U.S. Army NHRA Racing CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals Friday Qualifying Report

Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher topped NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel qualifying Friday with monster passes in the U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) during the first two qualifying sessions of the 31st annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Schumacher’s second pass of 3.722 seconds to close qualifying was the fastest of his illustrious career.

“I just ran my quickest run ever,” said Schumacher, whose previous best pass of 3.735 came in Reading, Pennsylvania, last fall. “I think that will probably hold up. I don’t think we’ll see conditions like we had tonight unless you have several oil downs, which nobody wants. That was a great run, and I’m not sure there is much more out there. We knew coming here that we had to make some changes, because (crew chief) Mike (Green) and (assistant crew chief) Neal (Strausbaugh) didn’t like what they saw in Pomona. Saying that, our run versus (U.S. Army teammate) Antron (Brown) would probably have beaten just about every other car, but that’s how it works when you are driving the Army car.

Everyone brings their best to the other lane when we race them. I enjoy that. It’s respect. This Army team has done miraculous things over the years and it forces people to do things they have never done. It forces people to find their tune-up. These nine guys led by Mike and Neal make difference in what this Army machine can do, just like the Army – the team that makes a difference.”

Schumacher topped the opening qualifying session with a run of 3.750 seconds at 313 mph despite shoving a head gasket three-quarters of the way through his pass. The four-time Phoenix winner and four-time number one qualifier at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park was part of the final pair to close Friday’s second qualifying session and zoomed down the left lane to set a new personal record.

As for Brown, the DSR racer and fellow U.S. Army driver posted a lap of 3.878 seconds at 252.19 mph during his initial pass, and the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion improved with a run of 3.753 seconds at 318.69 mph to grab the fourth position on the ladder.

“We had a solid lap in session two,” said Brown a three-time Phoenix winner. “We go into tomorrow with two more shots to chase that number one spot, so we’re really looking forward to it. The goal on Friday is put a good lap on the board and we did that today. We’ve had tremendous success over the years here at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and we’re hoping that continues tomorrow and Sunday. We’ve got a lot of support here from both the U.S. Army, and I’m driving this Matco Tools car that includes the names of all of the distributors on it. That gives us even more motivation to do great.”

Top Fuel qualifying continues Saturday with third- and fourth-round sessions set for 4 and 6:30 p.m. EST. ESPN2’s delayed qualifying broadcast is set for 1 a.m. Sunday. Elimination rounds begin at 2 p.m. Sunday with ESPN2’s three hours of delayed coverage set for 8 p.m.