Jeg Coughlin

Back in 1997, Jeg Coughlin Jr. established himself as one of the greatest sportsman drag racers of all time when in one season he won NHRA national events in four different classes -- a feat that would have been unthinkable until the second-generation racer from Columbus, Ohio took trophies in Pro Stock, Competition Eliminator, Super Stock and Super Gas.

He is now a two-time Pro Stock champion in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series and has maintained his reputation as one of the very best drivers in the sport's most competitive category. This weekend, when racing begins at the seventh Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., Coughlin will once again be competing in multiple classes -- in both his Pro Stock 2003 Chevy Cavalier and his brother John's Super Stock 2002 Cavalier.

"Jeggie is really psyched about racing in Super Stock again," said Team Jeg's spokesperson Scott "Woody" Woodruff. "Anyone who knows him understands how much he loves to race and some of his best days at the dragstrip have happened when he was running in a sportsman car. He's really excited about racing John's Cavalier this weekend because John won Super Stock in it last week in Columbus so we know it's already dialed in."

In fact, it was an unusually successful weekend at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus for the Coughlin family when both John and Mike, who races in Super Comp, each won their respective class titles -- the first time the two have won a national event on the same day. The icing on the cake: it's the Coughlin's home track and there were numerous family members and friends in attendance at National Trail Raceway to help in the celebration.

John's SS/C Modified Cavalier, built by the renowned shop of F.J. Smith and powered by a small block Chevy engine turned out by the Coughlin's in-house engine operation, differs significantly from the Pro Stock machine Jeg campaigns week after week. While the Super Stock Chevy utilizes an automatic transmission/transbrake combination and must run at or above the predetermined dial-in somewhere in the nine second range, Jeg's familiar P/S Cavalier gets its power from a 500 cubic inch big-block engine hitched to a 5-speed lever-operated transmission and covers the quarter-mile in under 7 seconds.

"That's probably the part that impresses people the most about Jeggie running in more than one class," said Woodruff. "He can not only race in each car but win in each car without any problems adjusting to the different setups. And in Super Stock, he's racing on the full Tree with handicap starts, while in Pro Stock, it's a pro Tree and it's a heads-up start. It just goes to show how great a driver he is."

The list of drivers to win in two NHRA classes on the same day is indeed a short one, although it includes some of the most skilled drivers in NHRA history, such as Pat Austin, Edmond Richardson, Gary Stinnett, and Dan Fletcher. This Sunday, don't be too surprised if the name Jeg Coughlin Jr. is the latest to be added to that exclusive fraternity.