Round Two of Western Swing Takes U.S. Army Trio to Sonoma Nationals

SONOMA, CA – Safe to say one of the most difficult feats in all of motorsports is sweeping the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series annual Western Swing – back-to-back-to-back weekends at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and Pacific Raceways on the outskirts of Seattle. The last two drivers to successfully string together consecutive event titles at those three events are U.S. Army Racing’s Top Fuel aces Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher in 2008 and Antron Brown in 2009.

They are two of only five Top Fuel drivers who have ever swept the Western Swing – constested since 1989 – the others being Joe Amato in 1991, Cory McClenathan in 1997 and Larry Dixon in 2003. Only two non-Top Fuel competitors have ever pulled off the sweep – Funny Car’s John Force in 1994 and Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson in 2004.

Both Schumacher and Brown and their respective teams set themselves up to repeat the feat the past two seasons, Schumacher scoring his third career Mile-High Nationals title at Bandimere in 2016 and Brown winning the 2017 Mile-High Nationals. But both U.S. Army drivers came up short of the rare and coveted sweep. Statistically, the Denver winner over the years has had a less than eight percent chance to go on to victory at Sonoma and Seattle.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) was eliminated in the second round at Sonoma in 2016 to end his bid for a second career Western Swing sweep. Brown and his Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR came ever so close to actually pulling off his second career sweep last year, advancing to the Sonoma final where he was edged at the finish by Steve Torrence, but returning the following weekend to win at Seattle.

The latest driver to have a chance at the Western Swing sweep happens to be the newest member of the U.S. Army Top Fuel lineup, Leah Pritchett, who had a near-perfect three days at last weekend’s Mile-High Nationals, qualifying No. 1 for the second event in a row and for the second year in a row at Bandimere, then running the table through four rounds of Sunday eliminations, beating Doug Kalitta in a thrilling Top Fuel final.

It’s certainly an exclusive club Pritchett looks to join these next two weekends, but she and her Jeb Allen/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR team are riding some solid momentum. Back-to-back No. 1 qualifying efforts at Epping, New Hampshire and Denver are her second and third No. 1s of the year to give her 10 in her career. And after an up-and-down first 11 events of 2018, which featured the Atlanta event title and another final-round appearance at Chicago, Pritchett has advanced to the semifinal round or beyond at each of the last three stops on the tour. Last year at Sonoma, Pritchett qualified No. 1 for the second weekend in a row and did so in track-record fashion, laying down a stout elapsed time of 3.663 seconds in Friday night’s prime conditions.

Even though the Western Swing sweep is not a possibility for Schumacher and Brown, the longstanding U.S. Army drivers have six Sonoma event titles between them – four for Brown and two for Schumacher – and hit town as solid threats to end Pritchett’s sweep bid.

Qualifying for the 31st annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals begins Friday with FS1 televising two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday. The FOX network will provide three hours of live coverage of Sunday’s elimination rounds beginning at 4 p.m.

TONY “THE SARGE” SCHUMACHER, driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

Your thoughts as you head to Sonoma for this weekend’s second leg of the Western Swing?

“I can’t wait to get to Sonoma. We’re going to show up a little more aggressive. We have a U.S. Army car coming to races that can win any of these races. We’ve had some bad luck and some timing where we would’ve beaten any other car but the one we’re racing, and that happens. But that always changes, and the key to a winning, championship team is knowing that – keeping your chin up, just being a machine every time. I love Sonoma. We left straight from Denver to go to Sonoma because I love the place, itself. I love the people, I love the fans, the stands are packed and huge and I can’t wait for the weekend. Like I said, Mike (Neff, crew chief) told me we’re going to show up and be a little more aggressive. We’re going to make our 60-foot a little quicker, get the car moving a little quicker, and just be more aggressive because we’ve got a car that can go down the track and now it’s time to win this championship.”

People in the sport always talk about sweeping the Western Swing. You accomplished that in 2008 and your teammate Antron Brown did it in 2009. With the level of competition there is in this class, do you see that happening again?

“It’s definitely a tough deal. There are so many great drivers and teams out there that everyone is so close and things have to go your way all weekend to win one, let alone sweep all three. Back when we were able to do it, the Army car was so strong and, now, with the expansion of DSR and other multiple-car teams, it’s just hard to have a car that is so far superior. I hope I can come out and win this weekend and the talk about sweeping the swing can be done with until next year. The good news is we continue to make progress each week and our goal continues to be running our best in those final six events during the Countdown. Sonoma’s been a good place for us in the past. It’s been a little while since we’ve won there, but if we can put four good runs together in qualifying and be ready for Sunday, I think we’ll have a great shot”

ANTRON BROWN, driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

Your overall thoughts about this weekend’s second leg of the Western Swing at Sonoma?

“We’re going Sonoma, where it’s always been a good race for us. It’s always been a good race to break out and that’s where we need to start and just get the ball on our side and in our court. It all starts in qualifying – we have to qualify better, first, and that takes care of itself. When you qualify in the top three spots, it makes it a lot easier and better, so that’s the game plan. This kind of a season we’ve had so far is not something we’re not used to. We’ve just got to fight and we know what we’ve got to do and we know what’s at hand. Our main focus is to be ready when we get to the Countdown and that hasn’t changed from day one this season.”

People in the sport talk always talk about sweeping the Western Swing. You were the most recent Top Fuel competitor to accomplish that feat in 2009, and your teammate Tony Schumacher did it in 2008. With the level of competition there is in this class, do you see that happening again?

“It’s tough. The conditions and the changes that these crew chiefs have to make in three weeks is what makes it so difficult. Mark (Oswald) and Brad (Mason, crew chiefs) are the best of the best and we’ve done it before and we’d love to do it again. It’s getting tougher every year to win one race, let alone three in a row. We’re having an up-and-down but there’s a lot more racing left to do and we just want to continue to get better every weekend. We race hard and that’s the hardest part, especially when you’re racing your teammates – you have nothing to lose and you better bring your A-plus game. It’s the same thing when racing all the other cars out there. Anybody can win on any given Sunday. It’s all about whoever has it together on Sunday. That’s been proven race in and race out this year. But we’re where we’re at because we never quit. Everybody wants to work together to beat each other. When you motivate each other to beat each other, you raise it to a different bar. We elevate each other to a new level. All the other teams have elevated themselves and it’s anybody’s race. We’ve got to step up and try to go to another level.”

LEAH PRITCHETT, driver of the Jeb Allen/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing

After your big win at Denver last weekend, your thoughts as you head to Sonoma for the second leg of the Western Swing?

“I’m feeling every bit good about this Western Swing. As long of a week as the Mile-High Nationals was for our team, it feels like it has flown by. With Denver in our rear view mirror, and a Wally on the dash, we feel good about our momentum coming into Sonoma. From one extreme altitude to sea level, the racecar components may change, but the motivation to keep winning and excel is still sky high. I know last weekend’s success was more than just magic on the mountain. We know what it’s like and what it takes to win back to back (Pomona and Phoenix 2017) and that is what we’re focusing on. Let’s see if we can do it again.”