BRAINERD, Minn. — Tony Schumacher raced to his fourth straight victory and ninth of the season Sunday, winning the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals to move within two Joe Amato’s Top Fuel win record of 52.
Schumacher powered his dragster to a performance of 3.865 seconds at 310.05 mph to outrun Cory McClenathan (3.900 at 306.74) in the final round at Brainerd International Raceway. Schumacher has three career wins at the Minnesota dragstrip.
“These guys are amazing and this is the best team I’ve ever seen together, just like (John) Force and Amato’s teams in their time,” Schumacher said.
“It’s unbelievable. Not only have we won a lot of races, but we’ve won some of the most difficult races with so much pressure. And for whatever reason, I feel like I am driving my best right now. I’ve got a great team and a great car and the whole package has come together. I don’t want to be the weak link in our team, so I am working harder than ever. When you have the car that’s supposed to win, that’s a lot of pressure.”
Tony Pedregon, Kurt Johnson and Matt Smith also won their divisions in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event, the 16th of 18 events in the Countdown to 10, NHRA’s regular season. The Countdown to 1, NHRA’s six-race championship playoffs, begins Sept. 11-14 at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C.
Pedregon took his fourth Funny Car win of the season at the starting line in his Chevy Impala when Jack Beckman fouled in his Dodge Stratus. Pedregon’s 40th career victory and first at BIR moved him into second place in the season standings.
Johnson, a native of Virginia, Minn., earned his third Pro Stock victory of the season and 39th of his career with a win over Dave Connolly. Johnson’s Chevy Cobalt ran 6.671 at 207.05 in the final to hold off Connolly’s Cobalt, which clocked a 6.696 at 206.29. It was Johnson’s fourth victory at BIR.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Smith overcame kidney stones to claim his third win of the season and ninth of his career. He rode his Buell to a 6.973 at 188.60 in the final, but ran unopposed as opponent Angelle Sampey’s Buell broke on the starting line.
Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
Final Order Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher. 2. Cory McClenathan. 3. Doug Kalitta. 4. Steve Torrence. 5. Morgan Lucas. 6. Rod Fuller. 7. Bob Vandergriff. 8. J.R. Todd. 9. Larry Dixon. 10. Bye. 11. Doug Herbert. 12. David Grubnic. 13. Hillary Will. 14. Antron Brown. 15. Brandon Bernstein. 16. Luigi Novelli.
Funny Car
1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala. 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger. 3. Tim Wilkerson, Impala. 4. John Force, Ford Mustang. 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang. 6. Ron Capps, Charger. 7. Melanie Troxel, Charger. 8. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara. 9. Mike Neff, Mustang. 10. Jim Head, Solara. 11. Del Worsham, Impala. 12. Ashley Force, Mustang. 13. Gary Scelzi, Charger. 14. Gary Densham, Impala. 15. Robert Hight, Mustang. 16. Jerry Toliver, Charger.
Pro Stock
1. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt. 2. Dave Connolly, Cobalt. 3. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt. 4. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus. 5. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP. 6. Greg Anderson, GXP. 7. V. Gaines, Stratus. 8. Jason Line, GXP. 9. Justin Humphreys, Stratus. 10. Warren Johnson, GXP. 11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt. 12. Jim Yates, GXP. 13. Rickie Jones, Stratus. 14. Larry Morgan, Stratus. 15. Steve Spiess, Cobalt. 16. Richie Stevens, GXP.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Matt Smith. 2. Angelle Sampey, Buell. 3. Chip Ellis, Suzuki. 4. David Hope, Buell. 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson. 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki. 7. Mike Berry, Suzuki. 8. Wes Wells, Suzuki. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki. 10. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson. 11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki. 12. Chris Rivas, Buell. 13. Matt Guidera, Buell. 14. Junior Pippin, Buell. 15. Hector Arana, Buell. 16. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki.
Finals
Top Fuel
Tony Schumacher, 3.865 seconds, 310.05 mph., def. Cory McClenathan, 3.900, 306.74.
Funny Car
Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.238, 288.89, def. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, foul.
Pro Stock
Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.671, 207.05, def. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.696, 206.29.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Matt Smith, Buell, 6.973, 188.60, def. Angelle Sampey, Buell, broke.
Top Alcohol Dragster
Brandon Lewis, 5.292, 270.64, def. Aaron Tatum, 5.330, 263.36.
Top Alcohol Funny Car
Mick Snyder, Ford Mustang, 5.614, 256.45, def. Paul Anderson, Dodge Charger, 7.555, 159.19.
Competition Eliminator
Arnie Martel, Chevy Roadster, 8.300, 120.82, def. Frank Cervelli, Dragster, 7.265, 152.54.
Stock Eliminator
Brett Speer, Chevy Nova, 10.498, 119.10, def. Gene Mosbek, Plymouth Savoy, 10.186, 128.43.
Super Gas
Brina Splingaire, Chevy Corvette, 9.882, 156.06, def. Bill Goldammer, Olds Cutlass, 9.841, 162.45.
Super Comp
Rick Bowman, Chevy Corvette, 8.920, 173.09, def. Brina Splingaire, Dragster, 8.936, 176.84.
Point Standings
Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher, 1,532. 2. Antron Brown, 1,051. 3. Larry Dixon, 988. 4. Cory McClenathan, 987. 5. Rod Fuller, 958. 6. Brandon Bernstein, 922. 7. Hillary Will, 874. 8. Doug Herbert, 807. 9. Doug Kalitta, 701. 10. David Grubnic, 685.
Funny Car
1. Tim Wilkerson, 1,154. 2. Tony Pedregon, 1,013. 3. Robert Hight, 969. 4. Cruz Pedregon, 880. 5. Ashley Force, 868. 6. Gary Densham, 828. 7. John Force, 817. 8. Ron Capps, 808. 9. Jack Beckman, 725. 10. Mike Neff, 720.
Pro Stock
1. Greg Anderson, 1,164. 2. Kurt Johnson, 1,108. 3. Jason Line, 1,054. 4. Jeg Coughlin, 1,017. 5. Allen Johnson, 933. 6. Mike Edwards, 834. 7. V. Gaines, 830. 8. Dave Connolly, 775. 9. Ron Krisher, 761. 10. Greg Stanfield, 739.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Andrew Hines, 816. 2. Matt Smith, 804. 3. Chip Ellis, 717. 4. Chris Rivas, 606. 5. Matt Guidera, 595. 6. Eddie Krawiec, 588. 7. Angelle Sampey, 574. 8. Craig Treble, 501. 9. Steve Johnson, 467. 10. Hector Arana, 443.
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