DSR teams find success during two-day test at Lucas Oil Raceway

BROWNSBURG, IN – Don Schumacher Racing teams took to the historic Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis drag strip this week for two days of testing prior to next week’s 60th annual U.S. Nationals.

Six of DSR’s seven nitro-powered teams made test laps throughout the two-day test session just two miles from DSR headquarters in Brownsburg.

During the Wednesday test, Mopar Express Lane Funny Car pilot Matt Hagan clocked the best elapsed time of all Funny Car teams with a 4.032-second effort at 309 mph late in the afternoon.

“It was a hot day, the guys are working really hard,” Matt said on Wednesday evening. “We made three good runs. We tested some new stuff and it all went really well. We laid down a nice number, a 4.03 at 309 and the sun was still out. It was a nice lap for the track conditions.

“That’s definitely something for us to work off of. We’re here because we are trying some new things but we are also here to get tuned up for Indy and the Countdown.”

The Mopar team, led by crew chief Dickie Venables, is the current track record holders at the Indiana facility and were the No. 1 qualifiers last year with an elapsed time of 4.007 sec., and top speed of 319.22 mph at the prestigious Indiana track.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown led the DSR dragster contingent with a 3.782 sec., pass at 314 mph in the Matco Tools dragster on Wednesday.

“We came out here trying some stuff and we got our car to run well and you have to be that way because everyone is out here running strong,” Antron said after the team’s only day of testing. “We are definitely ready for the U.S. Nationals to start now. We got a good session in today and we tested several things that our team has wanted to try. All in all, it was a great day of testing.”

Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army team clocked their best run over two days during the Thursday afternoon heat and humidity at 3.810-seconds at 323.81 mph. Tony, the winningest driver in Top Fuel history at Indianapolis, is looking for a record tenth victory at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day.

“We tried new stuff, we tried old stuff,” Tony said. “I think what we’re trying to do is get back to our old winning ways. This (Indy) is a great place for us. We’ve always done very well here and what we learned in testing was outstanding. I think we are very, very comfortable coming into a track that we’ve won at nine times with a chance to win it for a tenth time.”

Jack Beckman’s Valvoline SynPower team with crew chief Todd Okuhara collected valuable data over the two-day test. Jack is vying for a coveted spot in the top-10 Funny Car points standings that will be reset following the Indianapolis race and only those 10 drivers will have the opportunity to win the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Jack is currently 16 points, less than one round of racing, out of the tenth spot.

“Best testing I’ve had in years,” Jack said. “Absolutely the best. People say when you go test you should use it to evaluate new parts, not just practice. Well, we needed to use it for practice and to zero in on what this car wants and get it to respond predictably. It’s been absolutely perfect. I feel so optimistic coming back here next week in race mode with the way this car is running. I think it was an A-plus testing effort.”

The 60th annual U.S. Nationals kicks off on Friday, Aug. 29 with championship eliminations held on Labor Day (Sept. 1).