Pro Sportsman Association
Reichert, Manzo Continue Maple Grove Dominance
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photos by David Smith
Many-time world champions Bill Reichert and Frank Manzo won the Eastern regional event at Maple Grove Raceway, each for the fourth time in five years. Reichert edged reigning event and world champ Duane Shields in a photo-finish
final in Top Alcohol Dragster, 5.452 to 5.457, and Manzo stopped old rival Paul Gill in a trouble-plagued Top Alcohol Funny Car final, 5.83 to 6.07.
Reichert, who also won this race in 2008, 2009, and 2010, edged Shields in perhaps the best round of any race in any class all year. Shields moved first by a thousandth of a second, .050 to .051, and Reichert was quicker by five-thousandths, 5.452 to 5.457, for a four-thousandths margin of victory.
Reichert qualified just sixth in the field and drew the hottest driver in the country,Topekawinner Rich McPhillips, in the first round but advanced with a 5.49 when McPhillips launched into a wheelstand, smoked the tires upon his return to earth, and shut off. In the semifinals, Reichert took out former Division 1 champ John Finke, 5.42 to 5.57.
PERRY, FOSTER WIN NORWALK IN FRONT OF PACKED HOUSE
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo by Dave Smith
Norwalk, OH – Former U.S. Nationals winner Ken Perry claimed Top Alcohol Dragster and two-time Division 3 champ Chris Foster took Top Alcohol Funny Car at the B’laster Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser at Summit
Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, Race 2 of the North Central regional series.
Perry came from behind in the final to nip veteran Marty Thacker, who had a .017 reaction time, 5.38 to 5.48. The Canadian driver was the class of the field throughout eliminations, running low e.t. of all three rounds, a 5.42 and back-to-back 5.38s.
“The car’s been working really well all year and it’s not hurting itself at all,” said Perry, who was runner-up at the North Central regional opener three weeks ago in Indianapolis. “I changed just about everything in the engine, and it’s happy right now. This should be our second win; we should have won Indy, too.” Jared Dreher beat Perry in the Indy final but lost the rematch in the first round of this event, 5.42 to 5.56.
THOMPSON RACES A LITTLE, WINS A LOT
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo by Robert Grice
Vernon, TX – If he ran more races, James Thompson would probably be a Top 10 driver. He has the car to do it and three Top Alcohol Dragster wins in seven final-round appearances since 2007, but the responsibilities of running a 
Dr. Pepper distributorship keep him from racing more than just a half-dozen times a year.
Thompson probably is doing better right now than he ever has. He’s won the Division 5 event in Topeka two years in a row, beating Monroe Guest in the 2010 final and championship contender Jim Whitely last year. It’s been a long climb for the Vernon, Texas, racer, who made the quantum leap to Top Alcohol Dragster in the early 1990s primarily because his bracket car was getting too fast for its own good.
“I was racing at our local eighth-mile track,” he says. “The car kept getting faster and faster, and finally they told me that I either had to slow it down or go race somewhere else. Once you’ve gone fast you can’t go back, and I figured we might as well step and see what we could do.”
FRICKE MAKES THE MOVE TO ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Phot by David Smith
Milwaukee, WI – To most drag racing fans, there are two kinds of cars: fuel cars…and all others.
Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jackie Fricke was a fan way before she ever became a driver, and to her, Top Alcohol
Dragsters are the kings of the sport. “I remember Steve Cantrell, Bruce Horner, Ken Winward, John Rose Jr., Jeff Rapp, Babette Zavor, everyone,” she says. “I could probably name everybody who ever drove an Alcohol Dragster in Division if I sat here and thought about it long enough. I’m a fan of the class first and foremost. To be driving one … it’s just a dream come true. I was always that kid at the fence who never, ever missed an alcohol session.”
Now she’s one of the drivers kids peering over the fence are waiting to see. Her family and friends just don’t quite understand why.
“My friends all have a different mentality,” Fricke says.” “They’re like, ‘Why would you want to work on a greasy car till 2 in the morning? What’s wrong with Super Comp? What’s wrong with trying to win a 10-grander?’ My father is a bracket racer through and through. He knows nothing else. He’d say, ‘What are you doing? Why would you even want to do this?’ ”
Even Fricke’s husband, Shawn, who won the first NHRA national event he ever entered with a perfect 10.90 in the 2007 Englishtown Super Street final, didn’t see the logic at first. And her mom never wanted her to race anything, much less a 270-mph car.
Drag Racing IS Entertainment: Perspective by Bill Bader Jr.
Courtesy of Pro Sportsman Association
Norwalk, OH – Bill Bader Jr., son of legendary race promoter and former IHRA President Bill Bader, runs Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, home to an NHRA national event, a regional/divisional race, and as many major
independent shows as any track in the country. Bader Jr. is as smooth as they come, all business, and a total pro – just like his dad.
“Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals” rolls off his tongue faster than most people could say “Norwalk,” his track workers aren’t track workers – they’re “team members” – and this weekend’s Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event isn’t a points meet; it’s the B’laster Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser. The Pro Sportsman Association’s Todd Veney caught up with Bader Jr., 44, to get his thoughts on what it takes to make a racetrack work, why he switched from IHRA to NHRA, and how he drew a turn-away crowd for a divisional race.
Top Alcohol Racer Brian Mans
Written by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo by David Smith
Milwaukee, WI – Brian Mans liked working on Alcohol Dragsters so much that he had to have one of his own.
The highlight of his career came late last year when he won the rain-delayed Columbus divisional race, which was run in conjunction with the Bowling Green divisional. From the No. 7 spot, he reeled off consistent 5.50s, including a 5.57 in the final to upset five-time world champion Bill Reichert, who went up in smoke.
“I never saw him and was pretty sure the win-light was on in my lane, but I didn’t want to get too excited – just in case,” Mans says. “Then everybody came down to get me, and the way they piled out of the truck, I knew. But we still had to get the car serviced and ready to race the Bowling Green event the following morning, and we had motors apart and parts all over the place. We might not have made it for first round if Reichert hadn’t sent over some guys to help.”
