Reigning Pro Mod champ Troy Coughlin having
fun after brief retirement racing with family
DELAWARE, Ohio (June 19) — Three-time and reigning world champion Troy Coughlin is just two races into his return to the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series and has yet to win a single round of eliminations, but he is quick to point out no one is having more fun as the national tour heads to Norwalk this weekend in his home state of Ohio.

Troy Coughlin
“We got the band back together and we’re having a blast,” said Coughlin, who retired at the end of 2017 only to return a few weeks ago in Virginia. “Everyone’s giving me a hard time about my ‘retirement’ but I just say I got fired from being retired. I missed it too much; the racing, the interaction with the fans, the fun with all the other drivers…I had to come back.

“My buddy Jose Gonzales (currently seventh in the points) told me in Gainesville, ‘Hey Troy, I have an extra car so whenever you want to come back out and race, all you have to do is ask.’ Well, as much fun as I was having with (children) T.J. and Paige racing their cars, I realized pretty quick I wasn’t done. So here we are again.”

Once the itch became too big to ignore, Coughlin and his longtime gang of crew chief Steve Petty and crewmen Mike Rees and Kyle Pettis, along with their partners at Proline Racing and FuelTech, have been working hard on getting Gonzales’ twin-turbo Ford Mustang up to speed.

“All the pieces and parts are there but we haven’t found the exact balance just yet,” said Coughlin, who had a DNQ in Richmond and lost in Round 1 at Bristol. “We have this race and then the summer break to get ready for Indy. We’re focused on that for now and more importantly, we’re having fun.”