DR AG I LLU S TR ATED ROUN DTABLE
Mo’ Money,
Mo’ Problems
Five of sportsman racing’s brightest
racers and promoters tackle a slew
of the sport’s biggest challenges
BY NAT E VA N WAG N E N
S
portsman drag racers have long been the backbone of drag racing, but the sportsman racing scene has transformed drastically from its early days when a racer could show
up with his buddy, a tire gauge, a handful of tools and his car on
an open trailer with expectations of glory. The current landscape
features technologically advanced race cars, $300,000-plus
haulers, and drivers who race professionally across the country on a weekly basis.
Racers and sponsors are shifting their focus from the prestige of sanctioned racing to the prosperity of big-dollar bracket racing. There is even new technology
in play today that changes the way bracket races have been decided for decades.
Drag Illustrated recently spoke with five
successful sportsman racers to discuss the state
of sportsman racing, with topics ranging from
the successes and failures of today’s contingency
programs to the cost of participation in 2016, as
well as the new TruSTART system.
Southern California’s Shawn Langdon has
enjoyed success at every level of NHRA drag
racing, first winning a Junior Dragster national
championship before claiming back-to-back Super Comp national titles in 2007 and 2008. His
most recent NHRA world championship came in
Top Fuel, where he currently drives the Red Fuel
by Schumacher dragster for Don Schumacher
Racing. Though he’s now racing at the sport’s
highest level, Langdon still regularly competes
in the NHRA Super classes and at big-money
bracket races across the country.
Troy Coughlin Jr. is the third-generation face
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of the yellow-and-black JEGS Mail Order parts
empire. Having grown up at the track with his legendary grandfather, Jeg Coughlin Sr., father Troy,
and uncles Jeg Jr., Mike, and John, TJ soaked up
as much knowledge as possible and applied it to
his own racing career. At 25 years old, Coughlin
has five NHRA Super-class national event victories to his name, including a pair of U.S. Nationals
titles, as well as several big-money bracket wins
up to $25,000. Outside of Sportsman racing, he
was named the 2015 NHRA Pro Mod Rookie of
the Year and recently earned his Top Fuel license.
Luke Bogacki is one of the most accomplished
drivers in sportsman racing. Between NHRA and
IHRA national and divisional competition and
big-money bracket racing, Bogacki has amassed
over 250 event wins and more than $1,000,000
in prize money. He owns two NHRA national
championships (Super Comp and Super Gas),
five NHRA divisional championships, and four
IHRA divisional titles. On top of his incredible
on-track work, Bogacki runs ThisIsBracketRacing.com, a website full of video and written tutorials featuring some of the most notable names
in bracket racing.
Michael Beard is a three-time IHRA world
champion with experience in several different
roles within sportsman racing. When he’s not
competing in Footbrake or IHRA Super Stock,
Beard and his Loose Rocker Promotion brand
handle nearly every stage of event promotion,
from designing and producing event flyers to
handing out the big checks to the winners. His
resume includes both hosting and winning races
in the $10,000 range.
Kyle Seipel goes big in whatever he does in
drag racing, whether he’s racing in one of several
NHRA classes or co-promoting the rich Spring
Fling bracket races with Peter Biondo. Seipel
collected 22 NHRA Division 7 championships
before he turned 30 and has won on the national
level in five different categories. He’s hugely successful as a race promoter, with the Spring Fling
events in Bristol and Las Vegas continuing to
draw massive car counts and award some of the
richest prizes in drag racing, like the $270,000
total purse at this year’s inaugural Spring Fling
Million in Vegas.
Today’s bracket racers can look at their calendar and choose from races ranging from
$10,000 to $100,000-to-win on any given
weekend. Are the big-money bracket races getting too common, too big, too quickly?
Shawn Langdon: No, I think it’s great. With
the amount of money that’s out there with that
kind of racing, that’s what our sport needs. The
entry fees can definitely add up very quickly.
That’s the downside of it, especially if you’re
double entering – not to mention a majority of
the races have buybacks. That’s the only downside
that I see to any of it.
Personally, I love bracket racing. You’re able to
go out there, depending on the event, for three
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