EPPING, NH – Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. has experienced an up-and-down start to the 2021 NHRA season, racing to two final-round appearances in the first five races of the year, while also suffering three first-round losses. As the tour arrives at New England Dragway for this weekend’s TascaParts.com New England Nationals, the third-generation pro has a plan in place to level his fortunes.

“I need to stick to the process and make the best lap possible every time I pull up to the starting line,” Coughlin said. “I know we’ve got the horsepower, the best crew chiefs and crewmen, and an awesome racecar — the ingredients for sustained success are right here. We just need to keep after it.

“I’ve learned from my uncles and grandfather to be more process-oriented than performance-oriented. And it’s important to enjoy the process and never forget what a privilege it is to drive one of these cars at this level.”

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HOUSTON – Fresh off his second final-round appearance of the NHRA season, second-year Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. has his sights firmly set on bagging his first victory in the factory hot rod class at this weekend’s Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil in Baytown, Texas.

After watching rookie Dallas Glenn collect his first Wally trophy just a few days ago in the finale of the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, Coughlin had a front-row seat to the thrill and excitement of scoring a national event win. Now he’s dead-set on earning his own Pro Stock race title to his eight other national event wins, which were earned in Top Alcohol Dragster (3), Super Gas (3), and Super Comp (2).

“Dallas is a good person, a very hard worker, and someone who came up through the Sportsman ranks like me so I was happy for him,” said Coughlin, finished just .010 seconds behind Glenn in Charlotte. “At the same time, watching him celebrate gave me some extra energy to win one for the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports race team. We’ve been to two finals in the first four races of the year so we obviously have a car that can win. We just need to get it done.”

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CONCORD, NC – Troy Coughlin Jr.’s second attempt at four-wide drag racing was markedly better than his first as he wheeled his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to a final-round appearance in Sunday’s NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

Coughlin narrowly missed out on a runner-up finish, crossing third in the final foursome of cars, just .004 seconds behind Mason McGaha and .010 back of first-time Pro Stock winner Dallas Green. Still, the always-smiling third-generation pro took a lot of pride in bettering his first-four-wide race one month ago in Las Vegas, where he bowed out in Round 1.

“We turned on a couple of win lights today, and that’s exciting,” Coughlin said. “I always want more from myself and if I had tightened up my reaction times a little more we could have had an even better day but I’m still really happy to regain some momentum.

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CONCORD, NC – This weekend’s trip to Bruton Smith’s beautiful zMax Dragway for the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals has Team JEGS racers Troy Coughlin Jr. and his sister Paige excited for a number of reasons, not the least of which is another chance to hoist a coveted Wally trophy.

Sophomore Pro Stock driver Troy Jr. gained a lot of experience in his first-ever four-wide race a month ago in Las Vegas, so he’s feeling a little more confidence in the format as he heads to “the Bellagio of Drag Strips” with his powerful JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

“Drag racing four-wide is something different but I really enjoy the format,” Troy Jr. said. “It adds a lot to the competition. You have to really concentrate on what you’re doing during the staging process in relation to the other three cars. In the end you’re still trying to get all you can out of your own car, so you can’t get too distracted by what the other drivers are doing either.

“Charlotte is a fun town with a lot of really great motorsports fans. Plus, JEGS has a lot of loyal customers from that area so we really want to show what we’re capable of this weekend.”

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ATLANTA – Pro Stock sophomore Troy Coughlin Jr. has an unique reason for wanting to win this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals. A life-time drag racing history buff, Troy Jr. says Atlanta Dragway holds a special place in his heart and emerging victorious from the last race to be held there would be a huge achievement.

“I remember being here when I was just 7-years-old and watching my Uncle Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) win in Comp Eliminator,” Troy Jr. said. “I was just in awe of him. It was his first-ever race in the class and he went right out there against all these established racers and beat ’em all.

“Loving drag racing history as much as I do, it would mean the world to me to follow his lead and win this one before the track closes for good. Being in the heart of Division 2 and thinking about all the greats who have won at this track through the years makes it very significant.”

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LAS VEGAS – After a dazzling runner-up finish at the NHRA season-opener one month ago in Florida, second-ranked Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. arrives at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals looking for some firsts, while reminiscing on another “first” he accomplished at this track in 2009.

It was 12 years ago when a teenaged Coughlin earned his first national event title in Las Vegas, driving the JEGS.com dragster to victory in Super Comp. Now he’s back as the driver of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro looking for both his first Pro Stock win, his first time ranked No. 1 in any professional class — which a victory would deliver — while competing in his first four-wide drag race in the factory hot rod category.

“We are tuned-up and ready to roll,” Coughlin said. “Luck was on our side in Gainesville and we gained a lot of momentum by starting so well. There is no limit to what we can accomplish and there’s plenty of goals to set our sights on this weekend in Las Vegas.

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GAINESVILLE, FL – The fledgling Pro Stock career of third-generation drag racer Troy Coughlin Jr. received a boost Sunday when he guided the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to a runner-up finish at the season-opening Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. It marked the second time in just nine starts Coughlin has reached the trophy round in the category.

“This was a good way to start the season and it shows the professionalism of the Elite Motorsports team,” Coughlin said. “We rolled into Florida two weeks ago and right out of the trailer we were strong. We’ve been making great passes almost every round since.

“It was very warm today and the track was difficult to deal with. We had a little jump on Greg Anderson in the final and I felt like we could have won the round but we had pretty severe tire shake almost right away. Greg’s car shook a little also but he was able to drive through it and get the win. Aside from that, we had a lot of fun.”

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GAINESVILLE, FL – Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. and his uncle Mike Coughlin will be searching for hides at this weekend’s 51st annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Troy Jr., who assumed the seat of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the off-season after his uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr. retired, will be considered one of the favorites for this historic race after a strong outing at last weekend’s non-sanctioned World Doorslammers Nationals in Orlando.

Against a stacked field of the sport’s best Pro Stock racers, most of whom are also competing at the Gatornationals, Troy Jr. qualified third with a 6.540 at 210.41 mph. He then drew NHRA champion Bo Butner in Round 1 and managed to improve his best mark to 6.537 at 210.37 mph to Bo Butner’s 6.548 at 211.63 mph. Tire shake in Round 2 ended his day, but the entire team was very encouraged by the outing.

“It was great to finally get in the car and make some passes,” Troy Jr. said. “To perform as well as we did was a real bonus. I’m actually not surprised because this team is full of champion-level people from top to bottom. The only thing that’s changed is me so I’m concentrating all my energy into being the best driver I can be.

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GAINESVILLE, FL – Three-time Division 3 champion Mike Coughlin will bring his 38-years of drag racing experience to this weekend’s “Baby Gators” event at Gainesville Raceway with hopes of securing a 30th career victory. If he doesn’t score this weekend, then he’ll quickly get another chance at next weekend’s regular Gatornationals event.

Coughlin will be competing in Top Dragster, a class he dominated and won in 2019 in the North Central Division. He’ll be joined in the JEGS pit by the decorated duo of Jeff Taylor and Danny Nelson, who are helping the team shakedown two hot rods for Mike’s sons Clay and Jack.

“It’s a new year and a very exciting one for me as we prepare to add my boys to the team,” said Coughlin, who also captured D3 championships in Top Sportsman in 2007 and 2009. “They’re caught up in school at the moment, which gave us a great opportunity to break-in their cars with a couple of true pros in Jeff and Danny. I’m very appreciative of their help and it’ll be fun racing with them.

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ORLANDO, FL – Troy Coughlin Jr.’s first duty as the primary driver of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro is defending the title of the second annual CTech Manufacturing World Doorslammer Nationals presented by JEGS, which takes place this weekend at Orlando Speed World Raceway.

At last year’s inaugural event, Coughlin’s uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr. emerged victorious from a stacked field of Pro Stock superstars to claim the trophy. But Jeg Jr. has since retired, handing the steering wheel of the headline-grabbing JEGS.com hot rod to his talented nephew.

“It’s an absolute honor to take Uncle Jeg’s place in this car and as the defending champs of this really cool event,” Troy Jr. said. “He’s a legend in this sport and one of my all-time heroes and he left us in great shape to contend for round wins and race wins right out of the trailer.

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