06/02/2017 – Jackie Fricke drove the Finke Racing Injected Nitro Top Alcohol Dragster to its first win of the 2017 season during the recent NHRA Lucas Oil East Region Showdown at Sundown event at Maple Grove Raceway (Mohnton, PA). The victory becomes Fricke’s second at Maple Grove Raceway while behind the wheel of the team’s 2015 McKinney Chassis ride, sponsored by Lucas Oil Products, the Wirtgen Group, JE Pistons, Doosan, ISC Racers Tape, VP Racing Fuels, Quik-Latch Products, and JLP Race Promotions, and supported by Manley Performance Products and MAHLE.

“We’re on a 7-round win streak at the track where I grew up,” said Fricke. “This track has also been a long-time facility favorite for my team owner, John Finke. As our team continues to figure out how to tune for Maple Grove, John’s love for the track just grows more and more,” she added.

The NHRA Lucas Oil East Region Showdown at Sundown event was the 5th race of the season for Team Finke, which has a busy race schedule planned out for the remainder of the 2017 season.

“This win is huge for us,” Fricke mentioned as she explained how the victory at Maple Grove placed the team 4th in national points and first, regionally.

Throughout the Showdown at Sundown event, the Finke Racing crew tuned Fricke’s ride to consistently run elapsed times that varied by just 3 hundredths (something rare to see in the results of a Top Alcohol Dragster race). After laying down a 5.277 e.t. at 278 mph pass that placed the team just shy of a number 1 qualifying position during the event’s Friday qualifying round, Fricke defeated opponents Wayne Morris and Dan Page in early rounds on Saturday.

“The whole team has been working hard to make sure that every ‘I’ is dotted and every ‘T’ is crossed on the car. [Crewmembers] Rob, Will, Al, Red and Amy really give everything they have,” said Fricke. “We have been working on the tune up to ensure we don’t make mistakes, and we are figuring out more and more ways to make the car the very best it can be every time it makes a pass down the track,” she added.

Fricke, alongside her Finke Racing crew, backed up the team’s previous 5.277 e.t. with a 5.275 e.t. in the first round against Morris. Then, the team laid down their best run of the event (5.257 e.t.) in the semi-finals against Page to advance to the final round against competitor Richard Bourke.

In the final, Bourke tripped the red light on the starting line, giving Fricke a free ride down the quarter-mile to earn her team its first win of the season. Fricke ran a quicker 5.284 e.t. against Bourke’s 5.442 e.t. Notably, Fricke joined her husband, Shawn, and nephew, Cory Ream, in the winner’s circle to celebrate their event wins, as well, in the NHRA Super Street and Junior Dragster 13-17 race categories.

“This past weekend was a dream come true. I was able to win alongside my husband and nephew. We all race as a family, and getting 3 Wally trophies at 1 event was an amazing feeling,” Fricke said. “I cannot wait to step back in this car at the Norwalk National. Every time I get to strap into that seat I consider myself unbelievably lucky. John Finke gives us all the best of everything,” she added.