The results didn’t translate to the talent he has and the team he was driving for.
However, Troy Coughlin Jr. isn’t making excuses for his performance in 2025 while driving for the powerhouse team – Elite Motorsports.
Coughlin finished 10th in NHRA’s Pro Stock standings and had a season-best finish by reaching the semifinals in St. Louis before losing to Matt Hartford.
“You know, that’s just part of it. Things are going to ebb and flow, and we were just a little bit down in the ET department,” Coughlin said. “And the guys at Elite Motorsports, they’re working their tails off, and they’re getting after it, making music in the dyno room, and we’re ready to come out swinging for 2026. You’ve got two Jegs cars, and that’s really got us fired up.”
The key drivers for Elite Motorsports in 2026 include Tony Stewart in a new Top Fuel dragster, alongside Pro Stock stars Erica Enders, a six-time world champion – 2014-2015, 2019-2020, 2022-2023 – and Aaron Stanfield, with Jeg Coughlin Jr., a five-time world champion – 2000, 2002, 2007-08, 2013 – and Troy Coughlin Jr. also driving for the team with JEGS sponsorship.
“We’re just really going to take it one lap at a time, and any issue that comes our way, we’re going to tackle it the best we can, and be as competitive as we can be,” Coughlin Jr. said.
Coughlin Jr. said his Camaro will have a crew chief committee in the upcoming season.
“The whole group,” Coughlin Jr. said. “Kyle Bates, Mark Ingersoll and Tim Freeman. They all work so well together. It’s exciting.”
It’s no secret in NHRA’s Pro Stock scene that Elite Motorsports and KB Titan Racing are the two heavyweights battling for a world championship. The last two seasons – 2024 and 2025 – KB Titan Racing has been on the throne of the class, with Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn claiming championships, respectively.
“It’s a lot of fun competing against KB Titan Racing,” Coughlin Jr. said. “In drag racing, you need rivalries. There’s a lot of respect there, a lot of mutual respect. Everybody’s working hard. And that makes it more of an honor just to get around them. It’s a great accomplishment when you do beat those guys.”
Coughlin Jr. has quite the driving resume. He has competed in Super Gas, Super Comp, Top Dragster, Top Alcohol, Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Top Fuel, which is something he never envisioned.
“You should be OK with being uncomfortable, being comfortable. You can be comfortable being uncomfortable,” Coughlin Jr. said about driving different classes of cars. “You know, I always just had my mind set on driving a Pro Stock car. That’s really what I wanted as a kid. I would never have dreamed that I would have sat in a Top Fuel dragster, just because I always grew up around Pro Stock cars and Sportsman cars. So, yeah, it’s pretty wild.
“It has been a wonderful privilege. I’ve been with some fantastic teams and great people and had some great equipment. And I’ve really enjoyed my time.”
Add in the layer of competing with and against his uncle Jeg, and Troy couldn’t be more appreciative.
“There’s nothing like it, racing with family, it hits differently,” Troy said. “It’s a family sport, and when you’re next to one of your teachers and your heroes, rather consistently, it’s really cool. It makes you want to be better. It makes you want to get better. And there’s no ceiling for knowledge, and what a great group of drivers that I get to pull from.”
Coughlin Jr. acknowledged driving a Pro Stock car is far more difficult than it looks.
“You have to have a really good sense of feeling. And you need to be able to let the clutch out, and you have to be able to bang gears on time, and keep the car straight, and make a clean lap. Watching with the eye, you know, you could just see cars going down the track and they’re not going 330 mph, but a Pro Stock car is something that you’re absolutely wheeling, and the better you wheel it, the faster you’re going to be, the more consistent you drive.”
Chasing perfection by competing in Pro Stock is something that Coughlin Jr. welcomes.
“I think that’s a major, attractive thing for me that I’ve always loved about Pro Stock is the precision and what it takes to drive well. Anybody can operate one. I mean, anybody can learn to do it. Like, can you be consistent, and can you drive well consistently? Is it extremely challenging, as conditions change?
“More power, you might make a clutch change and the pedal feels different. There’s a lot of factors in these cars that make them just as hard to drive mentally and physically. So, it’s a neat class. I’ve always said, if you like engineering, and you’re a tinkering guy, then Pro Stock is your class, because we’re fighting for one horsepower, that one thousandth of a second.”
Coughlin Jr. has won five national events in Pro Stock and finished a career-best fourth in the points standings in 2022.
And he has a basic game plan for 2026.
“Definitely a goal to win the world championship,” Coughlin Jr. said. “I don’t really have any expectations. I think that leads to disappointment most of the time. So, I’m just going to set a standard for myself, and to go up there and be as focused as possible, as relaxed as possible, and make the very best lap every time I’m up there. If I’m up there for Q1, I’m going to go out there and have a mindset of… Get the tree, cut it as best as you can, keep staying in the groove, shifting the gears on time, and give as much feedback as I can for my crew, and you’re done. So, it’s more of a simple approach, but it’s just one I’m really excited to go out and do.”
