Coughlin Begins Jjourney To Atlanta Winner's Circle From No. 4 Slot

ATLANTA, May 15, 2010: Jeg Coughlin Jr. finished Saturday's qualifying action at Atlanta Dragway in the No. 4 qualifying position after a best pass of 6.659 seconds at 207.88 mph in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt.

The 63-time national event winner was runner-up at this event last year and is coming off a runner-up finish at the NHRA tour's last stop in St. Louis, leaving him more than a little anxious to return to the winner's circle at the conclusion of Sunday's action.

"We came into this race with yet another slightly different approach to running the racecar," Coughlin said. "We just haven't found a good, happy spot yet in the 2010 season. We've kind of been all over the place with the car, running left, running right, so we're still after that happy medium.

"Quite honestly, the passes we've made this weekend are the best we've made all year. We're in need of a little more ET but the data is showing us improvements in a lot of different little spots and I'm very confident we'll have this thing running strong tomorrow."

In search of his 50th career Pro Stock victory -- 14 of his career wins came in the Sportsman ranks -- Coughlin will open Sunday's eliminations against No. 13 qualifier Ronnie Humphrey, who coaxed a 6.684 at 206.39 mph out of his Pontiac GXP.

"It's not going to be easy," Coughlin said. "I mean, we went to the finals in St. Louis but we actually struggled there. In the left lane we went to the left two or three times and in the right lane we went a little right each time so we weren't overly happy with the car.

"We had a fast car, yes, but we want a fast car that will be there for us over the long haul of the season and run straight down the track every time, like many of our competitor's cars do for them."

Pro Stock eliminations begins around noon EDT Sunday.