Will the Real Jeggie Please Stand Up!

Meet Jeg “Jeggie” Weets, an 8-year-old Junior Dragster racer who is battling Niemann Pick disease. Read below to learn more about this extraordinary young man and how you can help.

MORRISON, IL- Jeg “Jeggie” Weets is an 8-year-old young man from Morrison, Illinois.  Jeg was born into a racing family.  He was given the name Jeg after one of the greatest racers of all time, Jeg Coughlin.  Jeg’s dad Brad Weets is a big fan of Jeg Coughlin, and it didn’t take much convincing for his wife, Jenna to agree to name their son after one of the greats in our sport.  Jeg is the younger brother to his sister, Claire.  

Since the day he was born Jeg has been obsessed with anything with an engine.  He enjoys racing his junior dragster, riding his dirt bike, and playing baseball.  Jeg is also a huge Chicago Cub’s fan and even met Javier Baez, Chris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo.  

In Jeg’s first ever season running Juniors he finished 2^nd in points at Cordova Dragway.  He has had success from the beginning including winning gamblers races while racing against kids much older than him.  

In 2020, Jeg accidently grabbed his header during a race and received 2^nd degree burns to his hands. His parents told him it was ok if he didn’t continue the race as he was clearly in a lot of pain. Jeg quickly showed his mom and dad how tough he was by winning the next 3 rounds with ice packs and burn gel packed in his gloves.  Jeg has dreams of racing in Super Gas like his papa Eddie.  

Jeg has never met a stranger as he quickly makes friends, even performing magic tricks for them. His fun-loving attitude is unmatched along with his amazing and now back in style mullet hair, it’s a must see! It is truly amazing how someone like Jeg is so positive and happy going through what he is currently going through. Something that would truly cripple the rest of us.

In 2017 at the age of four, Jeg was diagnosed with Niemann Pick Type C Disease, a fatal genetic disorder often referred to as “Childhood Alzheimer’s”.  NPC1 as it is called is a rare progressive genetic disorder characterized by an inability of the body to transport cholesterol and other fatty substances (lipids) inside of cells. This leads to the abnormal accumulation of these substances within various tissues of the body, including brain, liver, spleen, and lung tissue.

As the disease progresses, NPC1 can lead to loss of cognition, speech, the ability to swallow, mobility and eventually death.  Without treatment and a cure, the average life expectancy is 13 years old.

The disease, while fatal has shown progress using many experimental drugs. Unfortunately for Jeg and many other kids suffering from NPC1, these drugs are set to be discontinued due to the impossibly large clinical trial data needed by the FDA to prove its efficacy. There are many drugs being used such as adrabetadex, arimoclomol and zavesca with major improvements noted by all families using them.  

Children that were spiraling in a downward trend suddenly showed major signs of improvement and stability.  The rarity of diseases like NPC1 makes the drug manufacturing business mainly unprofitable if not approved. Pharmaceutical companies can only operate so long without FDA approval before they eventually run out of funding.  

 Jenna Weets along with many others have started the NPC Moms organization.  The NPC Moms group has developed the “Save our Medicine” campaign to battle the issues related to the rare and fatal disease. October was Niemann Pick awareness month.  If you would like to help Jeg and his family please go to Fundraiser for Jenna Weets by Katie Tucker : Jeg’s Fight Against NPC (gofundme.com) and help spread the word about the Niemann Pick disease.  

The junior dragster community is like one big family.  Racing, camping, competing together during the warm summer months is a dream for all these kids.  The lessons they learn and the friendships they make during these events can be lifelong.  Please help Jeg’s dream of competing at the next level continue.  

About the Author: Ryan Fasano is a Division 3 bracket racer who competes weekly at Byron Dragway in Illinois. Competing in the Box class, Ryan captured the 2014 Track Championship at Byron. Like a true weekend warrior, he eats, breathes, and sleeps with bracket racing on his mind. Look for more Midwest Bracket Racing updates from Ryan on DragChamp. Click here to connect with Ryan on Facebook.