Concord, NC – The U.S. Army Racing driver trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Leah Pritchett and Antron Brown are fifth, seventh and 15th on the provisional ladder, respectively, after the opening two rounds of qualifying Friday for this weekend’s 11th annual NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway just outside of Charlotte.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), a two-time Carolina Nationals winner, opened the day with a run of 3.747 seconds at 330.39 mph, the second-best of the session, and collected a pair of qualifying points. “The Sarge” nearly posted an identical elapsed time in Friday’s second run making it down the track in 3.748 seconds at 328.54 mph landing him the fifth position.

“We’ve got a really good U.S. Army car,” said Schumacher, one of two Top Fuel drivers to eclipse the 330-mph barrier Friday. “It felt like a bracket car today. In that second run, it was down on power just a little bit. We are running right where we wanted to run. Last weekend, we were way behind and that’s not the case right now. We have a good car. And I’m ready to race. It’s not over yet.”

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CONCORD, NC – Just over a month ago, the U.S. Army Racing trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett had visions of becoming the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series champion. With a plan of attack in place, all three entered the six-event Countdown to the Championship playoffs confident in their chances to seize the opportunity. Unfortunately, last season’s Top Fuel runner-up Steve Torrence has had other ideas in the first three playoff events.

Torrence has a commanding lead in the standings after posting 12 consecutive round wins and grabbing three consecutive event titles, the first with a final-round victory over Schumacher in the playoff opener in Reading, Pennsylvania. And he hasn’t slowed down since. With three events remaining in the Countdown, Clay Millican is trying to keep himself within a puncher’s chance and trails by 103 markers. Schumacher finds himself 165 points back while Pritchett and Brown trail by 224 and 247 points, respectively, entering this weekend’s 11th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, North Carolina.

The battle within the battle may be which of the U.S. Army trio can secure the final position on the so-called “podium” at season’s end. With a sizeable distance both ahead and behind them in the standings, it’s looking like whoever can finish the strongest will have the best opportunity to finish third in the championship.

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Shots at Runaway Points Leaders by Schumacher, Pritchett Come Up Short

The U.S. Army trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett each had a solid start to Sunday’s elimination rounds of the 33rd annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, but their chances to derail the hottest two drivers in the Countdown to the Mello Yello Drag Racing Championship playoffs came up just short.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) had a shot at eliminating runaway points leader Steve Torrence in the Top Fuel semifinals but smoked his tires, while Pritchett and her Mopar/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR did the same in her second-round matchup against the red-hot Clay Millican, who’s second in the points and qualified No. 1 for the ninth time this season here this weekend. As a result, the U.S. Army trio will start the second half of the six-event playoffs third, fourth and fifth in the points but with a mountain to climb if they are to catch Torrence and Millican.

After a stellar final qualifying run late Saturday vaulted Schumacher to the No. 3 spot on the elimination ladder, “The Sarge” laid down a smooth and steady opening-round win over No. 14 qualifier Shawn Reed. The U.S. Army car crossed the finish line in 3.747 seconds at 325.69 mph to Reed’s solid 3.900 seconds at 283.01 mph. That set up a meeting with Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR for the third time in the last six events. Schumacher was solid and steady once again with a run of 3.817 seconds at 323.89 mph while Brown smoked his tires midway down the track and crossed the finish line in 4.131 seconds at 241.15 mph.

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The U.S. Army driver trio of Leah Pritchett, Antron Brown and Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher are sixth, seventh and 10th on the provisional ladder, respectively, after the opening two rounds of qualifying Friday for this weekend’s 33rd annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, a record six-time Texas event titlist, was hindered by a dropped cylinder during both of this runs today, the first netting a time of 4.063 seconds at 292.33 mph, the second a run of 3.873 seconds at 311.99 mph.

“We got off the line really good, but then we had a cylinder out on that second run,” said Schumacher, whose most recent Texas win came during his most recent championship season in 2014. “We had a similar deal on the first run. The second one was a much better run, but everything needs to come together for us to get ourselves in the top half of the ladder. My theory is that everyone might have gotten a little caught off guard on that – I could be way off, but – everybody went up there trying to run an upper 70 and the track took a 72 (3.72 seconds). So if the track could take a 72 and we all tried to run 78, it just chews the clutch up. Even if he (Clay Millican) did it (3.72) by accident, the track took it. We’ll have similar conditions tomorrow, so we’ll go in with what we learned today and do what we need to do to get ourselves a good qualifying spot.”

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ENNIS, TX – It’s not Texas-sized, by any means, but the U.S. Army Top Fuel driver trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett head to this weekend’s 33rd annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals with a little bit of real estate to recover.

One-third of the way through the six-event NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, Schumacher, Pritchett and Brown are third, fourth and fifth in the standings after frontrunners Steve Torrence and Clay Millican created a bit of distance between them and the U.S. Army trio over during the opening two playoff rounds.

Torrence, the native Texan and winningest driver on this year’s tour thus far, swept the first two Countdown rounds at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania and Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, beating Schumacher in the Reading final and Millican in the St. Louis final. With four events to go, Torrence leads Millican by 70 points, Schumacher by 121, Pritchett by 154 and Brown by 177 – leaving his closest pursuers certainly within striking distance.

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Pritchett and Brown Defeated by Top Fuel Championship Frontrunners; Schumacher Upset in Second Round

U.S. Army Racing’s Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett returned to St. Louis this weekend looking to hit a walk-off homerun in round two of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ Countdown to the Championship. Unfortunately, they watched the two biggest sluggers in Top Fuel head to Dallas with all of the momentum.

Steve Torrence defeated Clay Millican in Sunday’s Top Fuel final of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. Torrence, winner of the first two Countdown races, dispatched Pritchett in the semifinals, while Millican defeated Brown in the second round. Schumacher, who was competing in his 500th career NHRA race was knocked out in the second round by Pat Dakin.

Schumacher became the seventh member of the 500 club this weekend and first in the Top Fuel class. The driver of the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) qualified sixth and survived an opening-round matchup with Richie Crampton by skillfully pedaling his machine to the finish line. “The Sarge” posted a lap of 4.067 seconds at 257.73 mph, and the win didn’t come easy after losing traction midway through the run before the two-time St. Louis winner found enough traction to advance into the second round. In the second round, Schumacher was looking to remain undefeated versus Dakin in eight career races, but once again he had his hands full. After taking the advantage at the light, the U.S. Army machine lost traction and Schumacher again had to pedal it to the finish. Dakin had enough traction and momentum to cross the finish line first despite exploding his engine late in the run. Dakin’s run of 3.946 seconds at 268.13 mph bettered Schumacher’s pass of 4.115 seconds at 270.43 mph.

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The U.S. Army driver trio of Leah Pritchett, Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Antron Brown wound up fifth, sixth and seventh on the elimination ladder, respectively, after the final two rounds of qualifying Saturday for this weekend’s seventh annual AAA Insurance NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park just outside of St. Louis.

Schumacher continued his qualifying consistency aboard the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Saturday making two more clean runs. His opening pass of 3.779 seconds at 326.79 mph maintained the sixth position on the qualifying grid before the two-time St. Louis winner posted a lap of 3.731 seconds at 330.72 mph, his best run of the weekend, in the final qualifying session. The eight-time Top Fuel world champion will begin the quest for his 85th career Top Fuel victory Sunday by facing Richie Crampton. The two have met seven times previously with a pair of those coming in 2018. Schumacher won their most recent matchup in the second round at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

“The last qualifying run was a big one for this U.S. Army Racing team,” said Schumacher. “We have been extremely slow. We were five one-hundredths off and we can’t win a race that way. We made some big changes on that last run and it was an awesome, awesome run. We are heading the right direction. Tomorrow is a long day. No one is safe. I understand there are some cars running better than we are, but this is the beginning. This is when we get the best.”

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The U.S. Army driver trio of Leah Pritchett, Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Antron Brown are fifth, sixth and ninth on the provisional ladder, respectively, after the opening two rounds of qualifying Friday for this weekend’s seventh annual AAA Insurance NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park just outside of St. Louis.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, a two-time St. Louis winner, opened the day with a run of 3.778 seconds at 324.83 mph, the second-best of the session, and collected a pair of qualifying points. “The Sarge” and Clay Millican were the final two cars in Friday’s night session and Schumacher posted a lap of 3.762 seconds at 328.06 mph to land in the sixth spot.

“We made two really good runs today,” said Schumacher. “This U.S. Army car continues to get better and better. You just look at how close everyone is right now. There are some guys that can really fast in these night sessions and we’re not quite there yet. The weather looks like we’ll have a couple more good chances tomorrow. We were able to get a couple qualifying points today, but the guys in front of us got points too. The goal tomorrow is to get more qualifying points and continue getting this U.S. Army machine ready for Sunday.”

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MADISON, IL – The theme entering last weekend’s opener of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs was quite simple – “Find a way to go rounds and put yourself in a position to win.”

For the U.S. Army Racing trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown, and Leah Pritchett, the results of the Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway weren’t quite “mission accomplished,” but there were enough silver linings to provide each with optimistic expectations heading into round two during this weekend’s seventh annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois.

Schumacher, the eight-time Top Fuel world champion and driver of the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), will reach his milestone 500th career event this weekend as he continues building his legacy in the sport. Last weekend, “The Sarge” advanced to his 152nd career final and fifth of 2018 but came up short in his bid for career Top Fuel win number 85 after losing traction late in his winner-take-all matchup with Steve Torrence. Schumacher is tied for second in the Countdown standings with 2,169 points, trailing leader Torrence by 50 markers.

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U.S. Army Racing’s Brown and Pritchett Find Consistency in NHRA’s Countdown Opener 

It’s all about winning in the playoffs. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ Countdown to the Championship gives its top-10 championship contenders some room for error, but not much.

The U.S. Army Racing trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett entered this weekend’s 34th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania focused on winning the first of the six playoff events. All three won rounds Sunday, but unfortunately ran into one another on the elimination ladder. Schumacher carried the U.S. Army torch the farthest by reaching his fifth final of the 2018 season and 152nd of his career after ousting Brown in the semifinals, who one round earlier defeated Pritchett.

Schumacher, the eight-time Top Fuel world champion, began his quest for a sixth Dodge NHRA Nationals triumph with a victory over Dan Mercier in the first round with a pass of 3.816 seconds at 326.40 mph. The result earned the driver of the U.S. Army Dragster for DSR lane choice in his second-round matchup with Scott Palmer. Schumacher posted a lap of 3.827 seconds at 323.19 mph to defeat Palmer, who ran 3.833 seconds at 324.59 mph. The semifinal matchup between Schumacher and Brown was their third career race at Maple Grove. Schumacher left first with a 0.047-second reaction time and battled through dropped cylinders to post a winning run of 3.939 seconds at 292.96 mph to win over Brown, who hazed his tires just past the 330-foot marker. In the final, Steve Torrence moved

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