Top Fuel final round

The descending sun has dipped behind the westside grandstands at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The sun has been off of the favored right lane for a good 25 minutes, so it’s no doubt cooled to record-potential temperature. Shadows cover both lanes, but the air temperature is still plenty warm.

Directly ahead of Schumacher, DSR teammate Jack Beckman resets the Funny Car national record in a losing final-round effort, so apparently the conditions could be ripe for the Army car, too. And they are.

Schumacher covers the first 60 feet in .841 seconds, 330 feet in 2.114, and 660 feet in 3.003, where he has reached a stunning 283.19 mph. He passes the 1,000-foot timers in 3.759 seconds and crosses the finish line first ahead of Troxel. His e.t.? A dazzling 4.428, and a new national record to steal the championship and complete the greatest comeback in drag racing history.

Final points:

Schumacher: 1,681

Kalitta: 1,667

Top Fuel, semifinals

Melanie Troxel, in the favored right lane and gunning for her third straight final-round appearance in Pomona, leaves on Kalitta. 026 to .058, and helps her Schumacher Racing teammate in a major way, defeating Kalitta, 4.502 to 4.500, by less than a half car-length. It is only Kalitta’s second holeshot loss this season.

Schumacher, in the right lane, does what he needs to do, overcoming Bernstein’s .074 to .066 holeshot to win by a quarter-car-length, 4.482 to 4.4511.

Schumacher will have lane choice in the final over Troxel. He needs to win the final round and reset his own national record – for which he already has a backup run – to steal the championship from Kalitta’s grasp.

Conditions today are much less favorable than Saturday, with a clear, cloudless sky, which shouldn’t change much in the next 75 minutes.

Quick Quotes:

Kalitta: “I guess it’s going to get very interesting now. We got beat there; I don’t know what to tell you. It was a good race, side by side the whole way, She won. Now I guess I just have to sit here and wait it out. It’s not a great feeling.”

Schumacher: “I hope it starts getting a lot cooler. It would be so unfortunate to get this far and not get it done because of weather conditions. I pray to God that doesn’t happen. At least give us the chance to run for it. What an awesome run for Mel. I was watching and it was a close race and she did what she had to do to help us. That’s what you call a teammate right there. This couldn’t line up any better. I’m sure the fans and the TV guys are loving it. This is coming down to the last round of the last race and we have to set the record.”

Curent points:

Kalitta: 1,667

Schumacher: 1,641

Scenario:

Schumacher will need to win the final and reset his own 4.437 national record. His earlier 4.458 will back up any number between 4.436 and 4.414. Should Schumacher win the race but run quicker than 4.414, he would lose the championship by running too quick for his best back up.

Top Fuel, round two

Schumacher, in the right lane, gets the slimmest of margins against Fuller, .065 to .066, but the race is over shortly after the 330-foot timers as Fuller’s machine spears to begin eating the head gasket. Schumacher powers into the semifinals with a 4.475 at 328 mph to Fuller’s trailing 4.95.

Todd leaves on Kalitta, .039 to .090, but goes up in smoke. Kalitta rattles the tires and expertly pedals it. He gets the win but the quick pedal costs him on the timers, as he runs 4.580.

Schumacher will face Brandon Bernstein in the semifinals and will have lane choice. Kalitta will face Troxel; Troxel will have lane choice.

Quick Quotes:

Schumacher [before Kalitta’s win]: “I’m glad he’s sitting back there watching me this time I had to do it last time and I don’t like that feeling; I like to go first and put the pressure on the other guy. He’s an awesome driver though; it wouldn’t surprise me if we both go to the finals and if that happens he wins and I’ll shake his hand. That was a good run for the Army team, especially under the pressure we were just under. Now we’ll see how he does."

Kalitta: “It felt like it shook and I had to pedal it; that cost us the e.t. and now we don’t have lane choice. I just hope I didn’t screw the guys up. I didn’t know where he was and I felt like I needed to pedal. I hope I did the right thing. You never know about the lane choice deal; all weekend we wanted the left side, but today it’s been tough, I ‘m sure Rahn will get it figured out.”

Current points:

Kalitta: 1,667

Schumacher: 1,621

Scenarios:

1. If Kalitta wins the semifinals, he clinches the championship.

2. If Kalitta loses in the semifinals, Schumacher must win the event and reset the national record

Top Fuel, round one

Kalitta, in the right lane, stages against Alan Bradshaw and takes an easy win when Bradshaw’s Bill Miller dragster goes up in smoke early. Kalitta runs 4.482, 331.77.

The pressure is on Schumacher, who has just watched Kalitta win impair ahead of him. Schumacher closes out the round in eerily similar fashion, running 4.489, 328.38 after David Baca smokes the tires early.

Kalitta will face J.R. Todd in round two while Schumacher will go against Rod Fuller. Both have lane choice.

Quick Quotes:

Kalitta: “Well Tony’s not going to lose here; it wouldn’t be that easy. We’ve got to just go rounds, that’s all we can do: Worry about what we’re doing. If we do what we need to do, the rest will take care of itself.”

Schumacher: “It’s not often that I get to be a spectator when so much is on the line. I sat there and watched Brandon win and watched Doug win and I knew the pressure was on; I had to win the round. Really, I have to win the race. We need to win the race and reset the world record. If I do that, I’ve done all I can do. The rest is out of my hands.”

Current points:

Kalitta 1,627

Schumacher: 1,581

Scenarios:

1. If Kalitta wins his second-round race, Schumacher must win the event and reset the record.

2. If Kalitta loses in the second round, Schumacher must win the event or be runner-up and set the national record.

Championship scenarios

Doug Kalitta (pictured) owns a 46-point lead, so Schumacher will need to go three rounds further than Kalitta or two rounds further and reset the national record.

Kalitta and Schumacher are on opposite sides of the ladder.

In the first round, Kalitta will face No. 16 qualifier Alan Bradshaw. If he wins that round, he will face the winner of the J.R. Todd-Hillary Will pairing. His potential semifinal opponents are Melanie Troxel, Steve Torrence, Dave Grubnic, and Morgan Lucas, depending on the outcome of their first- and second-round races.

Schumacher will face No. 15 qualifier David Baca in round one. If he is victorious, he will face the winner of the Rod Fuller-Doug Herbert first-round race. His potential semifinal opponents are Brandon Bernstein, Mike Strasburg, Larry Dixon, and Cory McClenathan.

Quick notes:

The three closest championship finishes in Top Fuel history are Jeb Allen winning by three points over Gary Beck in 1981; Dick LaHaie winning by four points over Joe Amato in 1987; and Amato winning by nine markers over Cory McClenathan in 1992.

Throughout the weekend, Tony Schumacher has been carrying a Bronze Star medal that was awarded to Sergeant First Class James Denison of Bellingham, Wash., for his acts of bravery in the Gulf War.