Schumacher’s fifth Gators title is most in Top Fuel at track; DSR Funny Cars miss first winner’s circle of the season
GAINESVILLE, FL – It isn’t for Tony Schumacher to find a record to set in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 
because the most successful driver in Top Fuel history.
But the driver of the eight-time world championship U.S. Army team was able to do that Sunday when he won his 83rd Mello Yello title and became the winningest driver in the 48th annual NHRA Gatornationals when he won for the fifth time at Gainesville, Fla.
Gainesville became the 10th of 21 tracks on the 24-race Mello Yello tour at which he is the all-time winner.
Sunday’s win gave him the wins lead in the Gators after he was tied with Don Garlits, Joe Amato and Larry Dixon with four.
“Everything went right today,” Schumacher said. “Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to be put on lists with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Joe Amato. Those guys are legends. And throw in Larry Dixon, who is just a tough competitor that I battled with for so long and had a true rivalry with for a long time. To do something that no one else has done is a huge accomplishment.
“My U.S. Army team team went out there today and made history. We qualified No. 1 then advanced to the final round with a chance at history.”
Crew chief Mike Green and assistant Phil Shuler with the U.S. Army crew dominated the event by also earning a No. 1 qualifying time for the 81st time.
Don Schumacher Racing, which has won all three Top Fuel titles and poles this season, won its 298th title.
Schumacher moved into second place in points around DSR teammate and three-time world champion Antron Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team in the final round. Schumacher’s 3.703-second run at 329.26 mph topped Brown’s 3.764 (322.65).
“It was all laid out for us, but we were running Antron Brown, who is a three-time world champion and great driver. The cars were within a few thousandths of a second of each other in the semifinals, so there’s nothing easy about it. You just have to step up. Do your job and be a machine to make the most of the opportunity. Those are great moments. And those are the moments you are going to remember for a long, long time. You were put in a position to do it surrounded by people capable of the moment and you did it. That’s what its all about.”
DSR holds the top-three spots in Top Fuel with Leah Pritchett holding the No. 1 position after she lost for the first time this year when Doug Kalitta used a quicker time at the starting line in the second round that dropper her record to 9-1.
In Funny Car, DSR left for the first time without the trophy but two-time winner Matt Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane 2017 Dodge Charger R/T powered by Pennzoil remains atop the standings with teammates Ron Capps (NAPA AUTO PARTS) in third, Tommy Johnson Jr. (Make-A-Wish team funded by Terry Chandler) in fourth and Jack Beckman (Chandler’s Infinite Hero Dodge) in eighth.
The wildest race of the day involved world champions Hagan and Capps in the quarterfinals.
For the second time in the first three events of the season, the dividing line was a factor in a loss by Capps to Hagan.
In the opener at Pomona, Calif., Capps smoked the tires early and Hagan lost traction then came within a whisker of having his left rear tire touch the line that would have disqualified him. But officials ruled it didn’t touch and Hagan went on to win the race against Capps and eventually the event trophy.
The centerline was back in play Sunday when Hagan quickly smoked the tires and Capps was seemingly cruising to the win when his Dodge darted sharply and crossed the line.
“It was a handful,” said Capps, the reigning Funny Car world champion. “It just turned sideways on me, and thank God I was able to catch it and not go into Matt’s lane any farther and run into him.
“I’m sick to my stomach because I should have caught it quicker. It’s those moments that really make you enjoy the moments we’ve had in a winner’s circle.”
