U.S. Army Racing Trio Eyes Big NHRA Southern Nationals Weekend in Atlanta

COMMERCE, GA – When the topic of Atlanta comes up for discussion, the U.S. Army Racing trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett all raise their eyebrows like they’ve got something important to say.

They’ll all have their chance to speak this weekend as the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series makes its way to the home of Coca-Cola for the 38th annual NHRA Southern Nationals powered by Mello Yello at Atlanta Dragway.

The statement Schumacher, driver of the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), wants to make is: “Finally.” The track located about an hour northeast of Georgia’s capital city is the only current track on the NHRA schedule where he’s yet to score a victory.

For Brown, it’s more of an “I’m coming home” sentiment since Atlanta Dragway feels like a second home for the New Jersey native. He is the winningest driver in Top Fuel at the track with four victories, and he’d love nothing more than to grab his initial win of 2018 in the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR Sunday and continue the home cooking.

Atlanta was once where Pritchett actually resided before venturing to Indianapolis, where she continued her dream of becoming a professional drag racer. The facility holds a special place for the driver of the FireAde/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR as it was where she reached her first career Top Fuel final in 2015, and also where she made her debut driving for DSR in 2016.

Schumacher, the record eight-time Top Fuel world champion, made his debut in Atlanta during the 1997 season racing to the semifinals after qualifying 13th. He earned his first of five final-round appearances there in 2000, coming up short versus Gary Scelzi. He has twice taken on his U.S. Army teammate Brown in the finals, first in 2008 and then again in 2011, with Brown scoring the victory each time. In 2012, “The Sarge” made it back-to-back finals appearances at the track but couldn’t take down Steve Torrence. Last May, Schumacher earned his second career No. 1 qualifier at Atlanta and made a run to the final, where he again was stopped by Torrence. A victory this weekend would not only end a 20-race winless streak at the track, but also end the second-longest winless streak of his career. It’s been 26 events since his 2017 Gatornationals triumph and he’s focused on putting an end to both streaks this weekend.

In each of the past seven seasons, Brown has found his way to the winner’s circle prior to the fifth stop on the tour. The three-time world champion wants this year’s winless number to stop at round six by scoring his 50th career Top Fuel win and fifth triumph at Atlanta this weekend. Brown claimed his first Southern Nationals win back in 2008, when he “stopped the beast,” earning instant credibility in the Top Fuel class just six events into his first season driving a rail car. That victory over Schumacher, who would go on to win 15 of the 24 events that season, was Brown’s second career Top Fuel win. Brown later strung together three wins in five years at Atlanta, hoisting Wally’s in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The two most recent were both over Torrence.

Pritchett is looking to continue her affinity for Atlanta Dragway with a strong performance this weekend. Her memorable run to the 2015 final was the culmination of a spectacular weekend for the Southern California native. She qualified third prior to defeating “The Greek” Chris Karamesines, J.R. Todd and Larry Dixon before running into Brown. She made her DSR debut in the 2016 Southern Nationals and lost a close race to DSR’s longest-tenured driver Schumacher in the first round. Last May, she upset Terry McMillen and Brown before Torrence took her out in the semifinals.

All three drivers are looking for deep weekend runs on the heels of an abrupt end to the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway last Sunday near Charlotte, North Carolina. Schumacher and Brown started the weekend well by qualifying second and third, respectively, but both lost traction in their opening-round quads and failed to advance. Pritchett also lost traction and wasn’t able to move on.

Through the first six events, the U.S. Army contingent has been led by Schumacher’s pair of final-round appearances in Pomona and Las Vegas. Brown’s deepest run came at the Las Vegas Four-Wide event, where he reached the final, while Pritchett’s best Sunday was her semifinal run in Houston.

They are all chasing Torrence, winner of three of the first six events of the season. Schumacher, Brown and Pritchett rank second, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the point standings.

Event Times and Television Coverage

Qualifying for the 38th annual NHRA Southern Nationals begins Friday with the Nitro sessions slated for 4:15 and 7:30 p.m. EDT with FS1 providing one hour of live coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday includes a pair of Nitro sessions at noon and 3:30 p.m. Sunday’s elimination rounds begin at 11 a.m. 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

You’ve proven to be at your best when the stakes are at their highest during your illustrious NHRA career, making championship runs, setting world records and winning races at almost every facility you’ve competed. The opportunity in front of you this weekend is adding another track to your win list and ending a winless streak at a track that stretches your entire career. One question: Is this the year you win Atlanta?

“I certainly hope so. The problem with Atlanta is that track’s too long (laughs). I was winning there many times and the other guy passed me. Seriously, though, this race is in the home area for our sponsor, Coca-Cola. It’s an important event because a number of their executives come out and see what our racing is all about firsthand. Guys like Al Rondon are smiling and excited to be a part of an extraordinary weekend. We seem to specialize in the absolute must-win events. And for my entire career, there haven’t been many must wins in May. But, this year, it’s a little different. We are in need of win in a major way. It’s been over a year now, something like 26 races since we won the 2017 Gatornationals. That’s far too long for this U.S. Army team. We’ve had some chances to win since last year, but we haven’t sealed the deal. Similar to Atlanta over the years, where we’ve had some great opportunities to win. I’ve made it to a lot of finals (five) in Atlanta. We have to figure out how to finish the mission. It’s time. I can tell you this: with this new energy surrounding this U.S. Army team, I go into every race thinking I’m going to win it. That’s just the way it is. Mike Neff (crew chief) has brought something out of every one of the guys working on my car. And he’s inspired me to be better. It’s a good-attitude team and I’m really looking forward to getting to Atlanta.”

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

The first quarter of your season is complete. The past two weekends have not ended the way you had planned. How do you turn things around this weekend?

“We just want to start doing what we know how to do. The toughest part is we’re pushing hard and wanting to run well. We’ll just suck it up and try to get better with it. This racing is a challenge and, if it was easy, then everybody would be doing it. We just need to keep pushing forward. Every time we feel like we start making some headway, we get pushed back. I can tell you this Matco Tools/U.S. Army team is a team with a lot of persistence. And that’s the only way you get through the resistance that we are going through right now. It’s just a matter of time. We are going to keep plugging and pushing forward. Atlanta has been a great place for us in the past and we can’t wait to get there.”

Speaking of Atlanta, seeing Atlanta Dragway up next on your schedule has to be cause for optimism. You are the winningest driver at the track in the Top Fuel class and also won there twice in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Why have you been so successful there in the past?

“Atlanta has always been a great racetrack for us. It has an old-school racetrack feel to it. Being from New Jersey, I’ve always loved racing on the East Coast it gives me that feeling of how I grew up around drag strips. We’ve had a lot of success there. I’ve been fortunate to win in Atlanta in both Pro Stock Motorcycles (2006 and 2001) and Top Fuel (2008, 2011, 2013 and 2015). I won my second Top Fuel race there during my first year. That was incredible. I remember that we beat Tony Schumacher in the final on a holeshot. When we went out there and won that race, it was a statement that we were here to compete and win. It gave us an air of legitimacy. We’ve come a long way since then, but man we could really use another magical weekend like that. That would only build the Atlanta aura for us.”

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

DSR has great success at a number of the tracks on the NHRA circuit. This weekend, it’s back to business in Atlanta and your team is looking to build some momentum. What can you learn from your teammates that may help you this weekend?

“Obviously, I’m surrounded by some of the best drivers in the history of NHRA at DSR. And then, factor in that Atlanta is a very strong track for DSR. Antron has been really tough there and, even though Tony hasn’t won there yet, he’s been to a lot of finals. It’s the first place where I made it to the final round and ultimately got beat by Antron. We’d like to get another crack at him in the final. They are great teammates and, then you can even learn just by being around our Funny Car drivers, too. DSR has three incredible teams in Top Fuel and four more in Funny Car. That’s a lot of brain power and we’re all working hard to get back to the winner’s circle this weekend.”

This weekend closes out three consecutive weekends of racing. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for you. What is it going to take to make it a successful stretch?

“It’s certainly had a little bit of everything. From making grabbing that No. 1 spot in our last qualifying session in Houston to not making it out of the first round in Charlotte. Last weekend was my 100th career professional start and this week we are starting our second 100 at Atlanta, where I made my first start for DSR back in 2016. It’s a track with some unique characteristics that we are prepared for. We learned some things in Houston that got us to No. 1 in qualifying. They call it ‘Hot-Lanta’ for a reason, but I’m most excited that we get to run under the lights Friday night. It’s a process and I feel like we are getting closer with each pass. We want to end this three-race swing on a high note and I really feel like we’re in the right position to do that.”