Words by Evan Jones

Whenever Bill Reichert and Frank Manzo want to add to their collections of Wally trophies, it seems all they need to do is enter a race at Maple Grove Raceway.

Reichert, in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Manzo, Top Alcohol Funny Car, both raced to victory Saturday night (May 29) in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series NHRA Northeast Division points meet.

Taking advantage of the new and smooth concrete and asphalt surface down The Grove’s quarter mile, the two wowed the large holiday weekend crowd with winning runs that went 259 mph and higher.

After a large fireworks display, both drivers were honored in Victory Lane with their respective Wallys and a new prize, a bottle of Victory Lane Blush wine produced by Calvaresi Winery of Bernville, Pa.

It was the third consecutive victory for Reichert (Owosso, Mich.) in this event and his fourth straight final round.

“It feels great because this is a neat race to win because of the fireworks and it being a holiday weekend,” Reichert said.

Reichert beat John Finke (Selkirk, N.Y.) in the final, running 5.369 seconds at 268.06 mph. Reichert had three good runs in eliminations, getting E.T.s of 5.407 in the quarterfinal and semis, respectively, before running quicker in the final.

He needed both of those good runs, and better reaction times, moving through the bracket. In the quarterfinals he used his .024 reaction time get the jump on Arthur Gallant (Boxboro, Mass.), which made a difference as Gallant had a quicker pass of 5.397. Dan Mercier (Laprairie, Quebec) fell behind in the semis as Reichart had both the faster RT and ET.

Meanwhile, Manzo (Morganville, N.J.) continued his legendary career driving his Al-Anabi backed Funny Car to a finals pass of 5.568 at 259.81, defeating Thomas Carter (Cuero, Texas), who was in his first-ever final.

This was Manzo’s third win of the season and 103rd Lucas Oil Series career victory, and he dominated the competition going up the ladder. In the quarterfinals, Manzo’s car made a clean pass of 5.588 at 256.80 while Frank Schuster (Chesterfield, N.J.) had a slightly quicker reaction time, but couldn’t keep up after 60 feet. Manzo then used a superior ET (5.565 to 5.825) to beat Dan Pomponio (Berlin, N.J.) despite being slower off the line again.

“This never gets old; it gets harder every time,” said Manzo, who lost in the final last year to Mickey Ferro. “I’m motivated for every race and I go to keep the Al-Anabi Funny Car running consistently.”

The other sportsman categories were run on Sunday.

Super Gas racer Bernard Weaver from Madison, Va., had his share of problems over the weekend but was able to get enough out of his 1984 Daytona to win his class.

“I stalled in the second round when the fuel pump went bad and I was behind the eight ball,” Weaver said. “In the first round, my opponent and I both red-lighted, but mine wasn’t as bad and I got a free run to see where I was at.”

Weaver made the right adjustments and, despite qualifying 33rd, took out Todd Logan (East Stroudsburg, Pa.) in the final for the championship. Weaver ran 9.901 seconds at 149.81 mph.

Eight class winners were crowned Sunday.

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