Jeg Coughlin, Sr. started his drag racing career in the 1950s, and just as the hot rodding movement was getting into full swing in 1960, he decided to open a small speed shop in Columbus, Ohio to serve local enthusiasts looking to go faster and win races. Unfortunately, there simply was no other place in the Midwest to get the high performance parts at the time.

Both in racing and in business, Jegs has been a family owned and operated endeavor from the outset, with Coughlin’s wife initially serving as his only crew person on the team. As their family grew, one-by-one their four boys got involved not only in competition for the Jegs race team, but in time also helping to manage company as well.

More than five decades later, Jegs has become one of the largest automotive performance parts suppliers in the U.S., now boasting a 250,000 square-foot warehouse, 350 employees, two retail stores, a highly successful race team, and a massive mail order business.

The face of that last bullet point, the mail order business, is the Jegs catalog. Over the years, this catalog has become an essential tool for gearheads across the country-and all over the world-who have a penchant for American iron and are looking for parts to take their rides to the next level.

It’s also thoroughly entertaining to simply browse through the pages of the mailer and contemplate the “what if” builds you could do with the vast array of parts available with just a phone call or a few clicks of the mouse.

And for those that are able to see a build like that all the way through to a completed project, having that car featured in print offers some serious bragging rights – especially if it graces the cover of a Jegs catalog. Jegs prints approximately one million copies of each new issue for circulation. But how do those badass rides find their way onto the cover of a Jegs catalog in the first place?

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This clean AMC AMX 390 served as a Jegs feature car in 2013. When was the last time you saw one other than in pictures?

To get the skinny on the ins and outs of what Jegs looks for in its entries, we sat down with Josh Quellhorst, director of social media marketing at Jegs to get the low-down on what to do and how to do it.

What Jegs Looks For In A Submission

While we’re all fans of cool cars of every shape and size, there are some criteria that Jegs looks for in a potential cover car – mainly the kinds of builds that would make use of the parts one would most likely find in a Jegs catalog.

“Typically Jegs is looking for street/hot rods, classic cars and trucks, drag race cars, musclecars (early or late model), etc. that are usually different than a stock configuration and representative of the Jegs customer base. A Jegs customer with parts on the vehicle in consideration, including the wheels, is highly desired, but not required,” Quellhorst said.

Anyone that would like to have their vehicle considered to be as a feature on a Jegs catalog cover can email high-resolution photo(s) (at least 300 dpi) along with their contact and vehicle information to myexperience@jegs.com.

The car that is chosen will grace the cover of the Jegs catalog for two months, as there are six catalogs printed annually. Imagine how many people will see your car on the cover if it is chosen as the winner.

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This 2001 Chevrolet Camaro Intimidator SS, No. 28 of a total of 83 built, was another Jegs feature car.

The Process Of Getting Featured

After Jegs receives the photo(s) of the vehicle, the group in charge of putting together the Jegs catalog will decide if it will be on a cover. The owner will then be contacted. If different pictures are needed the customer will be requested to provide them or bring the vehicle to Jegs if possible, so that the catalog photography group can do a photo-shoot of the vehicle.

From there the graphic design people will take over and the catalog cover will be edited, sent to print and distributed to the mailboxes of just about every hot rodder in America.

“The catalog featuring the vehicle is usually released at least 3-4 months after its selection in order to prepare for publication and distribution,” Quellhorst added.

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It's no surprise that this very rare and very clean 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda also caught the eye of the folks at Jegs. The real, and very limited, Hemi 'Cuda convertibles are going for millions these days.

In terms of rules and conditions for entries it’s pretty simple: a release form must be completed and signed by the owner once the car is selected. There are no additional conditions or rules for submitting an entry.

The JEG Performance Cover Car Contest

As it happens, this month there’s also another way for your ride to grace the cover of the Jegs catalog.

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We have no doubt that this blown and color-coordinated 2011 Ford Mustang GT gets attention where ever it goes. And it got the attention of the staff at Jegs and made it to the cover.

The process is simple – head over to the Jegs Performance Cover Car Contest page on your computer or smartphone, fill out the entry form and you’re automatically entered.

You can also find the contest page through the main Jegs Performance Facebook page by navigating to the Cover Contest tab just below the main image for the page. If you need a reminder to enter at a later date (after you’ve gotten some solid photos of your ride, for instance), giving the Jegs page a “like” will keep you in the loop. “We post weekly reminders on the Facebook page as well,” Quellhorst said.

So if the community really digs your oddball build, you could potentially see it ride that wave of popularity all the way to the finals. Once the community has had their say, the decision rests on Jegs to determine a winner among the most popular entries on the contest page. “One vehicle will be selected by an internal judge from the top 10 voted entries, so more people have a chance to reach the final decision group,” Quellhorst added.

“If you share your entry on your Facebook page via the prompt, you’ll receive an automatic extra vote. If a Facebook friend then enters their own vehicle by clicking on the shared link the original contestant also gets another automatic vote,” he said.

For diligent entrants, this can really add up to a substantial advantage for those who’re willing to work the social media angle, since there is no limit to how many votes can be garnered by sharing your entry. For example, if 10 Facebook friends enter their cars by clicking on the link from one entrant’s post, that original entry would get ten extra votes.

The winner will be notified by October 1, 2015, at which point they’ll be asked to either provide high-resolution photos of their ride to meet the catalog cover’s requirements or they can opt to head out to Jegs’ headquarters and have the car photographed there.

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It's been scientifically proven that shoebox Chevy Nomads are among the coolest cars ever made. The people at Jegs know this. It doesn't hurt that this Nomad is one of the cleanest Tri-Fives around, either.

The official rules are located at the contest page just above the “how to play” information. There you’ll see an “official rules” button next to the “vote now” button. Make sure to get your entry in before August 31st, 2015 because that’s when the contest officially ends.

Submit Your Car

So, is your car Jegs catalog cover-worthy? If you want to see your ride grace the front of a performance parts catalog that will get into the hands of one million gearheads across the country later this year, gather up a your favorite photo(s) of your whip and send Jegs the goods. And hey, why not enter the contest while you’re at it? Good luck and happy wrenching!

Remember: your entry to the contest ends at the end of August, 2015, but that doesn’t mean your car can’t be selected as the cover car for a future issue. The rules are a little different, as we mentioned, but there’s still a chance to see your ride on the cover so even if you don’t win the contest there’s still hope!