O'FALLON, MO (January 11, 2012) – As a chassis builder, Jerry Bickel has made a point to embrace technology and innovation.
The result has been a championship pedigree from Jerry Bickel Race Cars (JBRC), including a multitude of JBRC-built cars that have garnered world titles in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL).
As a sponsor for the 2012 ADRL Tour, Bickel said it's an ideal time to continue to be involved with the world's premier eighth-mile drag racing league.
"It's a very exciting time right now and we are committed to helping make it work. We're going all-in with the ADRL in 2012 and we are really excited for the upcoming season," Bickel said from his state-of-the-art shop in Moscow Mills, Mo.
"They've put together a really good business plan and we want to continue to see the ADRL succeed. With the quality of people coming to these events, it's a great chance to help promote our product."
It's a product that has years of success behind it.
In 2011 alone, ADRL world champions Dan Millen (Extreme 10.5) and Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous) drove cars built by Bickel and his standout team.
Other standout cars include one driven by Burton Auxier, who went 3.74 in his JBRC Camaro, Bob Rahaim and Khalid Al-Balooshi, who drove a new JBRC Camaro to a Battle For The Belts title in 2011.
But Bickel has never been one to stand pat, which is why his cars have also delivered incredible results.
His new 2012 Camaro will debut in the ADRL in a number of classes, including Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Nitrous, Top Sportsman and Pro Modified.
JBRC is also building a new Mustang for Millen, along several other ADRL drivers.
"We are really looking forward to seeing these new cars in action. It's pretty cool to see and our goal has always been to engineer strength in these cars," Bickel said. "The engineering has always been a key part of the advanced performance in the ADRL, and there's been a lot of stuff on these cars that we've worked hard to develop over the years."
The highly-anticipated 2012 ADRL Tour begins March 30-31 with Dragpalooza VIII at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, where a number of JBRC-built cars will perform.
"Jerry has been a longtime supporter of the ADRL and because of support like that, it's allowed the ADRL to grow and present an even better product," ADRL Executive Vice President Jeff Fortune said.
"The ADRL gives chassis builders like Jerry Bickel Race Cars a tremendous platform and it's encouraging to see a company like his continue to give back. Their craftsmanship and dedication has long been impressive and their championship resume is a testament to the work ethic and attention to detail they put into each car."
JBRC moved into a 20,000-square foot facility in 2000 and has one been a one-stop shop for racers for more than a decade.
That means there's plenty of versatility at Bickel's facility, which includes a body shop, parts shop and paint shop, and they also do car assembly and manufacturing.
"We have everything under one roof and we control it all, meaning we can have our fingers in every aspect of the build," Bickel said. "I look at it as a race car factory, not a race car shop, and that makes it easier for us to do what the customer wants. We can coordinate everything in-house."
Bickel also plans to branch out in new and exciting ways in 2012.
He is building a new chassis for turbo cars and expects to get involved in more ADRL classes as well.
"We like to take the initiative to find something new and we're building a new chassis for the turbo cars that's really state of the art," Bickel said "I'm looking forward to seeing that take off.
"Cars that we built won the championships in Extreme 10.5 and Pro Nitrous in 2011, and we want to expand to the blower class with Pro Extreme and Pro Modified, as well as Extreme Pro Stock and Top Sportsman. We want to built a strong customer base there, too."
