With the points lead in Top Fuel and Funny Car, DSR head to Maple Grove

World champ Brown to support Matco’s ‘Tools for the Cause’ with ‘Driven by Their Strength’ dragster beginning this weekend

BROWNSBURG, IN – For the fifth year, Antron Brown will drive Don Schumacher Racing’s “Tools for the Cause” Top Fuel dragster for Matco Tools, featuring this year’s “Driven by their Strength” campaign to support breast cancer research.

Brown, the two-time and reigning NHRA world champion, will reveal an all-new paint scheme that he will carry to support Breast Cancer Awareness month in October beginning with this weekend’s NHRA Dodge Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. He will also campaign the dragster in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events near Dallas (Oct. 14-16) and Las Vegas (Oct. 28-30).

The Tools for the Cause program through Matco Tools has raised more than $700,000 for breast cancer research and awareness since it was launched in 2012.

“Breast cancer is something that affects so many of us,” said Tim Gilmore, president of Matco Tools. “Since the very beginning of the Tools for the Cause program, our distributors, employees and customers have been extremely proud to rally together to support a great cause. We are excited to once again raise funding and awareness to help find a cure.”

This year, proceeds from the program will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRFcure.org).

The 330-mph dragster will carry the names of 350 breast cancer fighters and survivors.

“This Tools for the Cause scheme is always near and dear to my heart, (because) I’ve seen two women in my family go through breast cancer,” Brown said. “It really hits home, it hits hard. It really means a lot to me that we can represent all the people going through it, have been through it and all of the families that have been affected by it. The pink color empowers all of us, and it has a great meaning for women being strong.”

Matco also is continuing its Tools for the Cause merchandise program, and information on those items can be obtained from Matco Tools distributors and through Matco’s customer service team at CustomerService@MatcoTools.com or 866-BUY-TOOL.

This weekend’s 32nd annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway marks the third event in NHRA’s Countdown to the championship where Brown and the Matco Tools team sit first in Top Fuel points standings.

“We always feel good going into Reading because the conditions get to be so good there,” Brown said. “We needed to test on Monday after St. Louis just to work on some things, we changed a couple of things around. In St. Louis, it bit us in qualifying. We qualified in a bad spot (12th) and raced one of the few people that could beat us first round. It made the points a lot tighter and that’s what makes this Countdown so exciting. The positive thing was that we still came out with the points lead and we have four races left to win a championship.”

The Matco Tools team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald are the defending event winner’s at Maple Grove.

“Our only hope is that we can be there at the end, at the last race of the Countdown with a chance to win a championship. Reading is a big race for us, it’s a hometown race for me. I’m just excited to get out there and get after it.”

Multitasker Pritchett eager for more firsts during Dodge Nationals at Maple Grove including initial 330 run, Countdown event title

– Top Fuel championship contender Leah Pritchett is competing in her first NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff and leading the league in multitasking in the process.

During the first two weeks of the six-race Countdown, the 28-year-old driver for Don Schumacher Racing has been a firefighter for sponsor FireAde 2000 Personal Fire Suppression systems near Charlotte and last week learned how to make pizza for Papa John’s Pizza near St. Louis.

This week before she climbs into her No. 9-ranked Mopar/Pennzoil dragster for crew chief Todd Okuhara and assistant Joe Barlam, she will join DSR and Mopar teammate Matt Hagan in leading the inaugural Mopar Mega Block Party on Thursday in downtown Reading, Pa.

And when she arrives at Maple Grove Raceway on Friday, she and Hagan will arrive as the grand marshals and honorary starters for the 32nd annual NHRA Dodge Nationals.

“Having a lot on our plates is something we’re used to and we’re pretty hungry right now,” she said. “I’m not quite sure how I’ll be the honorary starter on Sunday when I’m sitting in my Top Fuel dragster.

“It’s a dream come true to represent Mopar this season, and it was very humbling when Mopar asked me to be help them celebrate their first year sponsoring this Mello Yello event at Maple Grove by being the grand marshal and honorary starter with Matt (Hagan).

“Mopar has done so much for me this year and has such a long history in our sport and are the epitome of power and that’s what we’re going to try to be this weekend.”

Her focus, however, is sharp on performance and moving her Mopar/Pennzoil team further up the standings for the 10 drivers competing for the season championship of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Pritchett, who will compete in her 13th event for DSR at Reading, is 151 points behind points leader and teammate Antron Brown despite missing one of the previous 20 Mello Yello races before joining DSR. She competed for Bob Vandergriff Racing in four of the first five races, including Phoenix where she won her first Top Fuel title, and three with the Lagana family.

She has advanced to the quarterfinals in each of the first two Countdown races and is eager to advance further in Sunday’s eliminations along with taking advantage of what are expected to be record-producing conditions over the weekend with overcast skies and temperatures in the low 60s.

And one item on her team’s bucket list is reaching 330 mph. They came close over Labor Day weekend at Indianapolis when they went 329.75.

“That’s a big deal. We’re not quite in that 330 club. I know Todd and Joe and our Mopar/Pennzoil team can get us there and it could be this weekend. The conditions Reading brings and a great track makes for some insane power. We want to leave with our career best in E.T. and speed.”

And she won’t mind adding the task of walking away with the NHRA Wally trophy.

Langdon to run Odyssey Battery scheme on dragster this weekend at Maple Grove as team climbs after big win in Countdown playoff

– Shawn Langdon enters this weekend with a new look on Don Schumacher Racing’s 10,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster for the 32nd annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

Langdon’s dragster will be flying the colors of Odyssey Battery, whose EnerSys headquarters is located in Reading, Pa., and not far from where the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will compete in this weekend’s third event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff.
“We are honored to continue our partnership with the prestigious Don Schumacher Racing team,” said Maria Orlando-Krick, marketing content and sponsorship manager at EnerSys. “The fact that such a legendary organization has faith in our products is a testament to the power and reliability of our ODYSSEY® batteries.”
EnerSys is the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. They manufacture and distribute reserve power and motive power batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories and outdoor equipment enclosure solutions to customers worldwide.
Langdon and the Odyssey Battery team led by crew chief Phil Shuler won last weekend’s Mello Yello event at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis and jumped to fourth in Top Fuel points standings. It was Langdon’s third event title in three final round appearances this season.

“After five first-round losses to start the year, a lot of people asked us ‘Does it make you mad, are you frustrated, are you upset?’ My answer was always no, because I know I have a great team with Don Schumacher and I have great sponsors with Odyssey, Red Fuel, Sandvik and Toyota.

“Things just weren’t going our way. When I talked to Don (Schumacher) about coming over last year that was one of the biggest things about my coming here because I knew this was a team capable of winning races and winning championships. I’m happy with how we’ve progressed and we definitely have a car capable of winning the championship.”

Langdon won the 2013 event title at the scenic Pennsylvania track during his Top Fuel world championship season.

“Reading is one that you see coming up the calendar and you get excited,” Langdon said. “If the weather is right, you make a lot of horsepower there and we could see some record runs. It’s a unique facility that I enjoy going to and coming off of a win has us even more excited going into this weekend. We just want to continue our success in this fight for the championship.”

Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation team return to Maple Grove after big jump in standings following playoff win near St. Louis

– After their win last weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero Foundation Funny Car team head to the 32nd Dodge NHRA Nationals with their heads held high.

The Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car funded by Terry Chandler left Gateway on Sunday with the event title when Beckman defeated Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final round.

The win was the team’s first win since the Chicago in mid-July.

“Coming off a win, subconsciously, everybody walks a little taller and has a little bit more confidence,” Beckman said of his team led by crew chief Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham.

This weekend the team returns to Maple Grove Raceway, where they are the reigning event champion after rain wiped out three of four qualifying sessions.

With only one round of qualifying, Beckman entered race day as the No. 3 seed. Throughout the course of race day, Beckman knocked out Alexis DeJoria, Johnson, DSR teammate Ron Capps and Chad Head from competition.

“They’ve moved Reading up a few weeks and I think that’s a wise because last year, we almost lost the entire event because of rain. We only got one qualifying run in. It’s such a crapshoot during first round of eliminations – tons of tire smoke.

“And it’s a good decision to put it before Dallas this year. The weather around Reading this time of year tends to be favorable. I would definitely sacrifice world record conditions to have a higher likelihood of running without rain.”

The weather forecast for this weekend currently looks cooler which could result in big racing numbers for the NHRA teams.

“I’m not the weatherman and all the nitro teams are going to be faced with the same conditions. When we unload, we’ll figure out what the weather has in store for us,” Beckman said.

After their win last weekend, the team jumped from eighth in the standings to third and only 70 points behind leader Capps.

Despite the team’s win last year, Beckman says the team needs to focus on this year’s fight for the Funny Car championship.

“I don’t know if winning last year is going to be any factor because we don’t know if track or weather conditions will be the same. We definitely don’t have the same clutch pack in the car – which has been our Achilles heel most of this year. We’ve been trying to understand what the car wants and hoping it will incorporate with our tune-up changes. I would say we’re cautiously optimistic.

“We still aren’t in a comfort zone like we were this time last yea,r but we’ve got the ability to make the changes we need to be successful.”

Capps ready for first Maple Grove title after extending points lead

– This weekend will be the 22nd year in which Ron Capps has competed at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., and none could be more important than the 32nd annual NHRA Dodge Nationals.

The popular championship contender and driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny car for Don Schumacher Racing owns 50 NHRA Wally trophies from 23 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tracks including two that no longer are on the circuit.

But the entrance to Maple Grove’s winner’s circle has eluded him.

He’ll open qualifying 2 p.m. Friday at the picturesque facility nestled in rolling hills about an hour from Philadelphia with the points lead in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs for the third of six playoff races with crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant Eric Lane.

“You’re going to probably need to at least make the semifinals at each Countdown race and you have to collect those ‘little points’ in qualifying,” he said of the bonus points for the three quickest in each of four scheduled qualifying session along with added points where your final qualifying position.

“You might be able to have a hiccup here and there, maybe even have a loss in the second round. But we don’t want to do that.

“We still believe that the most important thing is to do well in qualifying so you start Sunday in the top-eight and Tobler can have his choice of lanes for the first round. Don (Schumacher) always says you have to focus on each qualifying run before ever thinking about what you’ll do on Sunday (in eliminations).”

Through two of six Countdown races, Capps is tied for the most qualifying points earned with 24 and has advanced to the semifinals at both events. He started the Countdown as the top-seed with a 30-point lead, built it to 42 after the opener at Charlotte weeks ago and extended it to 48 after last Sunday.

A year ago at Maple Grove, he also raced in the semifinals but has not been to a final round at the track since 1999 and 2000.

“One thing or another has gotten in our way. I love the track and it’s been good to me, we just have not won the Wally there yet.”

He hasn’t accomplished a Maple Grove title over the past four years with Tobler and before that with hall-of-fame crew chiefs Ed “Ace” McCulloch and Roland Leong, or with hall-of-fame team owners Schumacher and Don “Snake” Prudhomme.

Capps, a California native living near San Diego, is in the midst of his best Mello Yello season. The NAPA Dodge leads Funny Cars with five event titles in 20 races and has qualified No. 1 four teams, which ties his most wins in a season and it’s the most poles he’s ever won in one year.

His record in Sunday eliminations is an astounding 45-14, which is one round win from tying his career best season.

And four events remain in the Mello Yello season.

“Maple Grove is just all-out brute horsepower, strap your belts as tight as you can and hang on. There’s going to be guys and girls this weekend that will run the quickest they’ve ever run. That’s the type of track this is.

Hagan ready for fast weekend with Mopar Express Lane/Rocky team in this weekend’s NHRA Dodge Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway

– The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads to Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., for the 32nd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals, the third of six Countdown to the Championship events.

For Matt Hagan it will be a busy one.

Hagan will spend Wednesday evening at private event for Mopar customers before joining many of his Mopar teammates on Thursday at First Energy Stadium in Reading for the first annual Mopar Mega Block Party where he will participate in a home run derby for charity and an autograph session beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“This weekend is slammed with activities for Mopar and there’s nothing more we want to do than to finish out their big weekend with a trip to the winner’s circle,” Hagan said. “They do a lot here at DSR and in the sport of drag racing so anytime we can get them another win it is special.”

The 32nd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals is the third consecutive event for Mello Yello Series teams. In the two previous events, Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team have lost in first round and quarterfinal and are sixth in Funny Car points standings.

In 2014, Hagan won the event title at Maple Grove Raceway, a scenic facility about 60 miles from Philadelphia.

“Reading can be an interesting event,” Hagan said. “The weather there is usually cool so that means it can be really fast. Our car has done really well in throw-down conditions this year so I’m really ready to crawl in this Dodge Charger R/T and see what we can do.”

Hagan and crew chief Dickie Venables with assistant Michael Knudsen have set both elapsed time and speed world records on the NHRA tour this year. Hagan posted the national record 3.822-second pass at Brainerd, Minn., in August and clocked a 335.57-mph pass in Topeka, Kan., where they went on to win the event.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we can go out there and win this weekend,” Hagan said. “I have all the confidence in the world in Dickie and this team and like I said, I just can’t’ wait to see what we can accomplish.”

Make-A-Wish team enters Dodge NHRA Nationals No. 2 in points as Johnson continues to stride toward Funny Car championship

– Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T team travel to the 32nd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., second in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series points standings.

Last weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis, Johnson and crew chief John Collins advanced to the final round of competition for the second consecutive event. Because of their performance, the Make-A-Wish team funded by Terry Chandler jumped two spots to second in the points standings and are within 48 points of points leader and Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Ron Capps.

This week, the team travels to Maple Grove for the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoff in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

“We’re off to a really great start and we need to keep that going,” Johnson said.

This weekend, Johnson is looking for his first ever win in the Countdown and second win of the season.

“We were runner-up in Reading in 2014 and last year, was a really interesting race with all the cool weather. The highlight for us last year was that we were able to take out Del Worsham first round and he was leading the points at the time. That was a big round win for us so we’ve risen to the occasion in Reading before so I think we’ll do well.”

In 2015, rain resulted in the event consisting of only one qualifying session. Then when Johnson took out Worsham in the opening round of competition, Worsham fell in the points before rallying to win the season championship.

This year with the point standings so tight, Johnson and the team know about the importance of having a hot racecar this weekend.
Maple Grove Raceway has a reputation for producing record numbers because of the cooler temperatures in the fall season.

“Reading is always the race everyone looks forward to all season, performance wise. It always seems to be cool and a great track. There’s always been record performances there. I think the team is looking forward to getting out there.

“What makes me feel good is knowing that our car not only does well in the heat but we’re also able to run well when it’s cool. Qualifying will be critical – getting into the top half of the field will be tough but I know we can do it.
“It’ll probably be different conditions than we’ve seen the last few races but I think we’re going to be able to adjust,” Johnson said. “I know we’ve been looking forward to Reading and being aware of what the conditions could be. I know John has been planning for it. It’ll be an interesting weekend for sure.”