NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Following a dominant performance that included three individual winners, the team from the NHRA Northeast Division claimed a record ninth overall team title in the prestigious JEGS Allstars competition, held this weekend at the Texas Motorplex during the Texas NHRA FallNationals.

In a thrilling come-from-behind performance, the North Central Division team combined to earn 1,400 points to hold off the defending event winners from the Pacific Division, who scored 1300. The battle for overall honors was close early, but it quickly became a two-horse race between teams on opposite coasts. The Division 7 team held a 400-point lead at one point, but the Division 1 team came roaring back with an impressive showing in final rounds. 

Steve Szupka (Comp), Tom Stalba Jr. (Super Comp), and Vince Musolino (Right Trailers Top Dragster) led the charge for Division 1, who won the inaugural JEGS Allstars race in 1985 and have added titles in 1989, 1995, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2022.

Szupka provided the clinching victory in Comp when he topped defending JEGS Allstars winner and blocker Chase Williams in the final. Immune to the pressure of a nearly must-win final, Szupka was strong on the starting line with a .002 light and drove to a (-.535) 6.915 in his C/DA entry to clinch the title. 

Tom and Karen Stalba made JEGS Allstars history as the husband-wife team put both of their entries into the final rounds. Tom, the 2003 JEGS Allstars winner, wrapped up his second win in Super Comp with an 8.892 to 8.862 victory against Division 4 rep Michael Holcombe. 

In Right Trailers Top Dragster, defending world champ Musolino helped put the Division 1 team over the top after Division 7 racer Cody Webber fouled in the final. Musolino was happy to share the winner’s circle with Stalba, who hauled his six-second dragster from New York to Texas. 

Although they finished second, the Pacific Division team had plenty to celebrate including wins by team members Trey Vetter in Super Stock and Michael Boehner in Super Gas. Vetter drove his Camaro to a 9.676 on his 9.67 dial to hold off Justin Picillo of Division 1, who was close behind with a 9.384 against his 9.37 prediction.

Boehner, the runner-up in the 2023 Division 7 standings, was exceptionally sharp on the Tree during all three rounds of competition including a .015 light in the final that he combined with a 9.902 to freeze out Division 5 racer Jeremy Demers, who broke out with a 9.883.

Division 3 Super Street driver Alan Bush, who has raced his Chevy Nova for decades, completed a 35-year quest to win a JEGS Allstars title when he topped Division 7 racer David Keisel in the final round, 10.927 to a 10.898 breakout. Keisel didn’t leave Texas empty handed as he was awarded the NHRA Never Rest award. Keisel’s motorhome broke down on the long trip to Dallas but he was able to rent a truck in order to compete in the JEGS Allstars race.

The Division 3 team bagged a second title when Curt Fredrich drove to the Right Trailers Top Sportsman win over reigning world champ and Division 1 racer Brandon Miller. In what may have been the best final of the day, Fredrich, who has two wins in four finals since August, continued his recent hot streak with a .019 light and a dead-on 6.560 on his 6.56 while Miller was just six thousandths behind with a 6.913 on his 6.91 dial. 

The lone win for the Division 2 team came at the hands of Stock racer Michael Brand, who topped Jared Jordan of Division 7 in the final. Brand drove his Cobra Jet Mustang to an 8.811 on his 8.81 dial to force Jordan and his ’64 Dodge into a breakout.  

The Top Alcohol portion of the event was a bit closer, as the East Region squeezed out a narrow win over their rivals from the North Central Region. Defending Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Julie Nataas completed an exceptionally rare feat with her fourth-straight victory in the JEGS Allstars competition. Naatas, of the Central Region, powered to a 5.313 to 5.404 win over the East Region’s Karen Stalba in the final.

A day after clinching his fourth world title in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, Sean Bellemeur and the “Killer B’s” claimed their second straight win in the JEGS Allstars. Bellemeur scored the win with a 5.472, after North Central Division teammate Chris Foster shut off early. 

The winning team members split a $20,000 bonus out of a total payout of over $125,000. Each of the winners has also earned the right to return to the Texas Motorplex next season for the 41st annual JEGS Allstars event.