There are many well-known families in the drag racing world that could be considered royalty, like Force, Glidden, and Kalitta. But the Coughlin’s, owners of the mail order aftermarket powerhouse JEG’S, have been dominant in both the sportsman and professional racing world and possess their own catalog of world championships and race victories, marking them among the sports’ elite. And in 2016, Mike Coughlin will be working to show why his family is one of the best in the business, stepping out of a door car and chasing a national title in yet another eliminator.

Coughlin has driven nearly everything in the sport during his career, from the sportsman ranks all the way up to Pro Stock Truck, where he earned six victories. Now, after wheeling a Top Sportsman car for a few years, Coughlin is stepping back into his dragster roots. “I’ve raced dragsters at different times over the years, and I can see better out of them and in turn drive both ends of the racetrack easier,” explains Coughlin about the switch to Top Dragster.

Vision, of course, isn’t the only reason for the change, as speed and variety played a role. “The speed of the dragster and the variety of the combinations is what really interests me. I love high speed bracket racing,” says Coughlin.

The goals for Coughlin this season go beyond just going fast, though, as he is going to chase the NHRA Top Dragster national championship, and along the way will spend time racing with his son. Family is extremely important to Coughlin, and he appreciates all of the support they give his racing career.

Coughlin’s brand new car is a Dan Page Race Cars-built, 270-inch wheel base dragster. Providing the motivation is a 526 cubic inch mill from Pro Line Racing Engines, and feeding the boost into the engine is an F-3R 136 blower from ProCharger, which is spun by a Components Drive System (CDS) gear drive from Chris Alston’s Chassisworks. Hughes Performance supplied the Powerglide that will sit behind the Pro Line powerplant. Coughlin elected to utilize parts from Fuel Tech, Dedenbear, Auto Meter, MSD, and RacePak for the unique — and what should be very quick — race car.

Coughlin has already been out testing the car, and it will make its debut at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event April 29^th through May 1^st at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

Photos courtesy of JEGS