Reigning Top Alcohol Dragster champ Duane Shields, left, Top Alcohol Funny Car ace John Lombardo Jr., and JEGS' Scott Woodruff unveiled the new perpetual trophy.

Renowned artist and sculptor Dan Dreisbach was commissioned by executives at JEGS Mail Order to create a special trophy for the winning regional Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car teams at next year's JEGS Allstars event in Chicago.

When NHRA announced that Top Alcohol competition would be divided among four regions rather than in the traditional seven divisions, JEGS personnel immediately began devising a plan to keep the popular race cars as part of the prestigious Allstars format.

"The team portion of the JEGS Allstars race has been such a popular and unifying element, and we didn't want to lose that with the Top Alcohol racers," said Jeg Coughlin Jr., who with his three brothers owns and operates the 52-year-old high-performance-parts company. "We brainstormed on a few ideas and worked with the NHRA to figure out how we could keep them involved."

The end result is very similar to the long-running Allstars race, with invitations extended to the top two competitors from each category in each region. Once they get to Chicago, the best of the best will again be able to race for individual and team titles.

The team that wins it all will take home Dreisbach's handmade creation.

"I really like how this piece came out," said Dreisbach, an IndyCar fabricator who has made numerous trophies for JEGS events. "I used purple heart, red heart, and maple woods as well as some aluminum, brass, copper, and stainless steel, which I actually harvested from some IndyCar skid plates.

"The dragster and Funny Car bodies are hammer-formed stainless and are hollow inside. I didn't use any patterns or bucks; I just got out my hammers and dollies to make the shapes and cut the excess with conventional band saws and grinders. There is about 150 hours of work in this trophy, and I'm pleased with the final product. I hope everyone likes it."