When you've won as much as Jeggie Coughlin, you tend to know the difference of close and a bullseye. The new Dodge Dart, according to the defending Pro Stock champion, is as good as it gets.

"I love this car," Coughlin said. "I immediately felt extremely comfortable in the driver's seat, the sight lines are better than what we had in the Avenger, and the stability at speed is great.

"We feel as though we already have the Dart at the point where the Avenger was when we won the championship last year. The difference is the upside potential is much larger. This car is a game changer."

When you've won as much as Jeggie Coughlin, you tend to know the difference of close and a bullseye. The new Dodge Dart, according to the defending Pro Stock champion, is as good as it gets.

"I love this car," Coughlin said. "I immediately felt extremely comfortable in the driver's seat, the sight lines are better than what we had in the Avenger, and the stability at speed is great.

"We feel as though we already have the Dart at the point where the Avenger was when we won the championship last year. The difference is the upside potential is much larger. This car is a game changer."

Those are pretty lofty levels when considering the Dodge Avenger currently ranks as the most successful Mopar Pro Stock offering since 1974. The Avenger made its debut at the 2010 NHRA Winternationals and followed the debut with championships in two of its four seasons of participation. It scored 27 national event victories and recorded 28 pole positions. A two-door version of the Avenger captured the 1994 championship.

Coughlin isn't just toeing the company line, in his first-ever quarter-mile pass with the car in NHRA competition, he established a career-best elapsed time of 6.484 seconds and all-time top speed at 214.64 mph.

"The ability to make changes with this car is another thing that's very encouraging," Coughlin said. "Allen struggled in Round 2 in his win against Shane (Gray), and the guys were able to make some last-second adjustments to our car. It made a difference and we almost got away with it but ended up losing by five-thousandths of a second.

"By the time Allen got to the next round, even though he didn't have lane choice, he was able to win because the car was perfect. That was a huge win for the team."

Winning is nothing new to Coughlin when entering this weekend's NHRA Mello Yello national event in Las Vegas. He is a five-time winner at this facility.

"With this new Dart, we have the ability to fine-tune everything to exactly what we need, so the feeling heading into this race is very optimistic. I'm ready to go."

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