NHRA officials have announced a second JEGS SPORTSnationals event on the weekend of Aug. 21-22 at New England Dragway. The new race will bring national-event level drag racing to the historic Northeast locale, which lost this year’s regularly scheduled NHRA main event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are thrilled to team with our longtime friends at JEGS to present this event,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA Vice President-Racing Administration. “Sportsman racers are truly the backbone of our sport and the opportunity to give them another place to shine this season and the chance to do it with our partners at New England Dragway is a tremendous opportunity. The SPORTSnationals has been a rich tradition in NHRA for more than 40 years and we’re proud to help add to that history.”
Dating back to the mid-1970s, SPORTSnationals events feature high-level drag racing in eight of NHRA’s Lucas Oil Series categories. Drivers in Competition Eliminator, Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster will collect national-level points while carving out a share of more than $100,000 in prize money.
“We are thrilled to add a second JEGS SPORTSnationals event to the 2020 schedule,” said Scott Woodruff, director of media and motorsports at JEGS Automotive, Inc. “Having a chance to fill this need for our Division 1 friends and all of the great New England fans is a real honor for all of us at JEGS.
“It was a bummer when NHRA was forced to trim a few races off the national schedule because of COVID-19, so when the group at NHRA called and asked if we could help do something special, we were happy to put this together for everyone.”
It’s not unprecedented for there to be more than one JEGS SPORTSnationals events held in a single year. In fact, there have been as many as three in one season. This year’s other JEGS SPORTSnationals will take place during JEGS Speedweek on July 16-19, merging with the season-opening Division 3 race at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio, just outside of Columbus.
This story was originally published on May 19, 2020. 
