ND All-Star Team Racecar Builder of the Year: Jerry Bickel Race Cars
Jerry Bickel Race Cars, which for more than 40 years has built numerous championship-winning cars in Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and a variety of other classes, was voted by fans to the NHRA National Dragster All-Star team as Racecar Builder of the Year.
Bickel’s roots in drag racing go back to the original AHRA heads-up Pro Stock program in the late 1960s, and he also built the Camaro for Ed Hoover, the original Pro Modified national event winner.
Bickel’s first major notoriety came as the builder of Jim Yates’ Pro Stock championship-winning Firebirds in 1996 and ’97, a car on which Bickel also served as crew chief. The popular craftsman is being honored posthumously after passing away on April 5.
John Force Racing, Jerry Haas Race Cars, and Precision Built Race Cars finished just behind Bickel in the voting.