Two Down, Four To Go for U.S. Army Trio at AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals

ENNIS, TX – It’s not Texas-sized, by any means, but the U.S. Army Top Fuel driver trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett head to this weekend’s 33rd annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals with a little bit of real estate to recover.

One-third of the way through the six-event NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, Schumacher, Pritchett and Brown are third, fourth and fifth in the standings after frontrunners Steve Torrence and Clay Millican created a bit of distance between them and the U.S. Army trio over during the opening two playoff rounds.

Torrence, the native Texan and winningest driver on this year’s tour thus far, swept the first two Countdown rounds at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania and Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, beating Schumacher in the Reading final and Millican in the St. Louis final. With four events to go, Torrence leads Millican by 70 points, Schumacher by 121, Pritchett by 154 and Brown by 177 – leaving his closest pursuers certainly within striking distance.

This weekend’s third of six Countdown events stands to be a huge opportunity for the U.S. Army trio to take some major steps forward in the standings, but they and their respective teams know it’s time to step up their respective games.

Schumacher is the winningest driver at Texas with six career event titles, and he and his U.S. Army Dragster team for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) are more than ready to hoist the Wally trophy for the first time since Father’s Day at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway. The momentum from their solid march to the final at this year’s Countdown opener – their fifth final-round appearance of the year – was derailed slightly by a second-round exit at Gateway two weekends ago. The Sarge and his team this weekend look to rekindle the Texas magic of their 2014 championship season, when they left town with not one but two Wallys after completing a victory on Saturday of the previous weekend’s rained-out Countdown opener at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, North Carolina, then running the table during Sunday’s elimination rounds for Schumacher’s sixth Texas victory.

Brown, driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, is a three-time Texas winner – in Top Fuel during his championship seasons in 2012 and 2016, and in Pro Stock Motorcycles for his first-ever NHRA Wally in 1999. His Countdown this season opened with a semifinal loss to Schumacher at Reading and a second-round loss to Millican at St. Louis, leaving Brown and his three-time championship-winning team poised for a breakthrough weekend on the outskirts of Dallas.

Pritchett will be making her fourth career Top Fuel appearance at Texas in her Mopar/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR. She qualified sixth last year before dropping her second-round elimination run against Brown, and qualified a solid second in 2016 before dropping her second-round matchup against Torrence. She made her Texas debut in 2014, qualifying 11th and falling in the opening round to Schumacher. She hits town this weekend with a pair of event titles, four final-round appearances, three No. 1 qualifying efforts and a 28-18 record in elimination rounds.

Qualifying for the 33rd annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd begins Friday with FS1 providing one hour of delayed coverage at 10:30 p.m. EDT Friday and 90 minutes of live coverage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Sunday’s elimination rounds will be broadcast live on FS2 in their entirety from noon to 5 p.m.

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

Obviously there is still a lot left to be decided. You’re sitting third in the standings heading to Dallas. What’s your mindset as you approach the midway point of the Countdown?

“The mindset of our U.S. Army team is the same as it’s been since we started doing this 18 years ago and that is to go out and be the best that we can be each and every time we hit the track, whether it’s testing, qualifying, or racing on Sundays. If there are races left on the schedule, and we’re still within striking distance, then anything is possible. This team has proven that time and again over the years. The competitiveness from top to bottom is better than it’s ever been. There are a lot of quality teams we have to do battle against week in and week out, and that’s absolutely great for the fans, for our sport. No one is safe on any given weekend, although after the first two Countdown events, a couple of teams have created a little separation from the rest of us, for now. Dallas is our next stop and the game plan remains the same as it ever was. We need to develop some consistency and be machine-like and take matters into our own hands.”

With Dallas being the third event of the Countdown, is there any specific goal as you take to the track this weekend, or is just simply go win at Dallas and let everything else take care of itself?

“Be fastest in every qualifying session, win every round on Sunday, then move on to the next race and repeat. That’s never going to change. We don’t want to compromise our desire to be the best we can be every run down the track by dreaming up scenarios that, for the most part, are out of our control, anyway. This is a momentum sport, like so many others are, and we need to swing the pendulum back in our favor and take care of business over these final four Countdown events. If we do that, the championship would take care of itself.”

You’ve always been great in pressure situations, chasing people down. What do you enjoy most about that scenario, especially as you look toward the last four Countdown events and trying to catch Steve Torrence and Clay Millican en route to another title?

“I’ve had the greatest job in the world ever since I’ve been representing the U.S. Army, and we’ve been the beneficiaries of a championship formula for so many of those years. We’ve overcome some incredible deficits and were blessed to live out those moments of a lifetime – those bottom-of-the-ninth, bases-loaded situations where a home run is the only way you’re going to win the championship. We’ve also won championships going away. Each season is different. This one is proof that the series is more competitive than ever, and winning championships during these kinds of seasons are probably the most satisfying of all. It’s a blessing to put on the U.S. Army colors, to speak to school kids on their behalf 200 times a year. And I get to drive a bad-to-the-bone racecar surrounded by nine of the best guys in the business. We have a chance to add another championship to the trophy case these last four races and that makes us excited about each and every day we get to go to the racetrack and work toward that goal.”

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

Your overall thoughts as you head to the Dallas round of the Countdown this weekend?

“I look forward to going to Dallas. It’s always a good race for us – our Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Toyota team has won a couple of times out there and it’s been a race that’s helped us lock down the Countdown a couple of times, too (2016 and 2012). This closes out the first half of the Countdown, so it’s another key race. We need to get our minds right and just go out there and try to go rounds and try to win the race. Back in 1999, the first national event Wally I ever held up was at Dallas in Pro Stock Motorcycles, so it’s always been a very special place for me.”

What makes Dallas so special to you?

“Texas Motorplex has always been a special place for me because of my first race win in Pro Stock Motorcycles back in 1999. That place always has a special place in my heart. We won there for the first time in Top Fuel, too, and we were finally able to get another one a couple of years ago. Dallas is one of those tracks where it can be really good, or it can be really hot. But if it’s really hot, it’s all concrete, so it’s always a great track surface to race on. It’s one of the great race events on our tour. The fans are always welcoming us out there. Billy Meyer and his group out there always do a great job for us, so I’m always pumped up to go to Dallas. When we won our first championship in 2012, it was our turning point. We went out there and that’s where we really started our pull toward the championship when we stuck a big win. We got that win and it really gave us the edge going into St. Louis. And St. Louis, we went out there and it was our race, and the same thing at Reading. Dallas is a great track and we’re looking forward to going out there and having a great time again this weekend.”

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

Your thoughts about heading to Dallas for the third round of the Countdown this weekend?

“More than anything, not only am I pumped for this race, but proud of our journey to get to the position we are in going into Ennis. Unique barely describes the upcoming weekend. Everything we’ve been working toward comes to this weekend. We’re still in strong contention. Ennis is huge because it holds a very strong potential to be a turning point in the Countdown. Same mindset – win the race. As Jay Rock says, ‘win, win, win, win,’ and that’s all that’s been on our minds. We’re coming into Ennis with a new front-half after noticing issues in St. Louis from an incident. I think this excites me more than the magnitude of the race because I know, with new pipe, our crew chiefs will have their cooperative hot rod back. That brings a new level of confidence that I can’t wait to energize with in the car. At this point, we still cannot worry about what the competition is doing, and we will remain focused on our own path to being the quickest in every way.”