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The two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion, who also has the 1992 Super Gas series title among his extensive sportsman-level accomplishments, is more than simply articulate. This 34-year-old, who says things such as "We were fastest by a handsome amount," certainly is eloquent. Moreover, he's a master of the subtleties of language.

"There's no one thing that has put Greg Anderson on his pedestal," Coughlin said, analyzing the reigning champion who has ruled the standings since June 15, 2003, and seized nearly every class and NHRA performance record available. "In Pro Stock, it boils down to horsepower. You've got to have horsepower first. A couple of teams are catching up. We've challenged his top speeds and his top times."

And this is where the William F. Buckleys and William Safires of the world would nod approvingly. Said Coughlin of Anderson's team, "They're very, very consistent. They've not been vulnerable more than half a dozen times. They've been beatable but not vulnerable."

Ah, such a fine distinction that is, beatable but not vulnerable . . . a sort of reverse-Bondish stirred but not shaken. For Coughlin, it's a matter of "What can I do to defeat him?" as opposed to "What will he allow me to do as I try to defeat him?"

Drawing that distinction is significant, for attention to detail has made Anderson seemingly unstoppable -- and has made Coughlin such a dangerous threat. Anderson has been breathtakingly successful, like a tightrope walker high above the crowd. He's doing something few can do, and one misstep can be unfortunate. Both of them know that, and the pressure is on. "The game is continuing to elevate," Coughlin said, clearly eager to regain the center-ring spotlight.

"We finished sixth this year, which is respectable," Coughlin said, "but I think when you've won championships, everything else pales in comparison."

That's why he has partnered with 10-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Bob Glidden, who will direct a two-car effort for Don Schumacher Racing in 2005. They'll unveil the Jeg's Mail Order/Mopar/Dodge Stratus R/T Dec. 10 during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis.

The yellow-and-black paint scheme will be familiar, but under the hood, Coughlin will have a Hemi engine that he said "has had a quiet resurgence the last couple of years." He went a step further, saying, "The horsepower levels they're making and are capable of making are going to propel Dodge and Mopar and Jeg's to a world championship."

Despite severing his longtime on-track association with General Motors, Coughlin said he thinks the switch to a Dodge body and Mopar parts will be "fairly seamless."

He'll find out Dec. 14, when he and his new team take the Jerry Haas-built car to Florida's Bradenton Motorsports Park for a two- or three-day test session.

"We should be fairly well poised going into the season," Coughlin said. "If we're not 100 percent ready after two or three days, I'll be surprised. We'll have made about 60 runs between now and Pomona. And testing will continue in-house at the shop in Indianapolis."

Coughlin still will have a business relationship with GM through his family's company, Delaware, Ohio-based Jeg's Mail Order. He made it clear he left the GM fold because that's what he would have to do if he were to join Schumacher Racing, which has a contract with the rival automaker.

"When you boil it down, that was the brass of it," he said. "It was a difficult decision. We've had a great relationship with GM. Likewise, they've been happy with us, with our on-track success and our off-track success. We're still friends with the folks at GM."

The familiar yellow-and-black Jeg's Mail Order paint scheme will distinguish Coughlin's new Dodge Stratus in 2005.

In no way, he said, was he unhappy with GM. He said his team was not being overshadowed by Anderson's in terms of factory support.

"We were never jeopardized in that fashion," Coughlin said. "GM was very aggressive with us. The lead GM team would probably be Warren Johnson and Kurt Johnson with their associations with ACDelco and GM Performance Parts. They have Chevrolet. They have Pontiac. They probably get the lion's share from GM."

Warren Johnson, the so-called "Professor of Pro Stock," has announced his "School's Out!" farewell tour as he prepares for retirement from fulltime driving at the close of the 2005 season. And Coughlin is just itching to throw the drag-racing equivalent of a spitball.

"His election to step out of the seat is just a small part of the puzzle," Coughlin said. "He's not going anywhere. He's a competitor. He'll continue to plow forward. He's going to be going for his seventh Pro Stock championship -- and there are going to be 30 of us trying to stop him."