Picture perfect weather and more than 500 racers treated the fans to an unforgettable 6th Annual

Tommy Phillips led the way to winner’s circle with wins in both the Super Comp and the Super Gas.

JEGS
Cajun Sportsnationals this weekend at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose,
La., with Tommy Phillips leading the way to winner’s circle with wins
in both the Super Comp and the Super Gas.

Phillips of Forney, Texas, held off Scooter Choate, Hubbard, Texas, in
the Super Comp final and former National Champion Sherman Adcock of
Fortson, Ga., in Super Gas.

They say history tends to repeat itself.

Chris Graves Photo

Top Fuel driver Del Cox hopes that statement one day rings true.

Following an almost identical path to the Top Fuel ranks as good friend
Spencer Massey, Cox takes over the same Mitch King backed dragaster
that Massey drove to four victories and an IHRA Top Fuel World
Championship in his rookie season just last year.

Now Cox hopes it is his turn in the spotlight.

The Defending Top Fuel Champion Enters This Weekend as Points Leader …

Who would have thunk it?

A freshman Top Fuel driver enters Houston Raceway Park hoping to
qualify and run well. Instead, he exits as the event champion and
continues forward to finish in the top ten in his rookie nitro season.

That was the life of Antron Brown as he departed the 2008 NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Baytown, Tex.

Few drivers make an impact on drag racing like a soft-spoken, determined
individual named Lee Shepherd of Arlington,
Texas did. When teamed with the
formidable duo of fellow Texans David Reher and the late Buddy Morrison,
Shepherd became a dominant force in a short span of time. His talent behind the
wheel, combined with a non-confrontational personality and a sincere dedication
to the Chevrolet brand, soon earned Shepherd the admiration of race fans young
and old. He gained a huge amount of respect from fellow racers as well.

It's pretty safe to say that many
teams underestimated the triumvirate from the Lone Star State, which formed under unusual
circumstances. Shepherd first joined Reher-Morrison through necessity, and the
relationship blossomed from there. The talented driver headed up a team that
had developed a reputation in Division 4, and when Shepherd blew the engine in
his ride and Reher and Morrison found themselves with an engine and no car, the
forces morphed into one. They found success with a few national event wins, and
in 1976 they made the huge leap into Pro Stock. The foundation had actually
been laid many years before, however.

The second day of the JEGS NHRA Cajun Sportsnationals was jammed pack with action as more than 550 racers made final qualifying 

Adam Hickey is the low qualifier in Comp headed into Sunday's final eliminations.

efforts for Sunday’s eliminations while also running elimination rounds
for several specialty races including the King of the Bayou
competition.  All seven NHRA divisions around the country are
represented here this weekend with racers including Ray Martin from
Anchorage, Alaska.

Leading things off was the conclusion of Friday’s heads-up class racing
with Joe Teuton Jr. of Schriever, La., out running his teammate Tim
Hebert, Thibodaux, La., in a battle of ’68 Super Stock Hemi
Barracudas.  Teuton ran 8.751 at 151.94 mph for the win.  Another local
racer Dempsey Pendarvis of Gonzales won in the AA/SA class in Stock
Eliminator and Michael Mans, Rogers, Minn., knocked off Charlie
Bohannon in the Stock/Super Stock CIC race in his ’00 Firebird.

A grueling race for Von Smith and the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Mod Extreme
1957 Chevy team came to an ecstatic conclusion Friday night when
Smith defeated Al-Arain in the title round at the Qatar Racing Club
with Al-Anabi team owner Sheik Khalid Al Thani in the large,
enthusiastic crowd.

However, it took a yeoman effort from crew chief Howard Moon and the
crew, assistance from others, and a Middle East record-setting Pro Mod
run of 5.84 seconds.

Smith began what became a long weekend by registering the quickest Pro
Mod Nitrous or Extreme quarter-mile elapsed time outside the U.S. –
5.814 seconds at 249.14 mph – on a pre-race test run Wednesday. 
However, the car’s rear end broke on the run and the damage was so
severe that a new one was necessary.  There weren’t any available in
Qatar, and the closest one was in the U.S., at car builder Tim McAmis’
St. Louis, Mo.-area shop.

The first champions of the sixth annual JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals
were crowned Saturday at No Problem Raceway Park in Belle Rose, La.
Steve Cohen, Jacklyn Gebhardt-Still and Tom Phillips each won
individual titles in the special King of the Bayou race that has become
a staple of the Cajun SPORTSnationals. Cohen, of Trilby, Fla., drove
his dragster to the Super Comp win over Bart Nelson. Gebhardt-Still, of
Jacksonville, Ill., drove to the Super Gas title by beating former NHRA
national champion Jim Hughes in the final and Phillips, of Dallas,
Texas claimed top honors in Super Street by beating Jonathan Blades. In
addition to the $1,000 winner’s check, Phillips also claimed a $500
bonus for running closest to his index.
 
Champions were also crowned today in the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman
Shootout races, which are special bonus events that are open to the top
eight qualifiers in each eliminator. Mike Manners of Willis, Texas,
whose dragster was easily the quickest car in Top Dragster, won the
Shootout with a 6.15 elapsed time to defeat Scott Williamson. Manners
just missed a double in the Top Sportsman Shootout as he reached the
final round but was turned aside by former SPORTSnationals winner Keith
Raftery of Lake Charles, La. Raftery, the No. 3 qualifier in the Top
Sportsman class, got a head-start against Manner and then pulled away
for the win, 6.48 to 6.83.

Back-to-back Super Comp world champion Shawn Langdon won't have time to threepeat in arguably the toughest sportsman category
in
the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series as he realizes his dream of driving
the Lucas Oil/Dixie Choppers Top Fuel dragster. But that hasn't stopped
the 26-year-old from winning races in his old Super Comp dragster.

Langdon took advantage of an off-weekend from Full Throttle NHRA Drag
Racing to compete at the Tenn-Tuck $50 Grander presented by Comp Cams
and TCI at Beech Bend Raceway Park. The three-day event features two
races each on Friday and Saturday and another one on Sunday, rewarding
each race winner $10,000.

Today's classic video rewind comes courtesy of Dawn Mazi-Hovsepian's
DragStripRiot66 YouTube channel. She presents classic home video
footage of her legendary Comp eliminator racing father Frank Mazi and
the family's BB/Altered Opel at the 1984 NHRA Springnationals in
Columbus, Ohio.

JEGS CAJUN SPORTSNATIONALS UNDER WAY IN BELLE ROSE; FOLSE LEADS QUALIFYING

In the first rounds of qualifying at No Problem Raceway for the 6th
Annual JEGS Cajun Sportsnationals, Earl Folse of Raceland, La., leads
the Top Sportsman class running 6.380 seconds at 221.42 mph followed by
Keith Raftery, Lake Charles, La., at 6.460, 213.00.

Joining Folse were Top Dragster driver Michael Manners, Willis, Texas,
and Bruno Massel of Woodridge, Ill., in Comp Eliminator taking the No.
1 qualifying positions in their classes.

Manners clocked in at 226.81 mph in 6.086 seconds and is followed by
Joey Marcotte out of Denham Springs, La., at 6.291 seconds, 191.40
mph.  Bruno drove his ’08 Cobalt to a pass of 7.242 seconds with Scott
Benham landing in the No. 2 spot in his ’02 S-10 truck.