Madison, IL – NHRA Rookie of the Year contender Ida Zetterström, who started her NHRA Top Fuel career with a first-round holeshot win over Steve Torrence, came up short in another first-round battle with Torrence at the NHRA Midwest Nationals Sunday morning at World Wide Technology Raceway. But between rain-shortened qualifying and eliminations, she made three consistent passes in her JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge Top Fuel dragster, giving the reigning FIA European Top Fuel champion confidence going into the final three races of her rookie season.

Persistent rain washed away any chance of hitting the track on Friday, leaving Zetterström and her 18 fellow competitors with just two Saturday qualifying attempts to get into the 16-car field. With Jon Schaffer making the tuning calls, Zetterström got into the show in the No. 13 spot in her first attempt with a 3.814-second pass at 308.14 mph. She then stepped up with a 3.76 at 319.37 mph in the second and final qualifying session to move up to a career-best No. 9 position, setting up a first-round matchup with the four-time world champion for the third time in Zetterström’s five starts. Adding to the excitement, Zetterström was part of a historic field, which included four women competing in the Sunday show, a first for the NHRA Top Fuel category. Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – Eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher picked up his second win of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season on Sunday afternoon at the Midwest Nationals, giving him a much-needed boost in his hunt for a ninth series title. Aboard the Leatherwood Distillery/Waltrip Brewing Co. Top Fuel dragster, Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel racer in NHRA history, powered past Steve Torrence in an exciting final round showdown to bring his total win count up to 88 national event victories. Thanks to his successful outing at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, Schumacher, who started the Countdown to the Championship ranked eighth, now occupies the No. 6 spot with three races remaining before the series champion is crowned.

After persistent rain showers kept teams from taking to the track on Friday, the Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff-led team started the weekend on Saturday by posting a run that placed them at the top of the timing sheets. Schumacher’s opening lap of 3.739 seconds at 325.22 mph held up to be the quickest of the round and added three bonus points to his overall total. The team made another statement-making pass in the second and final qualifying session, with Schumacher rocketing to a 3.718 E.T. at 325.22 mph to add two more bonus points to his tally. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – Competing on the zMAX Dragway track for the first time, NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate Ida Zetterström was in pursuit of adding more round wins to her growing list of accomplishments on American soil. After earning a spot on the NHRA Carolina Nationals eliminations ladder, the Swedish-born racer faced Brittany Force on Sunday, but her day was cut short after her car unexpectedly shut off shortly after losing traction in the first round.

The Jon Schaffer-tuned JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge team opened qualifying with a solid run of 3.797 seconds at 317.94 mph in unseasonably hot and humid conditions. The run provisionally placed Zetterström 12th in the qualifying order. Looking to crack into the top half of the field in Friday night’s cooler conditions, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion rolled up to the starting line for the second qualifying session but lost traction right at the hit. Traction issues continued during the third session and she went into Q4 sitting on the ‘bump’ spot in 16th with 18 cars competing for a chance to race on Sunday. With one session remaining, Zetterström closed out qualifying with a good-looking pass of 3.807 seconds and secured the No. 16 seed to start race day. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – With Leatherwood Distillery and Waltrip Brewing Company co-branding on his JCM Racing dragster, eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher went into the NHRA Carolina Nationals eager to pick up his third Charlotte fall race victory. Those hopes were dashed early, though, when Schumacher ended up on the wrong side of a tough race in the first round of eliminations Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway. Still, Schumacher held on to his No. 7 spot in the points standings with four races remaining in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship.

Schumacher went right to the top half of the field in the opening qualifying session on Friday, with his 3.782 E.T. at 327.11 mph putting him No. 7. He moved up to fifth in the second session with a 3.714-second pass at 325.92 mph to wrap up day one of qualifying. Schumacher ran into traction issues in both of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, though he remained No. 5 on the final qualifying order thanks to his Friday night effort.

In Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Schumacher met up with veteran driver Doug Foley. Schumacher grabbed a few thousands of a second advantage out of the gate, but his 3.834-second run at 320.28 mph wasn’t quick enough to hold off Foley’s winning 3.78 E.T. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – Joe C. Maynard raced to the zMAX Dragway winner’s circle on Sunday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals to capture his second national event triumph in his rookie season competing in the Top Alcohol Dragster category. The victory went down in the books as national event win No. 10 for the third-year organization. Maynard powered his Samsel Racing-prepared JCM/Leatherwood Distillery A/Fuel Dragster to victory in 5.272 seconds at 273.05 mph to defeat Julie Nataas, the category’s reigning champion, in the final round.

Maynard, an Army veteran and son of JCM Racing team owner Joe E. Maynard, clinched his first national event win at the 2024 season-opener when he doubled up at the Gatornationals, also winning the divisional race in Gainesville, Florida in his debut event. Maynard found his way back to the winner’s circle at the Concord, North Carolina facility by utilizing his machine-like reflexes to help him defeat a stacked lineup of opponents on race day.

“Miss you, Mom, this is dedicated to you,” said an emotional Maynard following the win, pointing to his Wally trophy. “I miss her every day, but I know she’s smiling down on us. I also want to thank my dad and everyone at JCM Racing for supporting us. I’m proud to be able to deliver this win for Leatherwood and our whole team.” Continue reading →

Reading, PA – Multi-time European drag racing champion Ida Zetterström bowed out early on Sunday at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals after she was eliminated in the opening round of competition for the first time in her NHRA career. The 2023 FIA Top Fuel champ clocked the second-quickest run of the first round aboard her Jon Schaffer-tuned JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge Top Fuel dragster, but it wasn’t enough to outpace Shawn Langdon, whose starting line advantage allowed him to propel through the finish line beams first and advance into round two.

Zetterström qualified 12th out of 19 Top Fuel dragsters vying for a shot in the Sunday show at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Swedish speedster opened the weekend with a tire-smoking run in the first qualifying session but quickly rebounded. On Friday night, Zetterström took her 11,000-horsepower rail on a 3.779-second at 329.10 mph ride to reset her career-best speed. She closed out qualifying on Saturday by powering her machine straight down the groove in 3.771 seconds in Q4, which held up to be the third-quickest pass of the session. Continue reading →

READING, PA – Tony Schumacher kicked off his bid for a ninth NHRA Top Fuel title and JCM Racing’s first world championship by advancing to the quarterfinals in Reading, Pennsylvania at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, the first event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Starting from the No. 2 qualifying position for the third time this season, the winningest Top Fuel racer in Maple Grove Raceway history scored a first-round win on Sunday morning before falling to fellow Countdown-contender Antron Brown in the second round of eliminations.

A five-time winner in Reading, Schumacher’s best qualifying performance of the weekend came when he kept his Leatherwood Distillery/Waltrip Brewing Co. Top Fuel dragster hooked up and firing on all eight cylinders to run the second-quickest pass of the Friday night session. The 3.733-second at 328.70 mph run earned the team two bonus points for their effort and held up through all four sessions to place them second on the Top Fuel timing sheets to start race day. Schumacher’s Sunday morning began with a first-round match-up versus Doug Foley.

Against Foley, Schumacher moved first and never trailed for the win, recording a 3.759 E.T. to advance into the quarterfinals where he faced his former teammate, Antron Brown. The two multi-time world champions were nearly even leaving the starting line, but Schumacher lost traction shortly after the launch while his opponent made a full pull in the opposite lane for the win. Continue reading →

INDIANNAPOLIS – The 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals can push even the most experienced drivers to the limit, but Rookie of the Year contender Ida Zetterström proved she has what it takes to compete in the sport’s most prestigious race when she scored a first-round win on Monday morning. She set new career-best numbers in her JCM Racing/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge Top Fuel dragster before bowing out in the second round at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Though she was looking for a second consecutive semifinal appearance in just her second career NHRA event, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion is happy with her first ‘Big Go’ experience.

Zetterström, who moved from her home in Finland’s Åland Islands to the Indianapolis area earlier this year, started the weeklong celebration of speed that is the U.S. Nationals by throwing out the first pitch at the Indianapolis Indians game on Tuesday night. It was her first-ever baseball game, and she learned of the significance of the ‘first pitch’ just a few weeks before taking the mound. She continued the week with pre-race activities like local media appearances and an autograph session at the Cruz Pedregon Racing open house on Thursday evening. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – The NHRA U.S. Nationals is a race that holds a wealth of memories and historic moments for eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher. He’s felt the pressure at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park nearly every Labor Day weekend for the past three decades, and he’s experienced the thrill of victory an unprecedented 10 times in the 70-year history of the event. This time around, Schumacher in his Leatherwood Distillery dragster scored a nail-biting first-round win before a starting line mishap in the second round ended his day earlier than planned.

In Friday’s first qualifying session, Schumacher launched hard but started to lose traction and had to lift to a 4.896-second pass to sit on the bump spot going into Saturday’s two sessions. He laid down a 3.739 E.T. at 326.32 mph in the second session to move up to seventh. Schumacher had issues on the third and fourth qualifying attempts, but his 3.777 E.T. in Q5 was the fourth-quickest pass of the final session, earning one bonus point. Schumacher ended up No. 8 on the final qualifying order. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, NM – Tony Schumacher and the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel team were consistent throughout qualifying at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, making three solid passes out of four, but came up short in the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning at Brainerd International Raceway as Schumacher attempted to pick up his second win of the season.

Schumacher and the team unloaded with a good, clean 3.808-second pass on Friday to open the weekend. They missed the mark during the day’s second session but rebounded in a big way on Saturday, clocking 3.782 and 3.790-second runs during the final two field-setting sessions. Schumacher settled into the No. 13 spot on the Top Fuel eliminations ladder and found himself facing NHRA newbie Tony Stewart in the opening round on Sunday morning. In the ‘Tony vs. Tony’ battle, Schumacher moved first in his Leatherwood Distillery rail, but Stewart had the difference made up by the time they cleared the 60-foot mark and never trailed for the win, blocking Schumacher from making a run at a fourth Brainerd trophy. While Schumacher and the team would have preferred a longer race day on Sunday, the eight-time world champion feels hopeful with the amount of progress his team has made as of late. Continue reading →