Reichert, Brand Top Jegs Allstars Fields

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photos courtesy of Mike Sopko

 

At the Jegs Allstars race at Route 66 Raceway, Bill Reichert edged defending event champ Chris Demke in a classic Top Alcohol Dragster final, 5.31 to 5.32, and Dale Brand, hot off a regional win over Frank Manzo, got the job done in Top Alcohol Funny Car with a 5.59, low e.t. of eliminations.

Reichert's victory was the third of his career at the Allstars race but the first without him also qualifying for the Route 66 Nationals, which is run in conjunction with the prestigious event. "It's been a long time since I didn't qualify," said the five-time world champ. "I couldn't even tell you when the last time was – probably right after we started running A/Fuel [in 2000.]"

He wasn't the only one. Of the four Allstars semifinalists – Reichert, Demke, John Finke, and Randy Meyer – Demke was the only one who made the cut for the Route 66 Nationals. In the first round, which doubled as last-shot qualifying for the national event, Finke ran a 5.68 over Gord Gingles, who shook the parachutes out, and Meyer ran the same e.t. on a single when Ray Martin was unable to appear.

Reichert ran a 5.50 in that round opposite Marty Thacker, and his previous best of 5.48 was a hundredth of a second too slow for the brutal Top Alcohol Dragster field. In the semifinals, which didn't count for qualifying for the national event because it was a run that non-Allstars didn't get, he picked up a tenth and a half to sideline Finke in another great race, 5.35 to 5.37.

"We figured it out one run too late," Reichert said. "We came up with something a few weeks ago at the regional here that looked like it was going to work, but it took us three runs this weekend to figure out that that it really didn't."

Demke, who beat Dan Mercier in the first round with a 5.32, singled to a 5.31 in the semifinals when Meyer was shut off after the burnout, and a consistent 5.32 in the final left him just short of Reichert's 5.31. "I've never thought I had a race won more than that one," he said. "We'd just run a .31, and we basically left it alone, so when it made it through low gear without shaking, I thought we had him. I had him by half a tenth at the 330, but he's crafty. There's a reason he's a five-time world champ."

"I left first – barely – but by 60 feet he was already out in front of me," Reichert said. "I could see his nose out there for a while and thought, 'I don't know about this,' but he started going away bit by bit and I just did get him."

Reichert won by .012-second, the same winning margin that Brand had over Todd Veney in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final. It was like that every round for Brand – one great race after another. He nipped Andy Bohl in the first round of eliminations, 5.65 to 5.66, and Annie Whiteley in the semi's, 5.65 to 5.64.

After three 5.65s in a row, Brand ran only the .50 of the day in the final, a 5.59, to beat Veney's 5.62. "It was an honor just to be in a race like this," said Brand, who also won last week in Cordova. "This is definitely one of the highlights of my racing career. The whole field qualified in the 5.60s, so it seemed like anybody could have won."

Veney defeated Chris Foster, who won the Chicago regional earlier this month, in round one, 5.66 to 5.84, and Steve Gasparrelli in the semifinals, 5.64 to 5.66.