rpm.espn.com: Breakup is amicable for Jeg's, Maskin

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Saturday, August 4
Breakup is amicable for Jeg's, Maskin
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com

In a season where the status quo has been in truly short supply in the Pro Stock class, there has been another breakup -- one that came as little surprise to anyone who has been following recent events.

Team Jeg's, on the verge of watching its 2000 title defense come up short this season, and Richard Maskin, the team engine builder and top man at Dart Engineering, have announced that they have decided to go separate ways. Their three-year arrangement, which produced a Winston title last year, has been a delicate one this season and reports of disagreements between Maskin and the Jeg's braintrust have persisted since the early stages of the current campaign.

The speculation that the split was imminent gained noticeable momentum when Maskin opted not to accompany the team to Seattle last week and was not in attendance for this weekend's event in Sonoma. According to Jeg Coughlin Jr., who reportedly spoke at length with Maskin about the separation, the split was amicable.

"I'm real happy with the way things were handled by both sides," revealed the reigning Winston champion. "İou don't see it often in racing but this is probably the cleanest breakup you'll ever come across. We respect each other immensely."

Maskin still will offer his expertise as needed and his Dart products will continue to be sold through the Jeg's Mail Order Catalog.

The breakup, apparently without open hostility and recriminations, differs from the last professional parting of the ways that Maskin was involved in back in 1998 when he and two-time champion Jim Yates called it quits after the second national event of the year in Phoenix. That split touched off a bitter aftermath and subsequent legal shock waves that essentially ended the professional and personal relationship of the two veteran racers.

Team Jeg's has been creating its own in-house engine-building program that now will move ahead with more immediacy. The team is nearing the debut of its first non-Maskin-built engine, which could happen as early as the next race in Brainerd, Minn. With the recent announcement of the NHRA's reclassification of the Pro Stock Truck class to Sportsman status, Team Jeg's can now devote a greater share of its resources to the new engine program as the team winds down its participation in the PST category.

Can Team Jeg's venture out on its own and continue to be a title contender following Maskin's departure? For now, his presence will still have an impact on the team's racing exploits.

"Richard has offered to help us in any way possible," said Jeggie. "He offered help with the cylinder heads and anything we need with the motors. He wants to see us continue to prosper in this sport."

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