BROWNSBURG, IN – JCM Racing team owner and serial entrepreneur Joe Maynard recently became an equity owner in Michael Waltrip Brewing Co., the premium brewing company founded by NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip. As part of this newly formed alliance, Michael Waltrip Brewing Co. will have a more prominent place aboard the JCM Racing Top Fuel machines piloted by NHRA icon Tony Schumacher and European champion Ida Zetterström, who is slated to make her NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series start later this summer.

Fans of eight-time Top Fuel world champion Schumacher may have already glimpsed the Michael Waltrip Brewing Co. logo on his Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster this season, a small indicator of what’s to come for the two brands.

“I thrive on forging strategic alliances that elevate brands in ways that will create something greater than any one brand can achieve on its own. This is an opportunity for us to bring the race team, the brewery, and Leatherwood Distillery all together,” remarked Maynard. “We want to utilize the JCM Racing team as a marketing vehicle to drive interest in both brands.” Continue reading →

BROWNSBURG, IN – Tony Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA Drag Racing history, will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s (MSHFA) class of 2025, it was announced today. He is one of seven motorsports icons who will receive the prestigious honor reserved for individuals who are regarded as game-changing performers in the world of American motorsports.

Fellow inductees into the MSHFA Class of 2025 include Carl Haas, Dale Jarrett, Skip Barber, Miguel Duhamel, Ed Iskenderian, and Bill Stroppe. The esteemed group will take their place in history among some of the greatest names in motorsports at an induction ceremony scheduled to take place in Daytona, Florida in March of next year.

Schumacher’s induction into the MSHFA has significant meaning as this same distinction was bestowed on his father, Don Schumacher, in 2019. The elder Schumacher lost his battle with lung cancer in December of 2023, and his only son is proud to carry on the family legacy. Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS – With eight world championships and 86 national event wins, Tony Schumacher is the most successful driver in NHRA Top Fuel history, but despite checking nearly every box on the drag racing list of accomplishments, he has yet to hoist a four-wide Wally trophy. He’s come close, finishing as the runner-up in 2012 and 2017 in Charlotte, N.C. as well as recording a runner-up finish at the 2018 Las Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Aboard the Okuma Top Fuel dragster, Schumacher was hoping this weekend’s visit to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway would be the event where his four-wide luck would change, but a first-round loss halted his shot at picking up a first four-wide win.

Starting from the No. 2 seed for the second time in three events, Schumacher drew No. 7 qualifier Shawn Reed, No. 10 qualifier Justin Ashley, and No. 15 qualifier Terry Totten as his first-round competitors. Schumacher was second off of the starting line and on a good run before his machine started to spin the tires near the top end, slowing to a 4.109 E.T. while Ashley and Totten posted a 3.777 and 3.911, respectively, to advance into the next round. Continue reading →

CHANDLER, AZ – Driving the Leatherwood Distillery/RAC Financial Top Fuel dragster, Tony Schumacher posted the best run of Sunday’s opening elimination round at Firebird Motorsports Park yet found himself on the wrong side of a close drag race.

Before he made a run at the Sunday hardware, Schumacher had already scored one win earlier in the weekend. On Saturday afternoon during the second round of qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Schumacher clinched his first victory of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season when he defeated Brittany Force to win the Phoenix edition of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge.

After collecting his first trophy of the weekend, Schumacher then faced his former teammate Justin Ashley in the weather-delayed running of the NHRA Winternationals final round during Q3. Hoping to go two-for-two, Schumacher gave it a good run, recording a 3.772 E.T. to Ashley’s slower 3.802-second run, but his opponent’s starting line advantage propelled him across the finish line stripe first.

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CHANDLER, AZ – Tony Schumacher and the Leatherwood Distillery/RAC Financial Top Fuel team scored their first victory of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season when they clinched the NHRA Arizona Nationals Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday afternoon at Firebird Motorsports Park.

After recording his best qualifying position in 46 events during the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, Schumacher advanced from the No. 2 spot into the final round by defeating Terry Totten, Shawn Langdon, and Billy Torrence at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. By moving beyond the quarterfinals in Pomona, Schumacher earned a spot in the Phoenix running of the Mission Foods-backed specialty race.

On Friday afternoon at Firebird, Schumacher faced Billy Torrence, his Pomona semifinal opponent, during the first qualifying round, which also served as the first elimination round for the Phoenix #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Against Torrence, Schumacher took the Leatherwood/RAC Financial dragster into the second and final round of the Challenge by clocking a 3.755 E.T. at 328.38 MPH to defeat his competitor’s tire-smoker. During Saturday’s first session, Schumacher was first out of the gate against Brittany Force and never trailed for the win. Continue reading →

POMONA, CA – Persistent rain showers plagued teams throughout the weekend during the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, and Sunday’s elimination rounds were no exception. After scoring his best qualifying position in 46 events, Tony Schumacher and the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel team began race day at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip from the No. 2 starting position. Schumacher was on track to capture his first trophy of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season but will now have to wait nearly two weeks to make a run for a third Winternationals victory.

In the opening round of eliminations on Sunday, Schumacher used his starting line advantage coupled with a 3.752 E.T. to easily defeat Terry Totten’s instant tire-smoker. Next up for Schumacher was a showdown with Shawn Langdon, who entered the weekend as the most recent winner on tour after powering to victory at the season-opener in Gainesville, Florida two weeks prior. Once again, Schumacher’s machine-like reflexes allowed him to score the holeshot start and he never trailed for the win, taking the Leatherwood dragster through the finish line beams in 3.774 seconds versus Langdon’s 4.589-second effort. The semifinal round featured a match-up with another heavy-hitter, with the eight-time world champ lining up opposite Billy Torrence.

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Gainesville, FL – In Top Fuel competition, Tony Schumacher rolled into the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season-opener with a renewed sense of confidence and a brand-new look on his JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster. Debuting the Leatherwood Distillery livery in front of a packed house at Gainesville Raceway, Schumacher and his Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff/Jon Schaffer-led team scored the No. 5 qualifying position to start race day at the NHRA Gatornationals from the top half of the field.

The Leatherwood Distillery team opened the weekend with a dropped cylinder in the first round of qualifying but quickly rebounded in the second session with Schumacher taking his 12,000 horsepower machine to the stripe in 3.728 seconds to move into sixth. After waiting out a lengthy rain delay on Saturday, traction issues plagued the team in Q3 but once again, they were able to regroup and recover. In the final session, Schumacher launched hard and clocked his quickest pass of the weekend, a 3.712 E.T. at 326.79 MPH, to move up one position to sixth.
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GAINESVILLE, FL – Top Alcohol Dragster rookie Joe C. Maynard, son of JCM Racing team owner Joe Maynard, doubled up on Wally trophies during his first NHRA national event appearance this weekend at the 55th annual Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.

During the most recent off-season, Maynard, who became involved in NHRA Drag Racing with his family in 2021, announced that he would be making his NHRA driving debut in the competitive Top Alcohol Dragster category in 2024. Driving the Samsel Racing A/Fuel Dragster, Maynard staged his JCM Racing/Leatherwood Distillery entry in competition for the first time during the divisional event known as the “Baby Gators,” which began the weekend before the Gatornationals.

In his debut race, Maynard earned the No. 4 qualifying position and went on to defeat Karen Stalba in the opening round of eliminations, activating the scoreboard win lights for the first time in his career. Soon after, the remainder of the divisional Baby Gators was postponed until the Gatornationals due to weather with eliminations scheduled to be contested during the weekend’s qualifying rounds. On Friday, Maynard clocked two solid runs to pick off Mike Coughlin and Matthew Cummings and capture his first NHRA trophy, and the first win for JCM Racing in 2024.

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BROWNSBURG, IN – JCM Racing’s Ida Zetterström has been selected to join the Swedish National Motorsport Team, the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation announced today. The three-time series champion on the European drag racing circuit is the first straight-line racer to be selected into the prestigious program, which aims to develop Swedish auto racing drivers by providing access to various resources intended to help racers reach their full potential.

The Swedish National Motorsport Team, which is supported by the country’s National Sports Confederation, offers its participants access to top-notch physical training, nutrition plans, data logging, networking, and on-track and simulator testing, among other resources. As part of the program, Zetterström will receive a custom-tailored development plan, which will help ensure that she is at the top of her game, both physically and mentally, when she makes her NHRA Drag Racing debut later this summer competing alongside teammate Tony Schumacher aboard JCM Racing’s second Top Fuel entry.

“This is the first time that the Swedish National Motorsport Team has selected a drag racer to be represented in their line-up of drivers, so this is a big deal for me, and for the Swedish drag racing community in general,” said Zetterström, who originally hails from Stockholm, Sweden, but relocated to the Indianapolis area in January to be close to the JCM Racing shop in Brownsburg.

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