Troy Coughlin Jr. really is a good boy. Although at just a shade under 32 years old, he cannot be considered a boy.

Some 22 years old, the third-generation drag racer admits he flirted with the wild side. 

A ten-year-old admitted “superfan,” Coughlin just wanted to get close enough to the starting line to see Dad have a chance at winning his first NHRA Pro Stock event. 

“I was like 10 years old and Dad was in the Winston ‘No Bull’ Showdown,” Troy Jr. said. “At that point he hadn’t won a Pro Stock race but his car was stout that weekend and he was driving really well. They’d hyped up that race with the big money prizes and everything and it was so exciting to watch him work his way through eliminations.”

Per NHRA regulations, minors could not be on or near the starting line or their racetracks for insurance and liability reasons. 

Mike Lentz, the then NHRA head of security, had warned the Coughlin team multiple times. 

Still, with his father running through the field like a freight train en route to the finals, Coughlin learned sometimes the best approach is to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. It’s not that the kid wasn't influenced by at least one grown-up. 

“He’d try to sneak up there every round,” said JEGS Director of Motorsports Scott “Woody” Woodruff. “I had NHRA race control on my radio headset and I’d hear ‘Troy’s kid is up here again.’ Mike Lentz would immediately look at me and I’d tell him I would handle it. I would usually go tell T.J. to hide somewhere else. I knew how badly he wanted to be up there.”

Then Troy Sr reached the final round against Mark Pawuk. 

“Woody told me, ‘At least wait until your dad’s done with the burnout and is pulling forward to stage,’ thinking there wouldn’t be enough time for the security guys to run me off at the point. So that’s what I did and even though it seemed like I’d be banned for life, I was able to watch Dad win his first race.”

He might not be under as much scrutiny this weekend.

“I have a driver’s pass this time so hopefully I won’t get thrown out,” Troy Jr. said with a laugh. “The goal now is to win my first Pro Stock race at the same track where Dad got his. How cool would that be?"

This time he won't have to ask for forgiveness. 

“I still have the same crazy passion for this sport that I did back when I was a kid sneaking up to the starting line to watch my Dad and uncles." he said. "I was only dreaming about doing this at that point. Now I’m living that dream and my feelings for the sport haven’t changed one bit. Nothing has changed, except I don’t have to sneak around anymore.”