Beautiful Bristol Dragway is next stop for Troy Coughlin Jr.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 12) – Troy Coughlin Jr. is thrilled to be heading to picturesque Bristol Dragway for this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, where he’ll be racing alongside his father, Troy Coughlin Sr., and uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr.

“It’s always great to have my dad and uncle Jeg around for support,” T.J. said. “I’d love to be able to give my dad a Wally (trophy) for Father’s Day and Pappy [grandfather, Jeg Sr.] will also be there and that does a lot to get my confidence up. I just really enjoy racing with the whole family.”

Coughlin will be racing his two JEGS.com dragsters in Super Comp and Top Dragster at Thunder Valley.

“I really like this track and I just raced here in May [at the K&N Spring Fling 20s E.T. bracket event] so I know what to do,” T.J. said. “This track is different when it comes to the atmosphere so my experience from last month should help.”

Coughlin lost a close race in his Super Comp dragster last weekend when he had an off-pace reaction time, and then ran into an electrical problem with his JEGS.com Top Dragster entry but he expects to have both issues addressed when he arrives in Bristol.

“When I got home from the last race I looked at my results from 2009 and 2010 when I won [national events] in Las Vegas and Indy,” T.J. said. “My lights at those two races were great; I was crushing the tree. I need to get back to that. I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again.

“In Top Dragster, we just have to get the car right and I’m sure it will be. That car works great and it’s very fast. It’s a lot of fun going 211 mph in a dragster. I think I may have inherited the ‘Need for Speed’ gene from my father.”