FEATURE- From the Tower by Bob Frey

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Thu, 14 Oct 2010, 09:56 PM

The Drive for Five

By Bob Frey
Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Reichert vs. Spenser Massey
in the Houston '07 final.

I have been privileged over the years to see a lot of really good racers, and by that I'm not just talking about the people who race in the sport's top four classes. No, I'm speaking about those who compete in the Lucas Oil series, also known as the sportsman racers, those who are known as the "backbone of the sport." To me, and a lot of others, they truly are. So to be able to say that I have seen some of the best sportsman racers in the history of the sport is a very fulfilling feeling for me.

The top of the line in the sportsman ranks are the alcohol dragsters, cars that have gone as quick as 5.103 (although not since the switch to 94% nitro) and as fast as 284 miles per hour. Bill Reichert has been the Lucas Oil World Champion in the class for the past four years and he is currently in a battle with several other drivers in a quest for the 2010 championship. Bill and six of those challengers were at Maple Grove this past weekend and the fans saw a glimpse of just how competitive the class is this year. They also saw that there really isn't a clear cut favorite going into the last few races of the season. But, by the time this weekend is over, we may know

Mike Austin vs. John Finke
more about who the 2010 champion will be. You see, from what I hear, several of the racers who competed at Maple Grove and who are in the championship running are headed to Silver Dollar Raceway in Georgia, and if it's true, it should be some weekend in the Peach State.

Last week Mike Austin won his first race when he beat John Finke in the final round at Maple Grove. The win moved Mike and his team, owned by Steve and Patty Federlin, into eighth place in the standings. Now if you don't know how the alky racers earn points let me tell you as simply as I can. They get to claim their best five races out of the first eight national and the first eight divisional races they attend. Every race you go to past that magic number of eight is strictly for fun and not for points. With that as a background, Mike Austin and his team will actually leave a race on the table since the Maple Grove event was only their fifth national event and there are only two more on the schedule, Las Vegas and Pomona. The other finalist, John Finke, also moved into the top ten (in tenth place) and he can still earn points at both of the remaining races.

Shawn Cowie
With seven of the top ten drivers competing at Maple Grove, to get a win there had to be very satisfying. And even though he didn't win, Bill Reichert is still the "leader in the club house" as we head down the final stretch. Bill didn't earn any extra points in Reading because he lost in the second round to Darren Nicholson. Bill, who is ahead of second place Shawn Cowie by twenty-one points, is out of national events to claim but he still has two divisional races at which to add to his total. To add points he must go to the final round at one of the two remaining events. Based on what he has done in the past you almost have to pencil in those extra points, that is, unless you look at the competition that may be at those events. Duane Shields will probably go to Silver Dollar this weekend and so might Darren Nicholson who has been running very well this year. In fact, if the rumors are true, just making the field this week could be quite an accomplishment.

Rick Santos
For Bill, the drive to another championship has to be filled with pressure. He is the reigning champ and he has won the last four titles. He is trying to make it five in a row which would tie him with Rick Santos, one of the truly greats in class history, as the only driver to win the Top Alcohol Dragster championship in five consecutive years. In that class, just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Rick is the ultimate compliment. Plus, when you look at the sport as a whole, in the entire history of drag racing there have only been thirteen racers to win five or more championships in any class, so Bill certainly has reason to want that next title. But even he will tell you that it won't be easy. As tough as the competition may be down south this week, there is still the divisional race in Oklahoma next week and then the final bash at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If all goes according to plan, Monroe Guest will probably be in Oklahoma while the West Coast contingent, Jim Whiteley, Shawn Cowie and Chris Demke could travel to the Division 4 race as well and then go to Vegas. Even though Cowie is out of divisional races to claim it never hurts to go to a track in an effort to stop your opponent from gaining points. Demke, and his Jerry Maddern-owned car and crew, still have two divisional races to claim so they'll probably go to Oklahoma and Vegas. Guest, with three races to claim, will probably go to all of them.

Monroe Guest
As a fan, watching the teams go head-to-head at Maple Grove was really special, and for Mike Austin to get his first win on the East Coast, at one of the historic venues on tour, had to be extra special for him and the team. They ran well, put career numbers on the board and did what they had to do to get the win. A field that started with eight fuel-injected cars and eight supercharged ones, a field that had four of each in round two and two of each in the semi-finals also gave us one blown car and one fuel car in the final round. I don't know if that's parity or not but it's pretty close. Monroe Guest swept the performance numbers but Mike won the race. As for Bill, he ran well, just not well enough to get the win and put this thing out of reach. So, like the other TAD teams, he'll have to decide where to go, which of the two final divisional races to claim and if he wants to go to all three. The rest, as good as they have been this year, still have to catch and pass Bill, and one or more of them will probably try to do it this weekend in Georgia. As a fan, I'm glad I'm going to be there to see it, because I love the sportsman racers and I really enjoy a great points battle. Good luck to them all.