of Delaware, Ohio.
“[Brother] Jeg built a ring for us back in 2000 when he won the first Professional championship,” Coughlin said. “He put a diamond in it, and every year one of us wins a championship, we add another stone to it. It’s really kinda cool. I just sent a text back home and said, ‘Guys, girls, Mom, Dad, we’ve got to collect the rings and the pendants to add another stone.’ I sent an emoji with nine stones for nine championships. It’s exciting.”
Coughlin came into the race weekend 28 points behind leader Mike Janis, but things worked in his favor. Coughlin scored an important first-round victory Saturday, and after Janis lost in the first round, the door was open for Coughlin.
On Sunday, Coughlin stepped up to beat Sidnei Frigo with a pass of 5.867 seconds at 252.85 mph in the second round to take over the points lead. And when Bob Rahaim, who was third in the standings, lost to Rick Snavely, Coughlin clinched the championship.
“It seems like it just happened yesterday that we won the first title,” Coughlin said. “Boy, what a sweet deal. What can I say about all the guys on this JEGS.com car. It’s pretty exciting. To come back and do it again, that doesn’t happen very often. As tough as this class has gotten over the last couple years, it makes it that much sweeter, for sure.”
The JEGS.com crew of crew chief Steve Petty and crewmembers Justin Beaver, Brandon Stroud, Kyle Pettis, and Mike Rees rose to the occasion, providing Coughlin with a championship-winning Corvette. He needed one against Frigo, the No. 4 qualifier.
“We had a fast race car, and we had a tough competitor in the second round,” Coughlin said. “We just made a little bit better run than they did at that point. Steve and these guys did a great job giving me a race car to run in.”
Coughlin’s day ended with a wild pass in the semifinals, as he slowed to a run of 7.594 seconds at 130.03 mph, losing to Pete Farber’s quicker 5.967-second pass at 242.98 mph.
“We got to the semifinals and knew we should run about an .88, .89,” Coughlin said. “That’s what we were shooting for. Farber is a pretty good racer, and those guys could be fast at any time. We just tried to give it a little bit of a tune-up, but both cars got a little bit loose. It spun the tires and hiked the front end back up. I wished it was going straight — I think we could’ve got away with it — but it was still fun to drive.”
