JEGS Speedweek offers double dose of NHRA divisional racing By Josh Hachat

The debut event , which combined two races – the JEGS SPORTSnationals and a divisional race – into one massive four-day weekend at National Trail Raceway near Columbus , Ohio , was a huge hit despite it taking place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic .

Looking for tweaks to possibly make the event even more appealing to race teams , race officials looked at different appreciation opportunities within the event , including a racer barbecue and other off-the-track activities . But the consensus among the bulk of race teams was simple : they simply wanted to race and race as much as they could that weekend .

“ It was great . We talked to a lot of racers and they just want to race ,” says Scott Woodruff , Director of Media and Motorsports at JEGS . “ We had some bounty callouts , but racers just want to race . To get a divisional event and the SPORTSnationals done in four days , everyone did a great job . It was pretty impressive and everyone did a great job .”

After drawing more than 500 cars for the inaugural event in 2020 , this year ’ s event had more than 600 cars , proving that these double events continue to be a major draw in sportsman racing .

The recent double-divisional at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka , Kansas , was a massive success , too , drawing a huge number of cars , and that setup has also done well at Texas Motorplex in Dallas and , in previous years , at Sonoma Raceway .

It ’ s absolutely here to stay and there seems to be far too many advantages for it not to become a regular thing .

“ If you want to have one of these so-called double events , you ’ ve got to have it at a good facility ,” Woodruff says . “ You have to make sure the racers feel taken care of and , if so , they ’ ll come out in droves . NHRA , National Trail Raceway , JEGS , everyone did a good job and it was a successful event from start to finish .

“ It ’ s a trend that these double events are seeing more cars this year . I think it really makes sense . Everyone would rather pay gas one time to race twice . From a facility standpoint , it ’ s less expensive to run four days at one time instead of six days of racing over two separate weekends . The car count speaks for itself . The formula is great and people just want to race .”

That ’ s the mark of a sportsman racer and it was certainly the most succinct way to sum up JEGS Speedweek .

It was one car after another going down the track for four straight days , mixing tight , competitive racing with fellowship in the brief moments of downtime or the end of the racing day .

That ’ s sportsman racing at its best , and Woodruff was thrilled to see it come to light again at Speedweek at National Trail Raceway , which has made a resurgent comeback as a viable track under track owner Jay Livingston .

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX OWENS

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