At National Trail Raceway — the very track where she learned how to drive — Paige Coughlin rolled into the lanes for her first Street Outlaws appearance with something unfamiliar riding shotgun:
Silence.
No one cared whose daughter she was.
No one cared about the Coughlin legacy.
“They didn’t care who I was or where I came from,” she said. “I was just another racer that showed up.”
For a third-generation Coughlin, that moment changed everything.
The Weight of a Last Name
Growing up as a Coughlin means expectations are not optional.
“There’s a lot of pressure and weight on that last name,” she said. “‘You better get your act together and know how to drive.’”
The Coughlin family name is synonymous with NHRA excellence, Pro Modified dominance, and championship pedigree. But legacy can be both armor and anchor. For Paige, the challenge wasn’t learning to drive — it was learning to define herself.
That pivot point came in 2021.
She was in Charlotte, running her dragster. A first-round loss — a frustrating one — lit a spark.
“I told Dad, ‘You’ve always been about the door cars. I know you’ve been pushing me in that direction. I think I want to entertain it.’”
She laughs remembering it.
“His eyes lit up like it was Christmas.”
Full Send
There was hesitation at first. Her father suggested easing into Top Sportsman. A more measured progression.
Paige declined.
“I told him if we were going to do it, we were going to full send it.”
They flew out to a Street Outlaws event. The atmosphere. The intensity. The rawness of it. She fell in love with the concept.
The car that became Golden Child started life as a small-tire Camaro. It would become something entirely different.
A year and a half later, the rebuild was complete.
The first real test? South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Her dad gave her the green light off the trailer.
“Take it the full eighth unless it feels funny.”
A 3.90 pass.
Right off the trailer.
She could barely believe she’d been given that much trust that quickly….. Full send!
Golden Child: More Than a Name
The name wasn’t originally symbolic.
It was paint.
The Camaro wore a custom candy apple gold that inspired “Golden Child.” The internet, of course, attached its own narrative to it. She let them.
The name stuck.
And in many ways, it became the bridge between family roots and individual identity.
“It let me stay associated with JEGS,” she said, “but it let me pave my own way.”
Street Outlaws forced her to do more than drive. She had to brand herself. Market herself. Prove herself — to producers, to fans, to competitors.
There were cameras. Crowds. Expectations.
And zero special treatment.
The Mental Game
If Street Outlaws sharpened her racecraft, it hardened her mental discipline.
“You have fans, cameras, everyone around you all the time,” she said. “You have to separate your stuff while still putting on a show.”
When the helmet goes on, the noise goes off.
Her anchor?
Faith.
“The biggest thing that does it for me is the Good Lord,” she said.
She repeats the same verses before runs — Joshua 1:9 and Philippians 3:14 — grounding herself in something bigger than ET slips and win lights.
“At the end of the day, I just want everyone to be safe.”
God gives her peace, and peace gives her mental clarity.
Razor-Thin Margins and Golden Child 2.0
Outlaw Pro Mod is no longer chaos. It’s calculated warfare.
Top 32 fields are separated by thousandths.
“It’s impressive and intimidating at the same time,” she said.
To stay relevant, her team has adapted aggressively — even while building the next car.
Working closely with ProLine and FuelTech, the new platform is being engineered for versatility:
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Turbo
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ProCharger
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Screw blower
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Whatever combination wins
“We’re building it so we can adapt to whatever is best at the time.”
The car — Golden Child 2.0 — has been in development for a year and a half.
Steel roof. Steel quarters.
Not a Camaro.
Not even a Chevy.
“No one is going to expect what we’re building.”
The intent is clear: fit into any Pro Mod class, in any sanctioning body, compete, and win!
And that matters more than ever.
The Sanctioning Body Crossroads
With NHRA, IHRA, and outlaw programs all vying for attention, strategic decisions are harder than ever.
She was candid.
“IHRA is really making a name right now. The tracks and races they’re putting together are impressive.”
But the abundance of opportunity also creates tension.
“It’s difficult with so much going on — NHRA, IHRA, outlaw stuff. We’re trying to decide what’s best.”
Flexibility in equipment gives them leverage. The new car is built for optionality.
The mission is simple:
Run Pro Mod.
Run it fast.
Run it wherever it makes sense.
The People Behind the Program
No Pro Mod program survives alone.
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Mike Rees (Reeslyn Innovations) — tuner and builder, family-level close.
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Justin Beaver — with Paige for over a decade. “You’re going to be fine,” he’s told her since the beginning.
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Johnny Tolisano — fiancé, J&J Racing Engines, road warrior, partner in everything.
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Her dad, Troy — “partner in crime… I love my dad.”
The support structure is deep. And personal.
Five Years From Now
When asked where she sees herself in five years, she laughed.
“I’m barely trying to get through the week.”
But then she got serious.
“Just to be able to say I’m driving these cars — that’s the dream.”
She wants to stay in Pro Mod. Any series. Any format. As long as it’s one of the fastest, wildest doorslammers on earth.
She wants to be consistently fast. To climb the ranks.
To be mentioned alongside names like Stevie “Fast”.
And she’s not leaving her roots behind.
“I still want to bracket race. That’s where it all started.”
The Human Side
Favorite movie?
Legally Blonde.
“She was a badass and looked pretty doing it.”
That answer says more than it seems.
More Than a Name
Paige Coughlin entered Street Outlaws carrying a legacy.
She left it carrying a brand.
Golden Child isn’t just a car. It’s a statement. A bridge between heritage and independence.
At National Trail, no one cared who she was.
Now?
They do.
And soon, when Golden Child 2.0 is unveiled — not a Camaro, not a Chevy — the outlaw world may be reminded again:
The name opens the door.
But performance keeps it open.
Thank you for reading
-Kline Whitley
