BELLE ROSE, La. – When Tommy Phillips held two Wallys in the winner’s circle last year at the JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, he knew at the time that he had just had a very, very good day.
A veteran racer, Phillips knows how tough it is to earn a single trophy in one category in the ultra-competitive world of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Winning two at the same national event is extremely rare. Phillips is among a small fraternity of 10 racers in NHRA history that have accomplished the feat.
The names alongside Phillips are some of most successful drivers to have ever competed in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series: David Rampy, Edmond Richardson, Jeff Taylor and Pete Biondo, to name a few.
A few of those drivers have done it multiple times. Richardson, widely considered one of the greatest bracket racers of all time, has earned the double a whopping five times, while Rampy, also among the foot-brake elite, has pulled it off three times.
Phillips, who will try to defend his victories in both Super Gas and Super Comp at the JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, March 19-21 at No Problem Raceway Park, says the magical weekend ranks at the top of his career highlights list.
“It was great,” said Phillips, who drove a ’57 Corvette to the Super Gas win and a dragster to the Super Comp victory one year ago. “I’ve been racing a long time and had never done it before. It’s certainly one of the top three highlights of my racing career, by far. I had two really good cars that day. There are so many strong racers out there that it’s not realistic to think that you can win a national event in two categories. It was good fortune really.”
He said once he wrapped up the Super Comp title after final round opponent Scooter Choate fouled at the start, he knew he was in for a tough final round in the Super Gas category against veteran racer Sherman Adcock. Phillips responded by running the index, a perfect 9.90-second run.
“The Super Gas final against Sherman Adcock was the biggest round of the day,” Phillips said. “In the finals his record is really good, so he’s definitely not someone that you want to see late in the day. He’s very difficult to beat.”
Phillips says he’s had some success this season racing at different events throughout the southeast. He says he’s excited and will try his best to win in both categories but his expectations are realistic.
“It’s really tough out here,” Phillips said. “I would never go into a race expecting to win in two categories, especially with today’s level of competition. The racers we compete against out here are just so good. But, I’ve got two really good cars once again, so we’ll see.”
The JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals is a national event that showcases six NHRA Lucas Oil Series categories: Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street. The event also includes the popular Top Sportsman and Top Dragster categories as well as Sportsman Motorcycle. Jet Car and Top Fuel Harley Motorcycle exhibitions also are planned during the weekend.
NHRA reintroduced the SPORTSnationals seven years ago at No Problem Raceway Park to rave reviews from racers and spectators. Prior to that NHRA had hosted the SPORTSnationals from 1974-1986 at a trio of tracks, including Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. (1974-‘80; 1985-‘86), the old Houston International Raceway (1981-‘82) and O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis (1983-’84).
This season NHRA will host three SPORTSnationals events, including the JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals; the JEGS NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana, Calif. in May; and the JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, Ohio, in September.
TICKETS: General admission tickets for the JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals are $20 each day, $50 for a three-day pass, and $35 for a two-day ticket. For ticket information, contact No Problem Raceway Park at (985) 369-3692. For additional information about the event, please visit www.NHRA.com or www.NoProblemRaceway.com.
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