U.S. Army Racing: NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte Preview – Schumacher, Brown, Pritchett

CONCORD, NC – The battle rages on this weekend for the U.S. Army Racing contingent of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett in their pursuit of Top Fuel excellence in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The ninth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, North Carolina is the sixth of 24 national events on the 2018 schedule and one ranked near the top for sensory overload.

In a sport known for intense, 300-mph battles, the Four-Wide Nationals has become a fan favorite each spring as competitors line up side-by-side-by-side-by-side and generate a total of 44,000 horsepower per quad when they launch from the starting line for their targeted sub-four-second qualifying runs Friday and Saturday and three elimination rounds Sunday. That’s approximately 15,000 more horsepower than the combined field of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series machines that will take the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600 next month at the adjacent Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Schumacher, the most decorated driver in Top Fuel history, continues to chase his elusive first victory in four-wide competition. The eight-time Top Fuel world champion and driver of the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) won the first-ever NHRA event at zMAX when it was still conducted under the standard two-wide format back in September 2008 and is a three-time runner-up in the Charlotte four-wide event.

Brown is a two-time NHRA Four-Wide Nationals champion, having scored back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015 aboard the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, while Pritchett is seeking her first Charlotte triumph this weekend in her 100th professional event.

The Four-Wide Nationals began in 2010 and, for the first time, this weekend’s event near Charlotte will be the second four-wide event of the season. Three weeks ago, the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was contested, and Schumacher and Brown reached the final round while Pritchett advanced to the second round.

Schumacher enters the weekend tied with Steve Torrence for the lead in the championship standings and it’s been Torrence who has been his nemesis at the previous two four-wide events. Last spring at Charlotte, Schumacher qualified sixth and raced his way to his third career four-wide final. In the final, Torrence left first and beat Schumacher by .0813 of a second. In April at Las Vegas, Torrence once again was first to the finish line defeating Schumacher, this time by only .0083 of a second – a margin of victory of approximately 4 feet. Schumacher has reached two finals in the first five events of 2018 – Pomona and Las Vegas – and advanced to the semifinals last Sunday at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston.

Brown, the three-time Top Fuel world champion, is focused this weekend on securing his third four-wide triumph and first win of the 2018 season. He is the all-time winningest driver at zMAX in Top Fuel with five triumphs and, if he can close the deal Sunday, he will reach the 50-win milestone for his Top Fuel career. Brown swept both Charlotte races in 2015 en route to his second world championship and his most recent win at the track came in September 2016, when he kicked off his championship run with the first of three consecutive wins to open the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. At Las Vegas earlier this month, Brown trailed Torrence and Schumacher to the finish and, last weekend at Houston, he qualified fifth before being upset by Terry McMillen in the first round.

Pritchett is coming off her first No. 1 qualifying effort of the season at Houston and this weekend marks the fifth Four-Wide Nationals for the driver of the Pennzoil/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR. She reached the final last spring before coming up short against Torrence and Schumacher. After winning four times in 2017, including back-to-back triumphs to start the campaign, Pritchett is looking to build upon of her Houston qualifying effort and semifinal appearance and bring home her first win this season.

Event Times and Television Coverage

Qualifying for the ninth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals begins Friday with the Nitro sessions slated for 4:30 and 7 p.m. EDT with FS1 providing one hour of delayed coverage at 8 p.m. Saturday includes a pair of Nitro sessions at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. with FS1 providing 90 minutes of live coverage at 2:30 p.m. Sunday’s elimination rounds begin at noon with FS1’s delayed three-hour broadcast set for 6 p.m.

TONY “THE SARGE” SCHUMACHER, driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

This weekend marks the second four-wide format of the season. You were runner-up last year at Charlotte and are coming off a runner-up at Las Vegas. Will having raced in this format at Las Vegas help you this weekend at Charlotte?

“I think we are definitely more comfortable in the four-wide racing than we were before and coming off the Las Vegas event a few weeks back should make it more exciting. It’s almost to the point where I’ve gotten used to it. I know how to stage the car. I know how to race. It doesn’t matter what lane I’m in. I do know there is nothing easy about it. You have to go out and compete with three other incredible teams and find a way to win each time, or at least in the first two rounds win or finish second. Yeah, we’ve been to consecutive finals racing four-wide, but we finished second both times. They only give a trophy to the winner. We’re working on the details, and the trophy’s usually in the details. We’ll get it figured out and we’ll get one soon.”

Through five races, the U.S. Army team has advanced to a pair of finals and, last weekend, the semifinals. You enter Charlotte tied for lead in the points championship. How would you assess the team’s start to the campaign?

“We’ve had an incredible start to the year other than a couple of minor setbacks because of parts failures. I’m surrounded by a great group of guys. We are meshing as a team under the direction of Mike Neff and moving in a great direction at a rapid pace. I truly believe we are going to win a lot of races this year and, last weekend at Houston, we got closer. Our U.S. Army car is extremely good, and I love racing at Charlotte. Bruton Smith has an incredible facility. I won the first race they ever had when it opened and I’m really looking forward to getting my first Four-Wide victory there.”

ANTRON BROWN, driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

You have a tremendous track record at zMAX. Is there something about the facility that brings out the best in you and your Matco Tools/U.S. Army team?

“It’s probably a combination of everything. Charlotte has always been a real special place for us. We just love going there. It’s one of those big, arena-type tracks. When you go there, it’s the biggest racetrack on the tour. It’s just a terrific place to race – the Taj Mahal of racetracks.  When you go there, you want to show out. Our Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Toyota team knows how much that track means and what a big event the Four-Wide there is. Hopefully, Charlotte can be our breakout race to get things going for the rest of the season.”

How much will you benefit this weekend from already running a four-wide event this season?

“Running two four-wide races within a month is just going to make it even more competitive.  Everyone is going to be more comfortable having run more four-wide rounds and be able to elevate their game. The main thing is just making it to the final. Once you get to the final, it’s anybody’s game. We were close at Las Vegas. We just had a couple of mishaps, and now we need to capitalize on it at Charlotte.”

LEAH PRITCHETT, driver of the Pennzoil/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

If you were asked to describe what this sport is all about, how would describe racing in the NHRA?

“The NHRA is the epitome of the most powerful cars in the world – 22,000 horsepower, side-by-side, at a normal race. But this weekend in Charlotte, we double that and go four-wide, pushing that number to 44,000 horsepower on the track at the same time. It is so intense. Your senses are totally engaged from the smell of the nitro, the burn in your eyes from the fumes, the rumble of the launch shaking the ground, and the sound of pure horsepower. Seeing that amount of power push through these engines that is transferred through these cars with massive Goodyear slicks to go from zero to 335 mph in just over three and half seconds. It’s quite a scene and something everyone should experience.”

How hard is it to maintain a sense of calmness when you are waiting in the staging lanes to make your run down the track?

“It’s a craft. Just like in any other profession, whether it’s an athlete, business professional, school teacher or one of our U.S. Army Soldiers, you are good at what you do. And for us to be good at what we do, we all have our own personal strategies. There are drivers out there who are exceptional at being really calm. What do I mean by a good driver? That means you have the best reaction times. When that staging tree illuminates ambers at a very random time, we hit the gas and get the car moving. It’s all about eye-to-foot coordination. The reason that is so important is that competition is so tight that our races are decided by thousandths of a second, which is about an inch at 300 miles per hour. Everyone has to find what works best for them. Some feel that being calm works best but, for me, I’ve found throughout my 20 years of racing that there is nothing wrong with being a little amped up. When I’m in the car, I just focus on my breathing and try keep it simple. The repetition of doing the same routine is the key.”