NASCAR -vs- NHRA Results & Comments

JEG'S Ultimate Day of Racing NASCAR -vs- NHRA

The JEG'S Ultimate Day of Racing was held Saturday, May 8th at National Trail Raceway, which is located in Central Ohio. Motorsports fans were exposed to a variety of different forms of racing and the vehicles which power the talented drivers. For some fans this gave them an opportunity to be up close to the cars that they see blast down quarter mile drag stripe or see come off of a corner in a pack of cars at 200-Mph.

The motorsports fans that attended this event got to see four drivers from NASCAR take on four drivers from the NHRA. The NASCAR drivers were represented by Sterling Marlin, Chad Little, John Andretti and Jerry Nadeau. John, Troy, Mike and Jeg Coughlin, Jr. were the NHRA representatives in this quarter mile battle. The Coughlin brothers are NHRA's largest all-family professional team.

The turn out for the JEG'S Ultimate Day of Racing really turned some heads. "It's amazing that this many people came to an event like this, it really speaks highly of the strength of motorsports," noted Chad Little. Sterling Marlin added, "This is neat to see and be apart of. I am having a great time!" Race fans took part in an autograph session which lasted over 2 hours. This gave fans the opportunity to meet all eight drivers up close. Troy Coughlin said, "It's always great to meet fans up close."

John Andretti was the only NASCAR driver with any seat time in the NHRA. John raced a NHRA Top Fuel car for a limited three race schedule during the '93 NHRA season, which was sponsored by Taco Bell. "I enjoyed racing a Top Fuel car, it was cool because they are such a different type of car to drive," said Andretti. "The NHRA offers fans the opportunity to get close. A driver can spend more time with there fans, which is something that will always make the NHRA unique when compared to any other form of motorsports."

Although the weather was not perfect, the stage was set for the NASCAR -vs.- NHRA battle. A light rain set in while the event began. The advantage went to the NASCAR drivers due to the slippery conditions. Team NASCAR won every race but one. In The final round John Andretti faced off against '98 NHRA "Rookie of the Year" Jeg Coughlin, Jr. Jeg took the advantage off of the startling line and ran into traction problems. Andretti took the win light in this close race. "This was a fun event to be involved with. Everyone had a great time and a lot of laughs," said Jeg.

The goal of the event was to expose Central Ohio to many forms of motorsports at the same location. It also gave National Trail Raceway the ability to show race fans in Central Ohio the new and improved NHRA owned facility. "The success of this event shows that Central Ohio loves motorsports and have some extremely loyal fans," said Charlie Harmon General Manager of National Trail Raceway.