Coughlin prepped for race day after solid Saturday

ATLANTA (April 28) – Jeg Coughlin Jr. has done it all this year in his Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevrolet Cobalt this year except win a race. After another very strong qualifying effort, the 36-year-old from Delaware, Ohio, hopes to remedy that situation Sunday during the elimination rounds of this weekend's race at Atlanta Dragway.

As expected, Saturday's heat kept Coughlin and crew from improving on his posted run of 6.653 seconds at 206.80 mph, which he ran Friday night under the lights. Instead, his Victor Cagnazzi Racing team perfected their race day setup, running a pair of respectable 6.6-second passes to prepare for their man for battle.

"We've been third quickest car in the last three sessions so we're pretty happy with that," said Coughlin, who posted a 6.658 and a 6.685 in the heat. "The only issue is having one of those KB Racing cars in front of us each time and by a pretty good bit at that. We've got room for improvement and today was a good sampling for our crew chiefs of what they'll see tomorrow."

As the No. 3 qualifier, Coughlin will begin his quest for a third Atlanta trophy against Greg Stanfield, who qualified 14th with a best run of 6.685 at 206.01 mph. Coughlin won the Pro Stock title here in 2000 and the Comp Eliminator class in 1997.

"Greg is a great competitor," said Coughlin. "He's a multi-time world champion in the sportsman ranks and he's been a great friend of mine for many years. I respect his abilities a lot and I'll go up there telling myself that he's the No. 3 guy and I'm the No. 14 guy. I won't be taking him lightly by any stretch.

"I don't think there's a preferred lane here. The left lane is smoother down track but it's been pulling cars out of the groove down low. The right lane is okay at the line but it's bumpy down track so they probably equal out."

Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.