U.S. Army NHRA Racing NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Friday Qualifying Report
The U.S. Army driver trio of Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett are second, third and 
10th on the provisional ladder, respectively, after the opening two rounds of qualifying Friday for this weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.
Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster team for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), the winningest Top Fuel driver at Bristol with five career event titles, struggled to get down the track like all but one Top Fuel competitor on his opening run, but he closed the day with a run that was beaten by only defending event-winner Clay Millican. The opening, tire-smoking run clocked in at 6.469 seconds at 92.01 mph, but the night run was a solid 3.830 seconds at 323.66 mph.
“Our car ran about as fast as you can run down a racetrack without spinning the tires the whole way,” said the eight-time Top Fuel world champion who is the winningest driver at Bristol with five career event titles. “There was no more racetrack out there. We made gains a little bits, little numbers. We did a great job making a great call, having to run an early, early pass when you really don’t get to look at anybody. It was a good job by Mike (Neff, crew chief) and Phil (Shuler, assistant crew chief) and the Army team. Tomorrow, we go into race-day mode and work on scoring some points and finding what it will take to win this thing on Sunday.”
Brown and his Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, who is seeking his first career Bristol event title, opened the day with a run of 4.184 seconds at 224.25 mph that was eighth-best among the Top Fuel competitors. His nighttime run almost matched Schumacher’s, an effort of 3.832 seconds at 319.67 mph.
“It was a good day,” Brown said. “The first run, we wanted to go down the track but the conditions were just nasty. We made a run where we were glued in and we should’ve gotten down there but we hit a bump. This track’s just got some serious bumps in it, and being hot and greasy, it didn’t do anyone any favors. The track tightened up for the night session and the car actually made the run we were looking for. We wanted to make a good, quality run that would put us in a good position in the show, and we accomplished that. Tomorrow will be a good break-in session for Sunday because we’re going to be running in the middle of the day and that’s what Sunday is going to be like. We got the one thing checked off our checklist, qualifying well, in the top-three. Tomorrow, we’ll try and be in the top-three in every run and get ready for race day and that’s our main focus right now. Our Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster is off to a great start here in Bristol.”
Pritchett and her Papa John’s/FireAde/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR, who reached the Top Fuel final at Bristol a year ago this weekend, ran two comparable runs, the first an effort of 4.184 seconds at 224.25 mph that was fourth-best for the session. But in the prime, nighttime conditions, her run started well but an internal problem caused her racecar to shut down and she coasted across the finish line in 4.129 seconds at 221.52 mph.
“We were pretty excited for Q2 by a longshot with the best conditions we’ll see all weekend, and we were looking pretty good,” Pritchett said. “We saw a couple of cars not make it down in the runs before us so we didn’t have the most killer tune-up in it, actually. We had something we thought for sure would get us in the top-three, and we were on that pass until we had some internal combustion problems that triggered one of our sensors and it shut down. Every track is a little bit different and I love coming to Thunder Valley. But that left lane in Q2, I had a ride I hadn’t had in a while. You hit a groove in a particular spot and it upsets the car and it wasn’t enough to get out of it this time, but with our pan pressure climbing up to high, the technology shut down the car and saved us from some carnage. Not the exact qualifying position we want for Friday night, but Saturday is where it’s going to count in our preparation for Sunday as the temperatures keep climbing. I’m really proud of our team and the changes we’ve been making and our strategy. Were we able to fulfill our strategy tonight? No. But tomorrow’s going to be the bread for making the cake on Sunday.”
The final two qualifying sessions are set for 1:30 and 4 p.m. EDT Saturday. FS1’s one-hour qualifying highlight show begins at 9 p.m. Saturday. Elimination rounds are set for noon Sunday with FS1’s delayed coverage set for 7:30 p.m.
