Jeg Coughlin Jr. arguably has the best car on the NHRA tour at the moment, having piloted his Slammers Ultimate Milk/JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt to back-to-back low qualifying efforts in Houston and Las Vegas. Although he has just 10 No. 1 qualifier plaques on his mantle after 195 career starts, this is actually the second time Coughlin has qualified on top at two consecutive races. He also pulled off the feat at the end of 2000 when he was No. 1 in Dallas and Pomona.
Speaking of Jeggy; Atlanta Raceway, the site of this weekend’s race, has a special place in his heart as he won his first national event in Competition Eliminator at the facility in 1997. That was the season Jeg became the first driver in NHRA history to win national events in four different categories—Competition Eliminator, Pro Stock, Super Stock, and Super Gas. That record holds to this day. Jeg also won this event in 2000 in his Pro Stock car.
Although his family’s multi-million dollar high performance parts business, JEGS Mail Order, usually keeps him and his racing brothers close to home until the very last minute on race weekends, Jeg will gladly depart early this week as he plans to attend Coca-Cola’s Evening of Champions Thursday in downtown Atlanta. Coca-Cola, the parent company of series sponsor POWERade, invites all of the POWERade champions from the four professional categories to this special dinner each year. As the very first POWERade champion—Coughlin clinched before anyone else in 2002, POWERade’s inaugural season—Coughlin makes it a point to never miss the affair.
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