U.S. Army NHRA Racing NHRA Keystone Nationals Final Qualifying Report
Qualifying for this weekend’s 31st annual NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, 
Pennsylvania proved to be a tall order. Mother Nature became part of the equation for U.S. Army teammates Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Antron Brown and the rest of the field attempting to qualify for the third of six races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Countdown to the Championship. As result of persistent rain Friday and again late Saturday afternoon, Schumacher and Brown had only one opportunity to go down the track and the duo ended up fourth and 12th, respectively.
As the final pair in Saturday’s qualifying sessions, Schumacher and the U.S. Army team along with Brown and his Matco Tools team watched 10 of the first 13 Top Fuel competitors struggle to get traction in the extremely cool temperatures. Only No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force and Leah Pruitt made the 1000-foot pass under four seconds, while Clay Millican lost power late and posted a run of 4.454 seconds.
Schumacher in the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) had traction off the starting line, but lost grip soon after. “The Sarge” pedaled the U.S. Army machine back to power quickly and posted a lap of 7.776 seconds at 77.15 mph.
“We expected the car to struggle,” said Schumacher the defending NHRA Keystone Nationals Top Fuel champion and only five-time event winner. “When only a couple of cars get down the track, you kind of know how things are going to go. It shook. I pedaled it. I could have stayed in it and got down the track, but there is no reason to oil down the track and blow it up. We did what we had to do to go out and get in the top half.”
Entering the weekend, Schumacher trailed Brown in the Countdown championship standings by 77. Last season, Schumacher became the second consecutive driver to win the NHRA Keystone Nationals winner and go on to earn the championship. The eight-time and reigning world champion and his nine-man U.S. Army team have been in numerous championship scenarios in the past and realizes the importance of Sunday’s outcome.
“This is a position where championships can be decided,” said Schumacher. “We are right in the middle of the Countdown so it’s an absolute must situation for us. To have weather dictate a champion could be what happens here because none of us have much to go on. These are conditions we don’t have data for, so we’ll go back and dig as deep and go as far back as far as we can to find out as much old information that we can look back on. I really believe my guys are going to make the difference in similar fashion to the way Army makes a difference in this nation. Adaptability to almost any situation. Rising up when the pressure to perform is at its peak. That’s what we do. We have a great opportunity tomorrow.”
Brown is looking to strength his lead over his U.S. Army teammate this weekend behind the wheel of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR. The 2012 world champion carries a two-race winning streak into tomorrow’s eliminations with wins in the first two Countdown races in Charlotte and St. Louis. Brown will begin his quest for a third straight triumph and seventh of the 2015 campaign from the 12th slot. The Chesterfield, New Jersey native and current world record holder was looking to make a run at his own record during qualifying, but his specially schemed pink “Tools-for-the-Cause” machine lost traction at the hit and he coasted to a pass of 11.541 seconds at 103.52 mph.
“You can never predict what Mother Nature does … that’s what makes this sport so challenging,” said Brown. “It would be nice to give the fans a great show like they deserve and make the Countdown as competitive as it has been in the first two races like St. Louis when the cars were going side by side 3.73s,” Brown said. “Compared to today where we have a Top Fuel session when three cars go down the track, that’s not what we are looking for in a Countdown race and this track is capable of setting world records. We just want to be patient and race at the right time and put on a great show for all of the NHRA fans.”
ESPN2’s delayed broadcast of Saturday qualifying is set for 6 a.m. EDT Sunday. Elimination rounds begin at 11 a.m. Sunday with ESPN2 providing three hours of delayed coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
