NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

With a thrilling side-by-side win over points rival Troy Coughlin Jr., Megan Meyer officially clinched the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Dragster national championship in the final round of the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals. Meyer drove to a 5.149, 281.48, her best run of the weekend, to squeak by Coughlin’s competitive 5.169, 280.80 to make the title official.

“This is for my dad, Randy, who does so much for us and for our whole team, and all the people who support us,” said Meyer. “I love this class. I don’t want to race Top Fuel. All I care about is Top Alcohol Dragster. How cool is it that it was me and T.J. [Coughlin]. We’re just a couple of bracket racers who came up together. He’s even run one of our cars before. This just means so much to us.”

Meyer, last year’s third-place finisher, has enjoyed a dominant season so far with seven wins in 12 final round appearances in the injected nitro dragster that is tuned by her father, Randy. Meyer’s scorecard includes four national event titles including the 50th annual Amalie Gatornationals and the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Meyer came into the Charlotte event with a slim 12-point lead over Shawn Cowie and a 64-point advantage over Coughlin. Meyer helped herself with a second round win over Cowie’s supercharged entry. Meyer, who counts her sister, Rachel, and Norway’s Julie Nataas as teammates, is the fourth woman to win an NHRA Lucas Oil Series sportsman championship, joining Amy Faulk (Super Stock, 1979), Jackie Alley (Super Stock 2011), and Mia Tedesco (Super Gas, 2016).