Troy Coughlin Jr. has found a new gear in the drag racing world—one that doesn’t involve horsepower or reaction times. The third-generation racer has taken his lifelong love of the sport’s history and turned it into a business devoted to storytelling through apparel.
Coughlin, a key member of the famed JEGS racing family, continues his role in the company his grandfather built but is also carving out a creative lane of his own. His latest pursuit blends nostalgia with modern design under the brand name Revelry One, a project inspired by drag racing’s golden eras and the personalities who defined them. (VISIT SITE)
His inspiration for Revelry One came naturally. “I’ve always had a love for T-shirts,” Coughlin said. “I like to buy a T-shirt everywhere I go. So I’m thinking, ‘We don’t really have as many cool drag racing T-shirts that are really retro, but on a nice new tri-blend.’”
Coughlin said the brand isn’t just about fashion—it’s about storytelling. “In my opinion, we don’t have enough shirts that celebrate the heritage and the history of our sport,” he said. “It would be really cool to have a Lee Shepherd shirt today that had some of his accolades. That guy was a machinist, a driver. I envy people like that.”
That admiration for the sport’s pioneers drives Coughlin’s creativity. He sees Revelry One as a bridge between the past and present, honoring the legends who built the sport while inspiring younger fans to appreciate its roots.
“You think of all these cool stories that you can put on T-shirts and make them really cool and sell them to drag racing fans,” Coughlin said. “They’re buying into the story. They’re buying into the sport. It’s extremely generational.”
That sense of connection fuels his passion. “We love drag racing. I’m a geek for it and I love T-shirts,” Coughlin said. “We want to share that love and tell some cool stories through nice apparel.”
The inspiration is deeply personal. The Coughlin family legacy has long intertwined performance, business, and innovation, from championship drag racing to high-performance parts. Now, Troy Jr. is extending that tradition through creative entrepreneurship.
“I think it’s important for fans to feel like they’re wearing a piece of drag racing history,” he said. “That’s what this brand is about—honoring the people and the moments that made drag racing what it is.”
Coughlin’s operation has also forged a local partnership with Roach T-Shirts, a Columbus-based company that once sponsored a Top Fuel dragster. The connection adds authenticity and hometown pride to his efforts.
“I think it was Mark Campbell who drove the car,” Coughlin recalled. “Brian Peterson’s a great Christian guy. I really enjoy talking to him and working with him. He’s taught me a ton about the industry, which I still don’t know a quarter of what he knows.”
Peterson’s family continues to run Roach T-Shirts, now printing Coughlin’s nostalgic designs. “I’ve just been having him print runs of T-shirts that I want to do,” Coughlin said. “I just did a Jeg Jr., The Natural shirt that we just posted, and we’ve already launched it.”
Within a month, his shirts were already available at national events through Randy’s House of Horsepower, the traveling T-shirt trailer that visits NHRA races. “We’ve got them stocked in the trailer now,” Coughlin said. “They were ready by the time we got to Reading, and fans have been picking them up all weekend.”
What began as a side project has the potential to grow into something much larger. Yet Coughlin insists his motivation remains pure—sharing the sport’s history and giving fans a tangible way to connect with it.
“It’s fun,” he said with a grin. “I would love to grow it. I would be completely humbled. That’s the goal.”
As much as Coughlin Jr. enjoys being behind the wheel, his newest endeavor shows that his drive runs deeper than competition. Through Revelry One, he’s keeping drag racing’s stories alive—one shirt, one legend, and one fan at a time.
“Racing gave us the stories,” Coughlin said. “Now it’s time to wear them with pride.”
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