Jeg Coughlin is no stranger to being on top.

With 592 round wins, 58 victories and nearly two dozen career No. 1 starts, Coughlin has done it all. But as of late, those successes have been few and far between.

So when Coughlin returned to the top spot this weekend with his first top qualifier award since 2014, it was certainly a big moment for the veteran racer of more than 20 years.

“I didn’t race the ‘15 season and last year we struggled under the hood with horsepower so I didn’t have too many opportunities to challenge for the number one spot,” Coughlin said. “We grinded it out and made a good transition over the winter and really got our Chevy Camaro running well. Today was proof of that.”

Coughlin earned his 21st career No. 1 start and first since the fall of 2014 with a chart topping lap under the lights during Q2 on Friday, eventually holding on for the top spot at the 30th annual SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway.

Coughlin’s 6.557-second pass at 210.70 mph in the JEG.com / Elite Performance Chevy Camaro held up under the warmer conditions on Saturday, as he edged out Bo Butner who qualified second with a 6.560 at 210.80. Greg Anderson qualified third with a 6.563 at 211.10 mph, while Erica Enders (6.573) and Tanner Gray (6.575) round out the top five.

“Today’s air conditions were actually a touch better than last night, but with the sun being out, the track was a little bit warmer and the crew chiefs had their hands full balancing everything and we just didn’t see the ETs we were hoping for today,” Coughlin said. “I went 56 on the first run and then came back and ran a 58 and we were really aggressive this last run. But the car feels great, the track is really holding up nicely and I think we are going to wake up tomorrow with the cooler temperatures and a little more overcast and I think we are going to yield some really quick and great side-by-side runs.”

Adding to the excitement of this weekend, Coughlin hopes that he can draw on his past success at the Houston track to break his drought.

“It would feel fantastic. I started my Pro Stock career 20 years ago at the fall race at Dallas, got beat second round, then came here the next weekend and ended up winning the race,” Coughlin said. “To get my first professional win here was extremely special. This is the Disneyland of Pro Stock when I was coming into the class. A win would be fantastic, not only for myself, but for the entire Elite Team and the JEGS team.”

With a short field on hand this weekend, Coughlin will receive a bye in round one before facing the winner between Drew Skillman and Chris McGaha in round two. And, with the class opening the 2017 season with four different winners in four races, Coughlin is hoping to continue that trend this weekend.

“I am really proud of everyone at Elite Performance. Richard Freeman, our team owner and our fearless leader, is guiding us well. We have got a great team, it is just trying to get everything to hit all at once for us,” Coughlin said. “We were fast in Vegas and then came into some electrical issues that plagued us on Sunday. Coming in here at Houston, we tested twice in Oklahoma and got some things sorted out. We made four nice runs and to stand here as number one qualifier feels fantastic.

“We are definitely going to be geared to run and run well and try to put ourselves in a good place to have lane choice going into round two and see if we can’t light the win light and continue on. We have had four winners in Pro Stock this year and we would love to add a fifth to that rank.”