Schumacher becomes 6th to sweep NHRA’s Western Swing

SONOMA, Calif. – NHRA Top Fuel ace Tony Schumacher continued his season-long domination by winning the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals Sunday to sweep the three-race Western Swing and win for the eighth time in 15 races overall.

He became the fourth Top Fuel driver (Larry Dixon in 2003 and Cory McClenathan in 1997 and Joe Amato in 1991) and the sixth driver overall (Pro Stock Greg Anderson in 2004, Funny Car John Force in 1994) to sweep the Western Swing, the grueling stretch of three-races-in-three-weeks through Denver, Seattle and Sonoma.

“It’s been a lot of fun, the last couple of races have just been outstanding,” said Schumacher, who ran a 3.886 at 307.93 in his U.S. Army dragster to defeat local-favorite Hillary Will (Eureka, Calif.) and her KB Racing team’s 3.988 at 306.19 in the final. “Who would not trade places with our car? I love having the bulls-eye on me.”

The other winners at the 15th of 18 regular season races (24 total) in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series were Robert Hight (Funny Car), Dave Connolly (Pro Stock) and Matt Guidera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Schumacher, who beat the arch-rival Caterpillar team in the quarterfinals, clinched the No. 1 seed in Top Fuel and the 20-point bonus that comes with it when the points reset after the final regular season race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis.

“We got a lot of races left to win, people are saying we don’t even need to show up, but we want to win,” Schumacher said.

In Funny Car, Hight ran a 4.163 at 296.50 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang to defeat one of his mentors when he first started working for John Force Racing, Gary Densham, who ran a 4.222 at 289.14 in his Racebricks Chevy Impala.

“It’s unbelievable, this is the third straight year that a JFR Ford has been in the winner’s circle,” Hight said. “I’ve been at every national event contested here, came as a spectator before I became a part of the crew, and I dreamed of the day … that I would just work on a car. To finally get a chance to work on a car and then drive in a car, it’s a dream come true.”

The win was the third straight for John Force Racing at Infineon Raceway, a streak that began in 2006 with the late Eric Medlen’s win and continued in 2007 with John Force finding the winner’s circle.

Densham, meanwhile, didn’t leave empty-handed as he jumped up from eighth to sixth place, leap-frogging John Force and Ron Capps in the standings.

In Pro Stock, late-starter Dave Connolly powered his Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt to a 6.628 at 207.69 to win the final in a narrow holeshot over Jeg Coughlin’s 6.627 at 207.24 in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt.

“I definitely had my doubts about this weekend (coming off the disappointing loss at Seattle), but you can only beat this team down so much before we’re going to bounce back,” said Connolly. “I hadn’t drove that well and today I told myself it’s time to remove my head from my rear.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Guidera won for the second time this season aboard the Mohegan Sun Buell, earning a holeshot victory with a 7.054 at 185.74 over Andrew Hines’ 7.026 at 187.34 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance &Hines Harley-Davidson.

Guidera’s first two wins came at Reading 2007 and this year at the prestigious ACDelco Gatornationals, but he considered this won near his home in Loomis, Calif. the most cherished.

“This is the best win of my career by far,” he said. “It’s any racer’s dream to win in front of the home crowd and that’s what we did today. I’m so glad my family could be here today and to have (team owner) Brian (Bozsum and wife) Linda here,” Guidera said.

The NHRA POWERade Series resumes in two weekends with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 7-10 in Brainerd, Minn.

Sunday, at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.

The 15th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

TOP FUEL

1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Hillary Will; 3. Steve Torrence; 4. Antron Brown; 5. Brandon Bernstein; 6. Rod Fuller; 7. Cory McClenathan; 8. Larry Dixon; 9. Steven Chrisman; 10. Doug Kalitta; 11. Doug Herbert; 12. Bob Vandergriff; 13. David Grubnic; 14. Morgan Lucas; 15. J.R. Todd; 16. Troy Buff.

FUNNY CAR

1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang; 2. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Impala; 4. Tony Pedregon, Impala; 5. Ashley Force, Mustang; 6. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara; 8. Jerry Toliver, Charger; 9. Del Worsham, Impala; 10. Bob Tasca III, Mustang; 11. Gary Scelzi, Charger; 12. Mike Neff, Mustang; 13. Ron Capps, Charger; 14. Melanie Troxel, Charger; 15. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger; 16. John Force, Mustang.

PRO STOCK

1. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 2. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt; 3. Johnny Gray, Dodge Stratus; 4. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP; 5. Jason Line, GXP; 6. Mike Edwards, GXP; 7. V. Gaines, Stratus; 8. Allen Johnson, Stratus; 9. Greg Stanfield, GXP; 10. Justin Humphreys, Stratus; 11. Vinnie Deceglie, Stratus; 12. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 13. Jim Yates, GXP; 14. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 15. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 16. Warren Johnson, GXP.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

1. Matt Guidera; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 3. Chip Ellis, Suzuki; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson; 5. Angelle Sampey, Buell; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 7. Matt Smith, Buell; 8. Chris Rivas, Buell; 9. Hector Arana, Buell; 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 12. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell; 13. Angie McBride, Buell; 14. Mike Berry, Suzuki; 15. Junior Pippin, Buell; 16. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki.

Finals

Top Fuel: Tony Schumacher, 3.886 seconds, 307.93 mph def. Hillary Will, 3.988 seconds, 306.19 mph.

Funny Car: Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.163, 296.50 def. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.222, 289.14.

Pro Stock: Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.628, 207.69 def. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.627, 207.24.

Pro Stock Motorcycle: Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.054, 185.74 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.026, 187.34.

Top Alcohol Dragster: Jim Whiteley, 5.290, 270.64 def. Mark Niver, 5.546, 262.08.

Top Alcohol Funny Car: Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 5.612, 252.85 def. Dennis Taylor, Chevy Camaro, 5.710, 217.49.

Competition Eliminator: Dan Fletcher, Chevy Cobalt, 8.685, 114.18 def. Dean Carter, Dragster, 7.464, 131.68.

Stock Eliminator: Eric Waldo, Ford Mustang, 11.404, 96.30 def. Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, foul.

Super Comp: Dean Hall, Dragster, 8.925, 172.12 def. Justine Jeffery, Dragster, 8.929, 164.83.

Super Gas: Robert Naber, Chevy S-10, 9.940, 146.40 def. Val Torres Jr, Pontiac Firebird, 9.898, 155.90.

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 1,414; 2. Antron Brown, 1,018; 3. Larry Dixon, 953; 4. Rod Fuller, 905; 5. Cory McClenathan, 891; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 890; 7. Hillary Will, 843; 8. Doug Herbert, 773; 9. David Grubnic, 651; 10. Doug Kalitta, 629.

Funny Car

1. Tim Wilkerson, 1,082; 2. Robert Hight, 933; 3. Tony Pedregon, 899; 4. Ashley Force, 830; 5. Cruz Pedregon, 828; 6. Gary Densham, 796; 7. Ron Capps, 757; 8. John Force, 740; 9. Mike Neff, 686; 10. Jack Beckman, 632.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 1,106; 2. Jason Line, 1,000; 3. Kurt Johnson, 991; 4. Jeg Coughlin, 945; 5. Allen Johnson, 858; 6. Mike Edwards, 782; 7. V. Gaines, 779; 8. Greg Stanfield, 729; 9. Ron Krisher, 728; 10. Dave Connolly, 682.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Andrew Hines, 762; 2. Matt Smith, 686; 3. Chip Ellis, 644; 4. Chris Rivas, 569; 5. Matt Guidera, 563; 6. Eddie Krawiec, 554; 7. Angelle Sampey, 478; 8. Craig Treble, 449; 9. Steve Johnson, 434; 10. Hector Arana, 408.