Bourgeois leads talented Comp field into Allstars event

JOLIET, Ill. (May 31) – Craig Bourgeois has never raced in the JEGS Allstars race, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t handle tough competition. Racing in the NHRA South Central Division, which includes, Texas, Oklahoma, and his native state of Louisiana, Bourgeois, of Metairie, La., competes against some of the best racers in Comp Eliminator on a weekly basis. Now, Bourgeois, a two-time winner of the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals, is preparing to take his shot at the $6,000 top prize which goes to the winning driver in Comp during the JEGS Allstars competition, which takes place on Saturday, June 7.

Each year, the JEGS Allstars brings together the best drivers from each of the eight NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories to Route 66 Raceway, where they compete for a share of more than $100,000 in prize money. Racers qualify for the JEGS Allstars by earning points in their home division during the previous 12 months. The team that accumulates the most round wins during the event will claim the team championship and an additional $20,000 bonus that is split among its members.

Bourgeois, who races a small-block Chevy powered front-engine Nostalgia Dragster, will be the lone representative of the South Central Division, but he’ll have to contend with some of the class’ heavy hitters including reigning JEGS Allstars champ Sal Biondo and Division 7 representative Jim Cowan.

Biondo, a former NHRA national champion, is making his third appearance in the JEGS Allstars race. Last year, he defeated Larry Pritchett in the final round to help the team from the Northeast Division claim the overall championship. As the defending champion, he is eligible to return to the event as a blocker, but cannot earn points towards the overall team title.

Cowan, of Dewey, Ariz., is off to a fast start in 2008. Driving his Chevy Cobalt, Cowan won the season-opening CARQUEST Winternationals in Pomona and also earned a victory at the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series race in Tucson, Ariz.,

Bourgeois, Biondo, and Cowan will be joined in Joliet by a qualify field of opponents that include reigning NHRA national champion Frank Aragona Jr. (Division 1), Frank Cervelli, (Division 2), Jason Coan (Division 3), Michael Johnson (Division 5) and Adam Bowdish (Division 6).