\u201cI was introduced to the racetrack only a couple weeks after I was born,\u201d he says. \u201cMy dad was racing at the IHRA Winternationals in Rockingham, North Carolina, when my mom called saying she was going into labor five weeks early. A couple weeks later I was at the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he turned 8, his dad put him in a Jr. Dragster, making his debut at Lucky City Dragway near the family\u2019s home in Pennsylvania before venturing out to tracks like Thompson Raceway Park in Ohio. After nine years in Jr. Dragsters, Vergotz moved up to a bracket dragster. \u201cI hopped right into a bracket dragster that had a plain Jane 454 big-block Chevy,\u201d Vergotz, now 24, says. \u201cWe quickly upgraded the engine and started going faster. Now I have a new dragster and a 615 SR20 engine that runs 4.50s-4.60s for bracket racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
This past season, he made his first laps in the family\u2019s Pro Nitrous Camaro. It was a big step up, but after numerous discussions, the father-son duo decided to proceed, starting with a few short launches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took things slow to start and ended the season with a 3.76 at 188 mph,\u201d Vergotz says. \u201cThat was with the nitrous on only until 3.4 seconds in the run and with four kits. So I still have plenty to learn with speed and power. But over time we\u2019ll get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to hop into my dad\u2019s seat behind that 974-cubic-inch Musi Power has been my most meaningful accomplishment yet,\u201d Vergotz adds. \u201cThere is nothing quite like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before getting the opportunity to drive the Pro Mod, Vergotz acquainted himself with the car as a crew member, and eventually as a tuner. He observed the team\u2019s past tuners before diving in to call the shots himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be the first to tell you, it\u2019s hard,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing quite as hard as learning a Pro Nitrous engine, chassis setup, and the laptop and EFI configuration. But over time, things started to click.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vergotz has learned to work with the family-based team\u2019s limited budget and schedule, making the most of every pass during an event to learn what the car wants while also trying to compete against teams with big budgets and big-name tuners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t the car to burn down the scoreboard every run, and we haven\u2019t been in the winner\u2019s circle many times as of recently,\u201d he says. \u201cBut man, we are getting close. Our starting positions come elimination day are improving and improving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vergotz has spent late nights staring at the laptop, studying data, overlaying runs, and watching videos of the car to continue finding more performance. These efforts paid off earlier this year in a pressure-packed moment at the PDRA Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Q3, I talked with Dad and we were in a spot of \u2018nothing to lose,\u2019\u201d Vergotz says. \u201cWe either go a personal best and move up spots, or focus on going A to B and settling for toward the bottom of the pack. It was a fast event, so I swung for it all. John Sr. clicked off a 3.65 at 203.99 mph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other 2025 highlights include qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event and qualifying No. 2 at the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway, where a tricky track surface challenged the doorslammer racers. \u201cAs a tuner, bad conditions are partially what define you,\u201d Vergotz says. \u201cBeing able to be within only a couple thou of Tommy Franklin and Jeff Pierce [tuner and 2016 DI 30 Under 30 honoree] is a huge feat for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though getting to drive his father\u2019s Pro Nitrous car was a major milestone, the younger Vergotz doesn\u2019t have any plans to take over as the full-time driver. \u201cI\u2019m sure I will make my event debut this coming 2026 season, but by no means am I in a hurry to kick the old man out of the seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bond my dad and I have is something that will never be broken,\u201d he adds. \u201cHe is my biggest fan, supporter, my mentor, best friend, and so much more. He\u2019s the drive and constant worker toward making me a better tuner and the person I have grown to be today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond his dad, Vergotz credits the Vergotz Racing team, which includes his girlfriend, Ashley Strauss, and right-hand-man Shane McLaughlin. He also shouted out Pro Nitrous sponsor Keith Kelling of Kelling Equipment Repair and dragster sponsor Chad Wright of CJW Solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, all the glory goes to God. Without Jesus, none of this is possible\u201d he says. \u201cTruly this is a collective team effort. We all have our own jobs and responsibilities. None of this is possible without each and every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vergotz hopes to make bigger moves in 2026 both as a driver and a tuner. On the driving side, he\u2019s shooting for some big-money bracket victories in his dragster. As a tuner, he wants to guide his father to success at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, hopefully setting the tone for a big season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother thing on my list is to become an event champion at one of the stops on the IHRA or PDRA season tour,\u201d Vergotz says. \u201cLastly, I want to click off a 3.62\u20133.63 elapsed time in the Pro Nitrous category. That would really put us up there with some teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on January 28, 2026. ![\"Drag](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\")
<\/p>\n
The post DI 30 Under 30 2025: John Vergotz Jr.<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For John Vergotz Jr., drag racing has always been part of life. His father, veteran nitrous Pro Mod driver John Vergotz, has long been a fixture in doorslammer racing and now competes in PDRA Pro Nitrous, IHRA Pro Nitrous, and other eighth-mile Pro Mod events with a Pat Musi\u2013powered \u201969 Camaro. Editor\u2019s Note: This story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102929\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}