Defending two-time NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Bill Reichert and his Rislone Engine Treatment backed team secured their third-straight title by winning his fifth-straight event during this past weekend’s Division 2 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series closer at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Ga.  Reichert reset the track elapsed time record in the process.
 
Reichert, who runs the family business, Reichert Racing Engines in Owosso, Mich., qualified his injected-nitro dragster on the pole with a 5.268 second elapsed time at 274.05 mph.  In round one, he defeated Dan Lucas with a track-record 5.236 at 274.66 mph, then defeated engine customer Artie Allen, who clinched the Division 2 Championship earlier in the year, in the semifinals with a 5.303 at 274.44 mph.  The semifinal win clinched his third-straight World Championship. Defending two-time NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Bill Reichert and his Rislone Engine Treatment backed team secured their third-straight title by winning his fifth-straight event during this past weekend’s Division 2 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series closer at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Ga.  Reichert reset the track elapsed time record in the process.
 
Reichert, who runs the family business, Reichert Racing Engines in Owosso, Mich., qualified his injected-nitro dragster on the pole with a 5.268 second elapsed time at 274.05 mph.  In round one, he defeated Dan Lucas with a track-record 5.236 at 274.66 mph, then defeated engine customer Artie Allen, who clinched the Division 2 Championship earlier in the year, in the semifinals with a 5.303 at 274.44 mph.  The semifinal win clinched his third-straight World Championship.
 
In the final, he squared off with Bill Evans.  Evans left before the tree was activated, handing the automatic win to Reichert, who recorded a 5.307 at 274.66 mph to record his 17th straight round win, going back to August of this year.
 
“To win one of these Championships is really something, but for us to win three in a row is beyond is really special to us,” said Reichert.  “I really have to thank all the people at Rislone Engine Treatment and Bar’s Leaks for giving us the support to win three in a row.  We came down here to Reynolds and did what we needed to do. We needed to make the final of the race, and we ended up getting the win.  The car has been running great; everything seems to be falling into place.  We kind of got hot towards the end of the season.  
 
“We struggled at the beginning of the year,” Reichert continued.  “The car had been running so good the past few years, we hated to change anything, but a few things kind of forced our hand.  Our fuel pump we had been running was starting to get worn out, so it was time to change pumps.  We were afraid it would act different and it did.  It took it a while to get the fuel curve back where it needed to be.  We also had to rebuild the front half of the chassis.  The car broke in the trailer a couple of times towards the end of the season last year, so it was a safety issue.  It took us about half the year to really figure out what the car wanted again.”
 
Reichert cites he got everything working back in sync, coincidentally around the same time he started his win streak with a win at the Bowling Green, Ky., Division 3 event.
 
“We actually made the changes that got the car turned around at the Columbus [Ohio] Division 3 event,” Reichert explained.  “The car has been pretty manageable since then.  We’ve worked the combination back to the point where it’s a pretty forgiving car lately.
 
“These cars aren’t always easy to tune,” Reichert continued.  “The car was very unpredictable in the beginning of the year.  Sometimes they just seem impossible to figure out.  If you got an unpredictable race car, I don’t think there’s anyone out here smart enough to constantly keep up with the changes.  Towards the middle of the year, we made some changes to the car and it really came around.  Pretty much from Bowling Green on, she’s been a pretty fast hot rod. To win that many rounds in a row and another Championship is a testament to our sponsors Rislone/Bar’s Leaks, the support of my family and the crew.”
 
Reichert will close out the year once again at the Automobile Club of Southern California Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 13-16, and accept the Championship trophy at the NHRA Sportsman Banquet the following Monday.  From there, Reichert will gear up for an attempt to win a fourth-straight Championship in 2009.
 
“We’re going to finish the year out in Pomona,” stated Reichert.  “We entertained the thought of going to the Vegas Division 7 race only if we had to block Jim Whiteley or Marty Thacker.  After that, we’ll come back home and get to work for next year.
 
“I also have to congratulate Marty Thacker on winning the Division 3 Championship,” Reichert added.  “The way the points work, he won more events in the Division, so he won the Division.  He works hard, and he’s very deserving.  I think he’s still got a shot at finishing second [nationally].  Even if he only comes in third, I think it’s pretty neat two of the top three cars in the class came out of Division 3.”