FOR JOHN VERGOTZ JR., drag racing has always been part of life. His father, veteran nitrous Pro Mod driver John Vergotz, has long been a fixture in doorslammer racing and now competes in PDRA Pro Nitrous, IHRA Pro Nitrous, and other eighth-mile Pro Mod events with a Pat Musi – powered’ 69 Camaro.

“ I was introduced to the racetrack only a couple weeks after I was born,” he says.“ My dad was racing at the IHRA Winternationals in Rockingham, North Carolina, when my mom called saying she was going into labor five weeks early. A couple weeks later I was at the track.”

When he turned 8, his dad put him in a Jr. Dragster, making his debut at Lucky City Dragway near the family’ s home in Pennsylvania before venturing out to tracks like Thompson Raceway Park in Ohio. After nine years in Jr. Dragsters, Vergotz moved up to a bracket dragster.“ I hopped right into a bracket dragster that had a plain Jane 454 big-block Chevy,” Vergotz, now 24, says.“ We quickly upgraded the engine and started going faster. Now I have a new dragster and a 615 SR20 engine that runs 4.50s-4.60s for bracket racing.”

This past season, he made his first laps in the family’ s Pro Nitrous Camaro. It was a big step up, but after numerous discussions, the father-son duo decided to proceed, starting with a few short launches.

“ We took things slow to start and ended the season with a 3.76 at 188 mph,” Vergotz says.“ That was with the nitrous on only until 3.4 seconds in the run and with four kits. So I still have plenty to learn with speed and power. But over time we’ ll get there.

“ Getting to hop into my dad’ s seat behind that 974-cubic-inch Musi Power has been my most meaningful accomplishment yet,” Vergotz adds.“ There is nothing quite like that.”

Before getting the opportunity to drive the Pro Mod, Vergotz acquainted himself with the car as a crew member, and eventually as a tuner. He observed the team’ s past tuners before diving in to call the shots himself.

“ I will be the first to tell you, it’ s hard,” he says.“ There’ s nothing quite as hard as learning a Pro Nitrous engine, chassis setup, and the laptop and EFI configuration. But over time, things started to click.”

Vergotz has learned to work with the family-based team’ s limited budget and schedule, making the most of every pass during an event to learn what the car wants while also trying to compete against teams with big budgets and big-name tuners.

“ We aren’ t the car to burn down the scoreboard every run, and we haven’ t been in the winner’ s circle many times as of recently,” he says.“ But man, we are getting close. Our starting positions come elimination day are improving and improving.”

Vergotz has spent late nights staring at the laptop, studying data, overlaying runs, and watching videos of the car to continue finding more performance. These efforts paid off earlier this year in a pressure-packed moment at the PDRA Northern Nationals at U. S. 131 Motorsports Park.

“ In Q3, I talked with Dad and we were in a spot of‘ nothing to lose,’” Vergotz says.“ We either go a personal best and move up spots, or focus on going A to B and settling for toward the bottom of the pack. It was a fast event, so I swung for it all. John Sr. clicked off a 3.65 at 203.99 mph.”

Other 2025 highlights include qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event and qualifying No. 2 at the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway, where a tricky track surface challenged the doorslammer racers.“ As a tuner, bad conditions are partially what define you,” Vergotz says.“ Being able to be within only a couple thou of Tommy Franklin and Jeff Pierce [ tuner and 2016 DI 30 Under 30 honoree ] is a huge feat for us.”

Though getting to drive his father’ s Pro Nitrous car was a major milestone, the younger Vergotz doesn’ t have any plans to take over as the full-time driver.“ I’ m sure I will make my event debut this coming 2026 season, but by no means am I in a hurry to kick the old man out of the seat.

“ The bond my dad and I have is something that will never be broken,” he adds.“ He is my biggest fan, supporter, my mentor, best friend, and so much more. He’ s the drive and constant worker toward making me a better tuner and the person I have grown to be today.”

Beyond his dad, Vergotz credits the Vergotz Racing team, which includes his girlfriend, Ashley Strauss, and right-hand-man Shane McLaughlin. He also shouted out Pro Nitrous sponsor Keith Kelling of Kelling Equipment Repair and dragster sponsor Chad Wright of CJW Solutions.

“ First and foremost, all the glory goes to God. Without Jesus, none of this is possible” he says.“ Truly this is a collective team effort. We all have our own jobs and responsibilities. None of this is possible without each and every one of them.”

Vergotz hopes to make bigger moves in 2026 both as a driver and a tuner. On the driving side, he’ s shooting for some big-money bracket victories in his dragster. As a tuner, he wants to guide his father to success at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, hopefully setting the tone for a big season.

“ Another thing on my list is to become an event champion at one of the stops on the IHRA or PDRA season tour,” Vergotz says.“ Lastly, I want to click off a 3.62 – 3.63 elapsed time in the Pro Nitrous category. That would really put us up there with some teams.” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

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