I remember about two decades back in another life stream, we had a saying in the car business about customers. "Never Expect What You Get." Those stark words meant…if you assumed anything about a customer you didn't know, usually you were dead wrong. I approached and talked with Troy Coughlin several times before we interviewed him and I can't say I was dead wrong about his demeanor, but when our interview commenced both Gary and I were enlightened by his poise and his answers to my questions. Gary Larsen and I are from big families (We're related also), so we grew up with brothers and sisters, and understand siblings, and know the differences in personalities between brothers and sisters. The Coughlin family is flush with male offspring, so having interviewed Jeg Jr. who is outgoing and has a distinctive 'pull' to his personality, we knew not to expect the same traits from Troy.

It took two races to catch Troy in a rain delay but when Troy had the time, he graciously invited us into the Jeg's Motor home. That alone is a step up to elegance where we had time to assemble an impression of Troy Coughlin. Let's fast forward and say, we didn't expect the personality of Troy. He's cordial, almost regal, and calculating. Pause a moment for Troy. I asked my questions, and Troy measured his words and answered almost as if he waited for a light inside him that dropped to yellow, and then turned green.

DOB: June 30, 1964
Home Town: Columbus, Ohio

"Wow! A happy, smily face. Happy-go-lucky. I'm laid-back. That's more than one, isn't it?" (I told Troy that we don't count, and the more you say the better.)

"Winning is first, but the thrill and the fun is next."

"No."

"My dad, for sure."

"Oh yeah. I'm in a great competitive sport."

"Winning 50% of the races, and having Jeg Jr win the other half. That would be really cool."

"Yes."

"Yes, because of the business is the sport, we have fun with the business and racing as well. The only thing we could ask for is for our children to take over."

"Yeah. Cruising around in custom cars. I have a 97 Firebird, a cop magnet. It is the first Lingenfelter made, and only nine were made in 1997. I can't break it. Lingenfelter couldn't break it. (I got a call from a friend who said there was a Lingenfelter Firebird for sale and wanted to know if I knew anybody who would be interested in it. I told him, yeah. I know a guy in Ohio, who would be interested, and I bought it.)"

"97 Lingenfelter Firebird, and a Cadillac Escalade."

"Yeah. I exercise twice a week on a stress and muscle program by Pilate."

"I love football, but I'm past the age for that. I'd drag race Supergas."

"My left leg."

"We have a Great Dane named 'Nitro'. That's short for Nitrous. At two years the dog is 166 pounds."

"No fried foods."

"Loyalty and honesty."

"Withdraw and try to be cool. When I know I'm getting angry, I just withdraw and move away for a while. When something doesn't go right, as my dad says, we get to do it again in a couple days."

"Repetition. Set a game plan on Wednesday, and then execute it."

"Ive crashed a couple times, but I wasn't hurt. Back in High School days I was setup by someone who shouted at an angry guy. It wasn't me doing the talking but he thought so, and went outside the store we were in and got a rifle and came back in and pointed it at me. I explained he had the wrong person, and he finally left."

"I like to take the wife (Julie) and go to big cities and go shopping. I also enjoy taking the kids to the junior drag racing program. I had no idea how my dad felt about me until my kid started racing. I want my son to win so bad."

"More TV coverage for Pro Stock car and Pro Stock truck in general, and more advertising for the sport as a whole."

"All the time. I've won a lot of World Championships while sleeping."

"Every Sunday at home. We are always in Church. Religion for kids is better than TV. Sometimes you get something that you can relate to in life, sometimes you don't. When you do, that's cool."

"My driving on the street is usually slower than traffic, and defensive. I get out of other people's way. I don't speed and I don't drag race.

Long ago I was drag racing on the street, light to light, and got blocked at a red light by a patrol car and a paddy wagon. I got out of the car and said… I'm sober. I realize what I did. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to be a problem. You don't have to handcuff me. (Troy made a gesture of his hands behind his back indicating that the police did swiftly handcuff him.) That's the last time I raced on the street. Nobody was happy…not me, not the police, nor my family."

"My children. I try to teach them about life on a daily basis. I worry about other people influencing them."

"Nothing like it. When you let the clutch and the car takes off it's only a two second span, but talk about getting the blood flowing."

"Poles and bleachers are whipping by you in a blur in your peripheral vision. You know you are going fast."

"Two crashes in 97 have taught me the most about respecting a race car. Since I've never had a fear of racing, I had to learn to let off, learn when to say when. As my dad says, 'it's a lot shorter trip to the next race than it is back to the shop in Ohio and then on to the next race. You get to race again in a few days.'"

"My wife, Julie has helped construct my life simply. Without Julie my life would be a lot of chaos."

"All of my dad's ethics. I'd understand a lot more in life. I'd like calmness from Tiger Woods. As a professional athlete, he does an awesome job at what he does."

"It was born in my blood. I watched my dad race in every class the NHRA has."

"Positive and straight-forward, happy and laid back."

"We are fortunate to do what we do. We thank you guys from Zoomster, and we thank the Jeg's organization for helping us be competitive and champions. My dad has a motto…'Our People Make Us Possible'. That carries over to our racing. "

We had a relaxed and comfortable chat with Troy Coughlin, and enjoyed the way he thought about and seemingly measured his answers. It is apparent in conversations with the Jeg's family that not only is the Jeg's business successful, but also the Coughlin family is successful at nurturing their offspring. Gary and I searched for one word to describe Troy, and many positive words came to mind, but I believe I found a word that fits his character. Gary agree also, Troy Coughlin is ...