REICHERT'S TORRID HOUSTON PACE
Wed, 2007-04-04 16:16
Reichert, from Owosso, Mich., qualified No. 1 with
a 5.230 at 278.17 mph. In round one, he took out Vitali Kazakevich wit ha 5.258
at 282.01 mph, which reset the national speed record at the time. He then
avenged a recent final round loss to Randy Meyer in Gainesville by taking him
out in the second round with a 5.258 at 268.01 mph. He then fired a shot heard
around the Top Alcohol Dragster world with a stunning 5.103 at 281.54 mph in
defeating Duane Shields in the semifinals.
Reichert's final round opponent would be Spencer
Massey, who finished third in the nation last season. In what was a rematch of
last year's season-closing final in Pomona turned the same result as Reichert
thundered to a 5.153 at 284.75 mph to defeat Massey's 5.330 at 264.13 mph.
Reichert also won this event last season.
"We put a new wing on for this race, and it really
helped us," said Reichert. "We decided to try a new wing that Art Gallant
built, and it really seemed to free up the car. We put it on during the second
qualifier, and it went 278 mph, which I thought was really good for those
conditions. Then in the first round, I had to pedal the car, and it went 282
mph. Sometimes when you pedal it, the mph does weird things. It just kept on
running the big speed. The wing we had been running was a real old wing that I
had bought second-hand when I started running A/Fuel. It's been repaired
numerous times, so I'm sure between the older design and repairs, it just wasn't
flowing air as well as the new piece Art built us."
"I had no dreams whatsoever of coming in here and
resetting the national record," Reichert continued. "I was quite shocked when
they told me I had run a 5.10. We were able to back up the record in the final
with just .001 to spare. We're really happy to start the year out so well with
a runner-up in Gainesville and a win here in Houston. We're just tickled to
death to put this Rislone-Bar's Leaks car in a winner's circle this early in the
year."
The team not only dominated on the track by
qualifying No. 1, resetting both ends of the national record and taking the win,
but was awarded the Best Appearing Crew award after debuting their new Rislone
uniforms this past weekend.
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