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Salem, IN – As announced by John Coughlin of JEGS at Friday night’s 2016 CRA Awards Banquet, JEGS has agreed to continue their support of Champion Racing Association (CRA) through the 2020 racing season. The extension agreement includes their title sponsorship of the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance through the 2020 season. CRA will continue to be known as CRA Powered by JEGS and will include the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, the Vore’s Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Powered by JEGS and the Lawrence Towing CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS. All the CRA logos will continue to be branded with the “Powered by JEGS” through the 2020 season.

“We have really enjoyed the relationship we have built with everyone at CRA over the past six years,” remarked Coughlin. “CRA does a remarkable job with all four of their racing series, they are the best at what they do and we pride ourselves on being the best at what we do. We look forward to continuing to build relationships with all the competitors and fans of CRA!”

The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, the premier touring asphalt crate engine late model series in the country, officially crowned Cody Couglin as its 2016 Champion Friday night, it was the second series Championship for Coughlin who also won the series crown in 2013. Coughlin made CRA history in 2016, becoming the first ever driver to win both the ARCA/CRA Super Series and JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championships in the same season. 2016 was the ARCA/CRA Super Series 20th season of competition.

As part of the agreement extension, JEGS will continue to support the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS with the very successful JEGS/CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown Bonus Program. NASCAR competitor Erik Jones, the inaugural JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion in 2011, is the only driver to win all three of the events with the JEGS/CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown, which happened during the 2015 season, with Jones claiming the $100,000 bonus after his third straight win in the Winchester 400.

“JEGS has been a great addition to CRA and short track racing,” remarked R.J. Scott, Managing Partner with CRA. “Great sponsors like JEGS are very special for everyone. Not only do they support the racers, but sell great parts at great prices…a true friend of the racers.”

For more than 57 years, the name JEGS has been synonymous with high performance racing parts, dating back to 1960 when Jeg Coughlin Sr. opened the doors of JEGS High Performance at a small, non-descript shop in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Little did he know at the time, but Coughlin was on the precipice of something great. Limited by his Midwest location and unable to find the parts he needed to produce the desired level of performance in his own hot rods, the speed hound searched far and wide to unearth what he was looking for — the very best parts in the country. Dedicated legwork and ingenuity quickly established Coughlin as the go-to guy for high performance parts in Central Ohio, and what began simply as building and tweaking engines for buddies soon became a full-fledged retail business.

Nearly three decades after Coughlin’s original speed shop was born, he helped his four sons, John, Troy, Mike, and Jeg Jr., purchase the operation, and under their collective guidance the small family business became a mail order giant. The original 4,000 square-foot shop now encompasses a 250,000 square-foot warehouse, a chassis shop, a call center, and the original retail store on the very grounds where it all began. A second store and two additional call centers are also located in the metropolitan Columbus area, and 10 years ago, a massive state-of-the-art distribution center and world headquarters were opened. JEGS now employs more than 350 associates yet maintains the founding company culture of a small, family-run speed shop that continues to preserve a one-on-one relationship with each customer.

Aaron Bearden is a contributing writer for Short Track Scene. Having grown up watching NASCAR and IndyCar, Bearden began following short track racing during his high school years before starting a blog about racing in college. A writer for Frontstretch and Motorsports Tribune, Bearden also covers NASCAR, IndyCar and other forms of open wheel racing.

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