Championship Drag Racing

NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals
Las Vegas, NV
(April 6-9)

EVENT HOME
   Tickets
   Event schedule
   Results
   Team Reports
   Audio Broadcast
   Photo Galleries
   Video highlights
   Entry List
   Driver Appearances

Driver Profile

Tony Schumacher U.S. Army dragster

Las Vegas, prerace: When U.S. Army Top Fuel driver, Tony Schumacher, is asked for his opinion of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

Last October, over a three-day span, Schumacher hit the proverbial jackpot at The Strip after he collected almost $600,000 for clinching the 2005 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world championship, while winning the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals and the Budweiser Shootout.

“That was a great weekend, for sure,” said the Chicago native as he prepared for the SummitRacing.com Nationals this weekend at The Strip. “We could use a little luck like that this time around in Vegas.”

The three-time Top Fuel world champ has gotten off to a sluggish start in 2006. After two straight first round losses, he’s tied for seventh in the standings, 159 points removed from his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Melanie Troxel, in first-place.

“We’ve definitely not had the results everyone was expecting us to have at this point,” added Schumacher. “But, all is clearly not lost. My guys continue to hold their heads high. We know we’ll bust out real soon.”

At the O’Reilly Spring Nationals outside of Houston last weekend, Schumacher had his three-race pole streak stopped by Cory McClenathan.

“That streak was nice, don’t get me wrong, but what we do on Sunday is what we’re most concerned with,” he said. “Like our soldiers, we have a mission that we put before anything else – that’s to win races. That’s the goal this weekend and every other weekend.

“In Vegas, we need to get in a groove. As everyone knows, things can turn around in a hurry. Look at what happened to (Brandon) Bernstein – he was out in the first round for three straight races before winning last weekend. You only need a little spark to get going.”

E-mail this article   Print this article