U.S. Army NHRA Racing NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas Friday Qualifying Report
The U.S. Army driver trio of Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett and Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher are first, third and 
fourth on the provisional ladder, respectively, after the opening two rounds of qualifying Friday for this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series inaugural Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster team for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), seeking to up his track record of eight career event titles here this weekend, opened with a troublesome run that netted 6.855 seconds at 96.44 mph at the finish line, but he closed the day with a solid 3.817 seconds at 318.39 mph.
“The 81 (3.81 seconds) was OK,” Schumacher said. “We were definitely trying to run in the 70s but we were also trying to make a safe run. Tomorrow’s going to be a windy day, it’s going to be a beautiful day to come out and run. We had to get the car in the show. Mike (Neff, crew chief) and Phil (Shuler, assistant crew chief) did a great job. That first run, we were just way underpowered but they got it figured it out. All in all, leaving here fourth today means it was a pretty solid day.”
Brown and his Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, a two-time Four-Wide Nationals winner at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, also struggled to get down the track his opening run today, crossing the line in 5.082 seconds at 147.49 mph. But the two-time-defending Las Vegas spring event winner laid down a monster run of 3.772 seconds at 324.83 mph to close the day.
“It feels good for everything to fall into place,” said Brown, who beat Schumacher in last year’s spring event final here. “We’re just building and growing on it, and we’re growing as a team. It feels good after all the hard work these guys put in, and for (co-crew chiefs) Mark (Oswald) and Brad (Mason) to get us here on top of the sheet. We get three (bonus) points and we’re No. 1 so far. That run will at least keep us up in the top half of the field where we can play tomorrow and just get better and work toward race day. It’s going to be cooler tomorrow – windy and cooler – so the track will get better. Hats off to all the people here at The Strip, Jeff Foster and the NHRA Safety Safari, they really got this track, even though it’s new, it’s not a green track, it’s an awesome track.”
Pritchett and her Papa John’s/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, looking to return to the championship form she and her team exhibited throughout last season, were about the only car and driver to make it down the track with two solid runs today. She opened with a run of 3.968 seconds at 302.96 mph that was seventh-best for the opening session. She then came back with a run of 3.802 seconds at 320.58 mph that was bested only by Brown, and Doug Kalitta’s 3.786 seconds at 320.51 mph.
“Q2 has kind of been our kryptonite throughout this whole year, so for us that was strong to get all our ducks in a row,” Pritchett said. “Overall, looking at the field, what this track and the conditions are throwing at us is something we haven’t seen before – in a positive way. So, for us to overcome our own adversity and leave here the first day in the third spot is great. That’s what this team needs. We have a little bit more to gain tomorrow – we actually could’ve been a little better – so just like everything, we’re striving for more. Those little (bonus) points are going to be the goal tomorrow, being low for each session.”
The final two qualifying sessions are set for 3:30 and 6 p.m. EDT Saturday. Elimination rounds are set for 3 p.m. Sunday with FS1’s three hours of delayed television coverage beginning at 6 p.m. FS1’s one-hour qualifying highlight show is set for 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
