Tue, 2 Feb 2010, 09:36 AM Four Titles and Still So Modest

Courtesy of Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Bill Reichert

You don't have to be humble when you pick up a fourth consecutive NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national championship, but Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Bill Reichert just can't help it. In 2009, the national record holder and reigning champ punctuated the championship season and expanded his ever-growing list of accomplishments to include a position as the fourth winningest driver in the class, a second Jegs Allstars victory, and 20 national event wins in 41 final rounds, and though he did take a moment to celebrate a little, he simply will not break character.

"I'm thankful that I can do what I do," said Reichert. "I love racing; I've always loved it. Sometimes it surprises me when I look at my position, because I never dreamed of accomplishing what we've accomplished. We're miles ahead of where I ever thought we would wind up, and I'm very, very happy."

Reichert and crew celebrate All Star win.

The year ended just as he had hoped, but if one were to only peruse Reichert's scorecard, it would be difficult to ascertain what the devil was actually going on over the course of the 2009 season. The Michigan-based engine-builder seemed to be playing the all-or-none game in his Rislone Engine Treatment A/Fuel Dragster. He was out of the gate with a runner-up finish at his first race of the year, the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, but at the next event, the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, he lost in the opening round, and much of the first half of the season followed a similar pattern: a couple of final round appearances and then an early exit, followed by a couple more money rounds and then another frustrating first-round loss. The culprit for the vacillating scorecard was, at least in part, the pre-season adjustment by NHRA of the maximum allowable nitro percentage from 96 to 94.

"It throws us a curve when we lose nitro percentage," explained Reichert. "It makes it harder to get the car to run, so we struggled for awhile without too much success, but we finally learned what to do to get most of the performance back and make the car run fast."

Reichert vs. Michael Manners in Norwalk win.

Finding consistency in the face of the fuel-ratio change was a struggle, but it certainly wasn't Reichert's only challenge of the season.

"Winning races is always tough, and there are all sorts of things, mechanically speaking, in your way that want to keep you from doing that," said Reichert. "But also, the competition has definitely stepped up. There used to be maybe two or three cars that were really capable of doing well, but that isn't the case anymore. Now there may be 10 or 15 capable of winning a race. It makes it harder to get the tune-up right, and you've got to spend more time making decisions."

Reichert and crew celebrate Norwalk win.

Reichert dug deep and accumulated divisional victories in Indianapolis, Richmond, Reading, and Bowling Green, Ky., and tallied runner-up finishes in Chicago and Reynolds, Ga. He scored his first national event victory of the season at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk and added to his successes by taking home the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Brainerd national event Wally and notching a milestone 20th national event win at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Charlotte, but the heightened competition was clearly prevalent, and instead of blazing a runaway championship trail as in season's past, the veteran driver still had to work hard to acquire, and maintain, any kind of lead.

In addition to an intensified focus on the tune-up, Reichert sharpened his driving skills and had one of his best years on the starting line. "I've learned to be calmer than ever before," he said. "When I would go up there so stressed and intent on winning, it would hurt me, so being as relaxed as possible definitely helped."

His fierce competition included Northwest racer Shawn Cowie, who appeared infallible at the divisional level and picked up wins at all but one Lucas Oil Series event he competed in. Cowie's Achilles heel proved to be the national event circuit, and Reichert zeroed in and unseated his young rival from the lead with a win in Brainerd. Even so, the path to the championship wasn't yet clear, because Division 7 driver Jim Whiteley and Duane Shields, who claimed the Southwest division this season, were in hot pursuit and putting up a heckuva fight; Whiteley ended the year with eight race wins and Shields picked up six.

Reichert vs. Ken Perry in Charlotte final.

"When we won the race in Charlotte, that seemed to be the turning point," recalled Reichert, who also won the inaugural event at zMax Dragway in 2008. "We were struggling back and forth and were in second place a few times, but when we won Charlotte, that set us free, and the championship was sewn up in Las Vegas."

Tapped out on races where he could collect points, Reichert headed to the Las Vegas divisional event fresh off of a final round appearance in Reynolds, Ga., and fired up with the intent of blocking Whiteley and Shields to protect his points lead, but his plan was foiled when Whiteley took him out in the first round. Reichert's fate was out of his own hands, and Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster racer Hillary Will became an unexpected hero in the Reichert camp when she ended Shields' quest in round one and stopped Whiteley in the second round, effectively hand-delivering the championship to Reichert.

"It was exciting and a big relief," remembered Reichert. "My son and I, along with my crew, were all on the starting line watching. We were very interested in what was going to happen there, and when the win light went on in Hillary's lane, it was a great moment. I had to call my wife and celebrate a little bit with her over the phone.

"It was a very good season, and it was a fun year," said Reichert. "We had a lot of good races, but in the past, we've been fairly dominant in terms of power and e.t.'s. This year, they were all catching up with us and running as good as, if not better than, we were. We never got much of a lead and it definitely left us wanting. That's good, though. It makes you try a little bit harder and do things that you might not normally do.

"Now we're trying to find some more horsepower through different cylinder heads and engine combinations, and we're trying to get back the dominance that we once had. Hopefully we will achieve that and 2010 will be another good season for us."

In addition to thanking his wife, Gloria; daughter, Ashley; son Andy; and his crewmembers, Reichert acknowledged longtime sponsor Rislone and Bar's Leaks; Mike Mermuys; Bob Mermuys; Lane Automotive; NGK Spark Plugs; Red Line Oil; Clevite; and RiseSales.com.