Don Schumacher Racing
Schumacher Tastes Victory in Seattle, Ready to Impress in Topeks
Topeka, KS – Schumacher enters the race weekend fresh off a win from Seattle, the NHRA Camping World Series’ most recent event.
Joe and Cathi Maynard will be looking to extend their undefeated streak as team owners after Schumacher’s NHRA Northwest Nationals victory, their first event since taking over the Schumacher-piloted Top Fuel team.
Schumacher on this weekend race, “It’s great to be going to Topeka this weekend after our big win in Seattle two weeks ago. We didn’t have all of the performance we wanted but we’re moving in the right direction. After Seattle, we spent the week at Scag headquarters in Wisconsin where we got to hang with the CEO, CFO, the plant managers, got to tour the facility, and the best part was, we brought our Scag Top Fuel dragster to their company picnic and fired it up for everyone.
“I can’t wait to get back to Heartland Motorsports Park. It’s been several years since I last raced there, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone out there this weekend. We still hold the track record from 2017, which is pretty neat. Phil Shuler is able to join us again this weekend, working alongside Todd Okuhara and Marc Denner, and it’s always nice to have an extra set of eyes. The goal is to go for two-in-a-row this weekend, and hopefully, we can end our Sunday in the winner’s circle again.”
Tony Schumacher Returns to NHRA Winner’s Circle; Maynards Score First Victory in Debut Weekend as Top Fuel Team Owners
KENT, WA – The winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history returned to the winner’s circle on Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Northwest 
Nationals, the final event of the three-race Western Swing. Tony Schumacher’s Seattle victory was his first since returning to full-time competition ahead of the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, fifth at Pacific Raceways, and 86th overall. Making the victory extra sweet, the hard-fought triumph allowed him to deliver a Wally trophy to Joe and Cathi Maynard in their debut weekend as team owners after Don Schumacher Racing announced the Maynards would be assuming a majority ownership stake in the team last Sunday.
Aboard the DSR Performance-powered Okuma Top Fuel dragster, Schumacher kicked off his Seattle campaign by clocking the third-quickest run of the weekend’s first qualifying session before posting the second-quickest pass of the third round to earn the No. 3 qualifying position, his highest-seeded start to-date in 2022. On Sunday, Schumacher battled tricky track conditions to defeat Scott Palmer and fellow world champ Shawn Langdon before outlasting Justin Ashley in a wild pedalfest to reach his 155th final round. Against current Top Fuel point leader and arguably, the category’s toughest challenger, Brittany Force, Schumacher’s quick reflexes allowed him to nab the starting line advantage. His 11,000-horsepower machine started dropping cylinders early into the run, but Schumacher was able to hang on and power the Okuma dragster to the finish line stripe first for the win while Force fought traction issues in the opposite lane.
JCM Looking for Historic Victory at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals
Kent, WA – Earlier this week the team at Schumacher/Maynard announced a change in the majority ownership of the Okuma Top Fuel 
Dragster driven by Tony Schumacher. The new owners are charging head first into the 2022 NHRA top fuel championship battle.
Tony explained the significance of the change, “It’s no secret that we’re struggling on the track, but we hope the fans understand that we’re working every day and every week to make it right. Our stats are fantastic in Seattle; I’ve won it four times, and have performed extremely well there but these are different circumstances. We’ve got to get the car running right. Know that we’re putting in every single bit of effort to do that. Drag racing is one of those sports of ebbs and flows, and I’ve been on both sides of that many times. Parts change, pieces change, and we have to figure it out.
“This will be our first race competing under the Maynard Family banner, and we want to start this new chapter off on a strong note. We so desperately want this to be our get-healthy weekend, and we’re working extremely hard at doing whatever we can to get our performance up to the level it needs to be.”
DSR, Maynard Family Announce Expanded Partnership Agreement; Maynards Named Majority Owner of Top Fuel Team
SONOMA, CA – Don Schumacher Racing and Joe and Cathi Maynard announced today that they have expanded the terms of their current 
partnership to include the Maynards as majority owners of the Top Fuel operation piloted by Tony Schumacher, effective tomorrow, July 25, 2022.
As majority owners of what will be billed as the Maynard Family Racing/Don Schumacher Racing team (JCM/DSR) beginning with the upcoming NHRA Northwest Nationals, the Maynards will assume the bulk of the responsibilities of overseeing the day-to-day operations surrounding the Schumacher-driven/Todd Okuhara-tuned machine.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the Maynard family this year and look forward to them continuing to become more involved as they take on this expanded role,” said Tony Schumacher from Sonoma Raceway following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals elimination rounds. “It’s incredible to see how passionate the Maynards are about our sport. Together, we will continue to represent our roster of JCM and DSR partners such as Scag Power Equipment and Okuma to the best of our abilities both on and off the track as we race for a bid to compete in the 2022 NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.”
SCHUMACHER LOVES THE VIEWS IN SONOMA, ESPECIALLY THE ONE FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE!
Sonoma, CA – The 2022 Sonoma Nationals will mark Schumacher’s first time competing at Sonoma Raceway since 2018 for the Driver of the 
Okuma Top Fuel Dragster.
Tony explains Sonoma, “To me, Sonoma is one of those tracks that I just get extra pumped up about it. Denver, Bristol, Gainesville, Sonoma, those places are so epically beautiful, I look forward to them every time. Sonoma is one of those races where we’ve had some good success. After a disappointing first round in Denver, I’m ready to get right back in the car and try and redeem ourselves.
“We had to take out our back up car in Denver, and it’s been a thrash this week for the guys, putting a new front end on our original car. I’m not sure yet which car we will be running this weekend, but our guys are excellent at what they do and I have no doubt, at the end of the day, they’ll give me a great Okuma race car in Sonoma.”
Schumacher Out Early in Denver
MORRISON, CO – After a wild ride during the final qualifying session that saw his Maynard Family Racing/Kaizen Collision Centers Top 
Fuel dragster up on two wheels, Tony Schumacher and his Todd Okuhara-led team rolled out their backup car for race day at the NHRA Mile-High Nationals, a DSR Performance-crafted machine which was featured on the premiere episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette alongside Jordan Vandergriff earlier in the week. As the No. 11 qualifier, Schumacher, one of only seven Camping World Series competitors who can claim to have ‘swept the Swing,’ faced Clay Millican as his first-round opponent. With a category-best 41 Bandimere Speedway round wins, Schumacher was eager to add to his total but dropped cylinders early into the run caused his 11,000-horsepower machine to slow and Millican was able to score the round win.
“That was a bummer, but I love this place anyways. Heck of a ride Saturday night; brand new car, just got front-halved and we bent it on a wheelstand,” said Schumacher of his dragster, which featured ‘A Soldier’s Child’ branding, a nonprofit organization near-and-dear to the hearts of the Maynard Family.
DSR Heads to Denver to Start Western Swing
Morrison, CO – Tony Schumacher, driver of the Maynard Family/Kaizen Collision Centers Top Fuel Dragster and the team at DSR know how 
to win the swing.
“I can’t wait to get the Western Swing started this week. We’ve front-halved our car since the Norwalk race and we have new pipe on it, so it should go out and run really quick this weekend. It’s been rough the last few races but I think we’ve reached a turning point where we have a good handle on the car, and our performance on the race track should finally start reflecting that.
I’m fortunate enough to be one of the few people out there to have swept the Western Swing, and that’s a cool thing. This three-race swing is always one of my favorite parts of the season. Bandimere Speedway is one of my favorite tracks, and is definitely one of the most scenic on the circuit. And, from there we go straight to Sonoma, which is just an absolutely gorgeous part of the country, and up to Seattle where I’ve had a lot of success over the years.”
Schumacher on Bad Side of Good Drag Race; Pawuk Advances to Factory Stock Semifinals
NORWALK, OH – At the NHRA Norwalk Nationals, Tony Schumacher and the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel team qualified 14th out of a 
stacked 21-car field. While they would have preferred a higher starting position, they felt confident going into race day after closing out qualifying with a solid 3.847 E.T. in the final session.
Schumacher drew eventual race winner Mike Salinas as his round-one opponent and his quick reflexes gave him the immediate advantage off of the starting line, but Salinas was able to pull ahead near the eighth-mile marker when Schumacher’s machine pitched a blower belt. He still made a good run, and despite powering to his weekend-best pass of 3.794 seconds, the eight-time Top Fuel world champ found himself on the bad side of a good drag race.
“If I had long enough hair, I’d pull it out, because that run was outstanding,” said a frustrated Schumacher following his round-one contest. “We ran 2.90 to halftrack. We were winning that race until the belt came off. It didn’t have a cylinder out, it was going dead straight, and we had the race won. It’s heartbreak. It’s hard because we really had that one. We did a great job and gave Salinas his money’s worth. We gave him a good, solid race. Unfortunately for us, he made it down the track. There weren’t a lot of side-by-side close races out there like ours in round one today. We’re going to pack it up, front-half the car during this two week break, and then head to Denver, one of my favorite tracks on the circuit.”
Ohio Racer Mark Pawuk Reunites with Summit Racing at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
NORWALK, OH – Before he became a championship challenger in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series, Mark Pawuk 
enjoyed a long and successful NHRA career in the Pro Stock category. He competed in the doorslammer class from 1985 through 2006, banking six national event wins in the process.
Pawuk received support from Summit Racing Equipment for 15 years as both a primary and associate partner in Pro Stock, and today it was announced that Summit Racing joined Pawuk’s Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak operation as an associate partner.
Beginning with this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, the familiar red, white, and blue Summit Racing logo will again adorn a Pawuk-piloted machine. The event hosts the fifth of eight Factory Stock Showdown Series races in 2022.
“Summit Racing was a major sponsor of mine for 15 years in the Pro Stock class, and I’m glad we’re able to team up again,” said Pawuk. “It’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to once again represent a company that was so supportive in helping me reach a high level of success in my Pro Stock career.”
Schumacher Knows How to Win At Norwalk
Norwalk, OH – Driver of the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel Dragster needs a turnaround victory for his team. “I’m looking forward to 
getting to Norwalk, Ohio. I live in Austin, Texas and it’s been 106 degrees here, so I’m used to the heat. It’s supposed to be hot again this weekend in Ohio and I think that our car is meant for the heat; we’ve got a great ‘hot track tuneup.’ I haven’t been to Norwalk in years, and Midwesterners, those are my people, man. I was raised in Chicago and I love visiting that area. The Bader family gives us an awesome facility in the Midwest, and I love it because I get to see a lot of old friends and family.
“It’s the middle of the season and it’s time for our Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster to get going. We haven’t performed to the level that we’re used to but the guys have been working day in and day out, and I feel that a win is coming, and Norwalk would be a great place to do that. We have a Scag appearance on Thursday, and I look forward to seeing all of our wonderful fans there, and I’m also excited because Scag’s CEO and CFO will be coming out and checking out an NHRA race in-person for the first time so it would be an epic time to go out and do what we do best, and that is win races.”
Norwalk Event Highlights: 2007 event champion
