Two-time defending NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Bill Reichert and his Rislone Engine Treatment backed team took a big step towards winning a third championship by winning this past weekend’s prestigious Mac Tool U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.  The win was Reichert’s second at the event, making him only the second driver in the history of the class to collect two U.S. Nationals wins.
 
Reichert, from Owosso, Mich., had his son Andy in attendance, who normally assists his father over the phone, to help tune his A/Fuel Dragster the No. 2 spot in the field with a 5.287 second elapsed time at 273.29 mph.  In round one, he stayed in the .20’s with a 5.248 at 272.94 mph to defeat Robin Samsel, and then took out rookie driver Kimmelyn Buff-Pesz in round two with a 5.228 at 276.24, which would stand as low e.t. and top speed of the event.
 
Reichert’s next two rounds would have huge implications towards this year’s national championship.  In the semifinals, Reichert squared off with last year’s Indy winner Marty Thacker, who entered the event second in points.  Reichert stayed consistent and advanced to the final round with a 5.266 at 273.33 mph. Two-time defending NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Bill Reichert and his Rislone Engine Treatment backed team took a big step towards winning a third championship by winning this past weekend’s prestigious Mac Tool U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.  The win was Reichert’s second at the event, making him only the second driver in the history of the class to collect two U.S. Nationals wins.
 
Reichert, from Owosso, Mich., had his son Andy in attendance, who normally assists his father over the phone, to help tune his A/Fuel Dragster the No. 2 spot in the field with a 5.287 second elapsed time at 273.29 mph.  In round one, he stayed in the .20’s with a 5.248 at 272.94 mph to defeat Robin Samsel, and then took out rookie driver Kimmelyn Buff-Pesz in round two with a 5.228 at 276.24, which would stand as low e.t. and top speed of the event.
 
Reichert’s next two rounds would have huge implications towards this year’s national championship.  In the semifinals, Reichert squared off with last year’s Indy winner Marty Thacker, who entered the event second in points.  Reichert stayed consistent and advanced to the final round with a 5.266 at 273.33 mph.
 
Reichert then took on Duane Shields’ potent A/Fuel Dragster in the final, who is ranked fourth in national standings.  The final would be all Reichert, as he took the starting line advantage and never looked back.  Both drivers fell off their earlier 5.20 pace, but it was Reichert who prevailed with a 5.581 at 257.04 mph to Shields’ troubled 6.091 at 231.48 mph.
 
“I’m very proud of this accomplishment,” said Reichert.  “Only Rick Santos and I have won this race twice.  Ever since we won this race two years ago, it has been a goal of mine to win it more than once.  We were trying to become the first to win it back to back last year, but I hit the kill switch backing up, which ended that.  This year we came with the determination to win it back.
 
“It seems like this year there was extra emphasis to win it with the points implications,” Reichert added.  “We had the opportunity to come in here and take the points lead, and that’s what we did.  The weather kind of came to us.  The air was dryer on Monday, and the car really responded to that.  We really weren’t expecting to run in the low .20’s; we were just trying to get the car down the track.  I was very impressed with the numbers the car was running.  This Rislone dragster is making a lot of horsepower right now.”
 
While Reichert used consistent 5.20’s to reach the final, he never refuses any help from ‘Lady Luck.’
 
“The luck factor kicked in during the final,” stated Reichert.  “Both of us were running really good going into the final; he was running right with us in the low .20’s.  The way I looked at it, as close as we were all day, whoever left the line first was going to win.  I’ve been having trouble with my lights this year, but I didn’t in the final.  I was able to cut a good light and left the line first.
 
“We were lucky because for whatever reason, it dropped a cylinder at the hit,” Reichert continued.  “He had us to 60 feet, but must have had problems after that and had to pedal.  We would have liked to run better in the final, but we got the win.  My crew did a great job all weekend, and we were able to put the car in the winner’s circle for my sponsors Rislone and Bar’s Leaks.”
 
The win gave Reichert a narrow lead in the national points over Jim Whiteley, who trails him by a mere seven points and Thacker, who trails by 18.  The next event for Reichert and his Rislone Engine Treatment backed team will be in two weeks for the inaugural Carolinas Nationals at Z-Max Dragway at Concord, near Charlotte, N.C.