Tony Schumacher Still Chasing Four-Wide Wally

CONCORD, NC – As the winningest driver in NHRA Top Fuel history, there isn’t much that Tony Schumacher hasn’t accomplished when it comes to straight-line racing. He has more national event victories (86) and championships (eight) than any other wheelman that has strapped into an NHRA Top Fuel dragster but there is still one thing that has eluded him – a victory from a four-wide event. Schumacher has come close to four-wide success, finishing as the runner-up four times, including twice at zMAX Dragway, and he was hoping this year’s Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals would culminate with him bringing home his first four-wide Wally trophy.

The SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team made three full pulls throughout qualifying to earn a spot on the elimination ladder but despite their best efforts, were unable to crack into the top half of the field by the time positions were set.

Starting from the No. 12 spot on Sunday, Schumacher faced tough competition with Steve Torrence, Dan Mercier, and Josh Hart as his first-round opponents. Schumacher was impressive on the starting line, clocking a 0.34-second reaction time to give him the holeshot advantage, but his machine started to slow as it approached the top end while Torrence and Hart made quicker passes to advance into the next round.

“We made some drastic changes ahead of first round,” explained Schumacher, a two-time winner at zMAX Dragway. “You can’t qualify 12th and have an easy quad. We knew first round was going to be difficult. We knew Josh (Hart) for sure was going to run well, and Mercier has been running great, too. We figured Torrence was going to run in the 60s or a 70 flat, so we knew we needed to run a 70 flat, and my goal was to leave on everybody. We did that, but then pushed a head gasket out. We had a little problem before we started the car this morning, and we had to take the heads off. We got it back together and then pushed a head gasket out.

“These things are cyclical, you know,” added Schumacher. “You go through excellent winning streaks, and then you go through some difficult times. In the end, the teams that become championship teams, and worthy of being champions in the fans’ eyes, are the ones that get through adversity. We don’t point fingers, we don’t get mad at each other. We gather information, we work hard, we test, and go out and win. We’ll find that place. We’re getting closer every day.”

The SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team will have two weeks to regroup before the NHRA’s next event, the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. near Chicago, May 19-21.

Qualified: No. 12 (3.741 E.T. at 323.12 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.753 E.T. at 320.66 MPH defeated by Josh Hart 3.702 E.T. at 326.79 MPH, Steve Torrence 3.697 E.T. at 329.50 MPH