The most-decorated Top Fuel driver in NHRA history announces his return to full-time competition with backing from The Maynard Family

BROWNSBURG, IN – The winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history will return to Don Schumacher Racing in 2022 where he will reprise his role as a championship-contending driver. Eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher will kick-off his campaign for a ninth series title beginning with the 2022 NHRA season-opener in Pomona, Calif. in February, and is slated to run the full 22-race Camping World Series schedule.

Highly-decorated crew chief Todd Okuhara will serve as the lead tuner on the Schumacher-piloted Top Fuel dragster. Okuhara, who has been a member of the DSR family since 2005, has a proven record of success at the Brownsburg, Ind.-based organization where he currently serves as the crew chief on Leah Pruett’s 11,000-horsepower machine.

The Maynard Family, who joined drag racing’s winningest organization in 2021 as a major associate partner, has signed on to support Schumacher as a primary backer in 2022, with additional partners to be announced at a later date.

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Bristol, TN – Noteworthy:

– Don Schumacher Racing’s Funny Car tandem enters the weekend ranked No. 1 and 2 in the standings. Three-time and defending world champion Matt Hagan occupies first and carries a 33-point lead on No. 2 ranked Ron Capps
 – Capps raced to victory at the most recent event on the NHRA tour (Dallas) and returns to Bristol as the winningest Funny Car driver in Thunder Valley history with five Bristol Dragway triumphs
– DSR’s two Funny Car teams have won three of the first four NHRA Countdown to the Championship events: Event No. 1 Reading – Hagan (Tommy Johnson Jr. competed on Hagan’s behalf while he was sidelined due to COVID-19)
– Event No. 3 St. Louis – Hagan
– Event No. 4 Dallas – Capps
– Antron Brown has won at every track on the current NHRA tour with the exception of Bristol, and he hopes to capture that elusive first Thunder Valley victory this weekend while he works toward reclaiming a ‘top five’ ranking in the Top Fuel Countdown to the Championship standings
– As a resident of Christiansburg, Va., Hagan considers Bristol Dragway to be a hometown track

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ENNIS, TX – Ron Capps has been vying for a Texas NHRA FallNationals trophy for more than 20 years, and on Sunday afternoon, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car driver finally realized his goal of winning the event’s signature black champions’ cowboy hat when he raced to victory at the 36th running of the Ennis race. Capps’ win at the Texas Motorplex, which marked the halfway point of the seven-event Countdown to the Championship playoffs, was his second triumph of the season, and 68th overall.

Led by co-crew chiefs Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and John Medlen, the 2016 Funny Car world champion entered the race weekend ranked second in the Countdown standings and 59 points behind his No. 1 ranked teammate and defending series champ Matt Hagan, who he went on to defeat in the final round. Capps’ Texas triumph ensured the DSR dogfight will continue to intensify heading into the final stretch of the season as he and Hagan battle a deep Funny Car field to try and score DSR’s 19th world championship. A mere 33 points, or less than two rounds, separate Hagan and Capps with three races remaining before a champion is crowned. Although the cushion between Capps and the No. 3 ranked driver, Cruz Pedregon, is larger at 80 points, Capps isn’t taking anybody lightly.

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Ennis, TX – Texas NHRA FallNationals

DSR Qualifying Highlights:

 – No. 2 ranked Funny Car championship-contender Ron Capps led DSR in qualifying by clocking the second-quickest run of both Q2 and Q4 to earn four bonus points and the No. 2 qualifying position to start race day
– Three-time and defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan qualified fourth for the Texas NHRA FallNationals. Hagan will be looking to maintain his points lead as he battles for a second consecutive victory following his triumph at the most recent event (St. Louis)
– Antron Brown will start race day at the Texas Motorplex from the quick half of the Top Fuel field and with lane choice over his E1 opponent
– Leah Pruett recorded the third-quickest run of Q3 to earn one bonus point

Driver Information:

Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools ‘Tools for a Cause’ Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

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Ennis, TX – NHRA Dallas Qualifying Report

DSR Qualifying Highlights:

 – Ron Capps rocketed to the provisional No. 2 qualifying position on Friday night under the lights at Texas Motorplex, clocking a blistering 3.882-second E.T. to earn two qualifying bonus points
– In the opposite lane, three-time and defending world champion Matt Hagan took his No. 1 ranked Funny Car on a 3.897-second ride to close out Friday night in the provisional No. 4 spot
– Antron Brown earned a provisional qualifying position in the quick half of the Top Fuel field and will start Saturday from seventh

Driver Information:

Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools ‘Tools for the Cause’ Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

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Ennis, TX – Texas NHRA FallNationals, Noteworthy:

– The Texas NHRA FallNationals marks the halfway point in the Countdown to the Championship, with all DSR drivers in contention
 – Three-time and defending world champion Matt Hagan enters the race as the Funny Car point leader
– Hagan raced from the pole to the winner’s circle at the most recent event on tour (St. Louis); the triumph was the Western Technical College Dodge Funny Car team’s third win in five events
– Hagan returns to Dallas seeking his third consecutive Texas Motorplex final round outing. He raced to victory in 2019, and a runner-up finish from the pole in 2020
– No. 2 ranked Funny Car driver Ron Capps is seeking his first FallNats victory, a feat that has eluded him ever since he won at the Motorplex in 1998 at the discontinued Spring event, as he battles to overcome the 59-point deficit separating him from Hagan
– No. 7 ranked Top Fuel pilot Antron Brown will debut the Matco Tools ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Brown will drive the pinked-out machine during the month of October
– Brown and No. 6 ranked Leah Pruett are focused on reclaiming their positions within the Top Fuel ‘top five’

DSR Driver Information:

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MADISON, IL – Three-time and defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan drove the New Holland Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat straight from the pole to the NHRA Midwest Nationals winner’s circle on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Hagan’s triumph was his first at the suburban St. Louis venue, third of the year, and allowed him to surpass teammate Ron Capps and take over the Funny Car point lead.

Hagan’s Midwest Nationals campaign began when he recorded the best E.T. of both Q2 and Q3 in addition to Friday night’s second-seeded Q1 effort, which allowed him to capture eight out of nine available bonus points during the weekend and the coveted No. 1 qualifying position. Starting from the top of the timing sheets for the third time in 2021, and 43rd time of his career, Hagan’s race day began with a Bye run where he posted a 3.940-second E.T. He then faced two fellow Countdown-contenders in rounds two and three, soundly defeating J.R. Todd and Cruz Pedregon by powering the Dickie Venables-tuned Dodge Hellcat to its 16th-consecutive sub-four second pass in the semifinals, a streak that dates back to Reading Q2.

In the final round, Hagan rocketed the New Holland Dodge to another stout lap, lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.933 at a top event-speed of 333.49 mph to outrun Bob Tasca’s 3.967-second effort.

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The defending champ and current point leader are qualified No. 1 and 2 heading into race day

MADISON, IL – Three-time and defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan will begin his campaign for a first NHRA Midwest Nationals trophy from the pole position on Sunday morning at World Wide Technology Raceway in suburban St. Louis. It is Hagan’s third No. 1 qualifier award of the season, and 43rd overall.

Hagan earned the No. 1 spot by driving the New Holland Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye to a stout 3.868 E.T. at 333.25 mph during the third qualifying session to move from the No. 2 qualifying position up to the top of the ladder, surpassing teammate Ron Capps who had previously held the provisional pole through the first two sessions.

Saturday’s final qualifying session was reminiscent of Funny Car Q1 with Hagan and Capps closing out the round by lining up in the final pairing. Just like on Friday night, Hagan and Capps unloaded with monster runs, rocketing to the two best passes of the session, and putting on a spectacular show for the fans by clocking side-by-side 333-mph runs with Capps posting a 3.876 E.T.

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The current point leader and defending world champ maintain their stronghold on the Funny Car category

MADISON, IL – Don Schumacher Racing’s stronghold on the Funny Car class continued on Friday night at the NHRA Midwest Nationals when current point leader Ron Capps rocketed his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a blistering 3.888-second pass to earn the provisional pole while defending world champion Matt Hagan finished right behind him in second, powering the New Holland Dodge to a 3.889 E.T.

Capps and Hagan’s Dodge Hellcats were the final two Funny Cars to hit the World Wide Technology Raceway dragstrip during day one of qualifying, and they did not disappoint, motoring to side-by-side 332-mile-per-hour passes and putting on a spectacular show for the St. Louis area fans.

“Matt and I have the two best seats in the house,” said Capps who started the 2021 Countdown to the Championship as the No. 1 seed. “Funny Car is so fun for the fans right now, but for the drivers and the crews, it’s going to be like old school Pro Stock; it’s going to come down to the wire. With us going one and two tonight and running so close to each other, you’re going to see a lot of that over these last few races. A great job by (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen.”

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Madison, IL – NHRA Midwest Nationals, Noteworthy:

– DSR Dodge Hellcat Funny Car pilots Ron Capps and Matt Hagan enter the weekend ranked No. 1 and 2 in the Countdown to the Championship point standings, with Hagan trailing Capps by five points
– Capps, the winningest Funny Car driver at World Wide Technology Raceway, will look to add to his four St. Louis wins as he pursues a second Camping World Series title
– As the three-time and defending Funny Car series champ, Hagan will be focused on taking last year’s Midwest Nationals runner-up finish one step further as he chases his first St. Louis triumph and fourth series title
– Hagan’s two worlds will collide this weekend as he proudly debuts the New Holland Funny Car. As a race car driver on the weekend and rancher during the week, Hagan, aka the ‘world’s fastest farmer,’ looks forward to bannering the New Holland colors in St. Louis. For the past eight years, he has relied on New Holland’s equipment on his 3,400-acre cattle and hemp farm

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