Maynard Family Racing
MAYNARD FAMILY RACING LOOKING FOR THE WALLY AT INDY
Indianapolis, IN – After powering to victory in Seattle earlier this month, Schumacher raced to a runner-up finish in Brainerd, Minn. two 
weeks ago, having visited the final round two times over the last three events. Following the Brainerd race, the team was notified that they were receiving a fine and points penalty due to circumstances related to the second elimination round at the Minnesota event. Schumacher was docked 50 points, and has dropped from eighth to 10th in the standings to start the race weekend. The team disagrees with NHRA’s stance and has requested that the penalties be reversed.
With an unprecedented 10 U.S. Nationals victories, Schumacher is the winningest Camping World Series driver in Indianapolis history. The U.S Nationals is a hometown event for the Maynard Family Racing team, whose racing operation is located in nearby Brownsburg
Schumacher will campaign the Maynard Family Racing green and orange livery one final time before the JCM paint scheme is sunsetted following the event.
Maynard Family Racing Adds Phil Shuler to Crew Chief Line-Up
Shuler Joins Todd Okuhara, Marc Denner as part of Tony Schumacher Top Fuel Brain Trust
BROWNSBURG, IN – The Maynard Family Racing team (JCM) announced today that crew chief Phil Shuler has joined the Tony 
Schumacher-piloted Top Fuel operation in an official capacity. The news shouldn’t come as a major surprise for NHRA fans, who may have noticed Shuler’s presence on the starting line and in Schumacher’s pit for the last several events. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Shuler had been lending his knowledge and serving as an extra set of eyes since temporarily joining the JCM/DSR camp for the Sonoma, Calif. event in July when crew chief Todd Okuhara was sidelined due to COVID. Shuler then continued on with the team as they raced to victory near Seattle at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, and remained onboard for the Topeka, Kansas outing and runner-up finish in Brainerd, Minn. last weekend.
The initial plan was for Shuler to join JCM crew chief Todd Okuhara and assistant crew chief Marc Denner on a temporary basis, but after seeing how well the trio has worked together and the team’s recent uptick in performance, the decision was made to bring Shuler in-house as a full-time team member and serve as co-crew chief alongside Okuhara as the crew prepares for their 2022 Countdown to the Championship title campaign.
“The addition of Phil to our team became a must-do as I watched the brain trust of Todd, Phil, and Marc work with Tony and our crew to attain the victory in Seattle and continue with performance improvements since that race. Cathi (Maynard) and I are excited to know we have our team set!” said JCM team owner Joe Maynard following the group’s second final round appearance in three events.
Schumacher Powers to Runner-Up Finish in Brainerd
BRAINERD, MN – For the second time in three events, Tony Schumacher and the Okuma Top Fuel team advanced to the final round, 
having recorded a runner-up finish on Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.
Following his NHRA Northwest Nationals victory in Seattle earlier this month, and a quarterfinal finish in Topeka, Kansas last weekend, Schumacher and the Maynard Family Racing team have been steadily making their way back into the 2022 NHRA Top Fuel title conversation. With Sunday’s final round appearance, Schumacher moved up one spot in the standings to eighth with only one event remaining before Countdown starting positions are set.
Schumacher qualified his DSR Performance-powered Okuma dragster seventh to start race day, and eliminated Doug Kalitta, Josh Hart, and Justin Ashley to reach his 156th final round, but it wasn’t without some drama, and the round wins were hard-fought. Schumacher pedaled to an ugly win over Kalitta as the two Top Fuel titans smoked their way down the track. While getting the car prepped for their round two contest versus Hart, the team encountered a mechanical issue which caused them to be delayed heading to the starting line. Without the opportunity to warm up, the team raced to the starting line with moments to spare before crew chiefs were instructed to fire up their machines. Despite the hiccup in the pit and a loss of traction during his race, Schumacher powered to the win over Hart’s immediate tire-smoker.
Tony Schumacher Reclaims Top 10 Ranking in Topeka
TOPEKA, KS – Following his NHRA Northwest Nationals victory in Seattle two weeks prior, Tony Schumacher was looking to make it two-
in-a-row at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor in Topeka, Kansas.
Schumacher qualified the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster 12th to face Doug Kalitta in the opening round of eliminations at Heartland Motorsports Park, setting up a match-up between two of the most tenured drivers in the sport. Schumacher and Kalitta lined up side-by-side for the 93rd time in their career on Sunday morning, the most of any two Top Fuel drivers, with Schumacher holding the round win advantage 52-40 over his opponent. Schumacher successfully extended his win count when he moved first to earn the holeshot triumph in a close side-by-side race. Not only did the round win net the 86-time race winner a bid to the quarterfinals, but it allowed him to crack back into the Top 10 in the point standings by moving up two positions from 11th to ninth for the first time since the Bristol, Tenn. event in June.
Seeking his sixth consecutive win light, Schumacher faced reigning Top Fuel world champ Steve Torrence in round two. Schumacher nabbed the starting line advantage, but a dropped cylinder at the step of the throttle caused his machine to slow while Torrence drove to victory, ending Schumacher’s day after the quarterfinals.
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.”
