It has been a while since Jeg Coughlin Jr. has been in this position.

Coughlin Jr., a five-time NHRA Pro Stock World Champion, had not been a No. 1 qualifier since Phoenix, Ariz., in 2020 – until Saturday.

Coughlin clocked a 6.517-second elapsed time at 210.64 mph in Q3 Saturday to claim the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix at Firebird Motorsports Park.

“This feels great,” Coughlin said. “It is a big testament to the Elite Motorsports team. I think we have eight or nine cars on the property this weekend, and to keep them all straight is one thing but to have as many of them running as well as they are is really fantastic. 

“To be on the pole in just our third event back with our SCAG Power Equipment car feels fantastic. When we unloaded (Saturday morning) we made a pretty good fire off. In Q1, the car took off really nice and accelerated really hard, but went left hard. So, I had my hands full in probably the first three or four gears. I could have sworn that I heard on the radio that I went 62 because that would have made more sense with what I just felt, but I went a 52. We tuned that up for Q2, and we were quickest for Q2 and got more data from it and the crew chief bank at Elite gave me a little more in the final qualifying run and that felt really nice.”   

Coughlin, who is driving the SCAG Power Equipment/Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer Camaro for Elite Motorsports, claimed his 35th career Pro Stock No. 1 qualifying honor and second career No. 1 position in Phoenix. Coughlin Jr. is looking to tally his fourth victory at the facility. He won in Phoenix in 2000, 2009 and 2019.

“The car feels really good, and we are coming together as a team,” Coughlin said. “That’s what it takes, it takes a little bit of time and a little bit of grunt work, if you will, to get things worked out and we would love nothing more than carry this into Sunday and get four wins and call it a weekend.” 

Coughlin, who has 65 career NHRA Pro Stock national-event wins, is trying to snare his first Wally since the 2020 Winternationals in Pomona, California.

On Saturday in Phoenix, NHRA followed a new path when it had the Pro Stock drivers make all three of their qualifying runs. The plan was to have Q1 in Pro Stock on Friday, but that didn’t happen because of issues with the track.

“It was unique, and it is a format that we have not taken in NHRA, and we will see it later in the year at (Dinwiddie), Virginia,” Coughlin said. “We did do it at the event at Bradenton (Fla.)," he added of the Feb. 8-10 PRO Superstar Shootout, Feb. 8-10, "so we had a little bit of experience with that already, and I think we kind of used that to our advantage to fine tune on the car throughout the day and the three runs it proved to do well.”

Still, Coughlin didn’t see his 6.517-second lap happening like it did.

“Honestly, I was shocked to run the 51 in the final run,” Coughlin said. “I thought if we could get back down in the low 52s again that would be pretty sporty.”

Coughlin Jr., who won NHRA Pro Stock world championships in 2000, 2002, 2007-08, and 2013, and retired after the 2020 season. He returned to the driver’s seat for two races in 2023 and now is back full-time.

“When I stepped right back in the car for Vegas and Pomona (last year), I was driving well and driving pretty aggressive and driving comfortably,” Coughlin said. “As we transitioned into the new car and new year, I still felt that same kind of feeling and drive and then all of sudden my wheel ran off ... in Pomona and I got smacked on a holeshot. It is funny how we have literally made tens of thousands of runs in race cars and we still forget to pay attention now and then. It is one of those reminders that I have taken good notice on, and I feel like I have prepped well for this weekend in Phoenix, and we see how Game Day plays out" Sunday.”