Indy ORP

REICHERT, BOHL LEAD QUALIFIERS AT ORP'S LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES EVENT

INDIANAPOLIS -- The opening rounds of qualifying are complete at O'Reilly Raceway Park's NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event. Reigning national and divisional Top Alcohol Dragster champion Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., is the No. 1 qualifier in the category while Andy Bohl, Racine, Wis., set the pace in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Reichert blistered the track with a 5.332-second, 269.78 mph pass to put him ahead of No. 2 qualifier Ken Perry of Gormley, Ont. Perry laid down a 5.372-second, 261.62 mph pass. If Reichert holds on to the top spot, it will make his fifth top qualifying effort in as many races.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car action, barely three-hundredths of a second separate the No. 1 qualifier from the No. 3 spot. Bohl's 5.790-second, 250.64 mph pass was enough to eclipse Chicago's Fred Hagen, 5.819 seconds at 248.93 mph, and Mick Snyder of Demotte, Ind., 5.828 second at 249.35 mph.

Lafayette, Ind., racer Brian Browell heads up the Comp Eliminator field and Kevin Murphy, Mt. Carmel, Ill., is No. 1 in Super Stock. In Stock Eliminator, James Harrison, Albion, Ill., is the best qualifier and Top Sportsman racer Tom Stultz, Terre Haute, Ind., set the pace in his class.

Racing continues Saturday and Sunday at O'Reilly Raceway Park. Gates open at 7 a.m. both days. Final qualifying and time trials are slated Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon for Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp and Super Gas. The Dart Top Sportsman class and Comp Eliminator will qualify at noon and 3:30 p.m. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car qualifying sessions are scheduled at 1 and 4:30 p.m. Competitors in Stock Eliminator and Super Gas will run first round of eliminations at 2 p.m. and Super Stock and Super Comp racers will run first round at 5 p.m. Eliminations continue Sunday at 8 a.m. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car will run first round at noon.

Tickets for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at O'Reilly Raceway Park are $15 Saturday and $15 Sunday. Children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult.

O'Reilly Raceway Park is located on Indiana Highway 136, four miles west of Interstate 465 exit 16. For more information call the track, (317) 291-4090, or visit www.OreillyRacewayPark.com.

-credit: nhra