U.S. Army NHRA Racing Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals Final Qualifying Report
U.S. Army NHRA Racing Top Fuel drivers Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Antron Brown completed the first mission in their pursuit of the 
2014 NHRA Mello Yello Series Top Fuel championship by making the field of the 10 for the Countdown to the Championship. The tandem cleared the second hurdle by qualifying for eliminations in the seventh annual Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte with four solid passes Friday and Saturday. Both epitomized the strength of the Army with the power, speed, teamwork and technology, similar attributes that drive more than 1 million Soldiers both drivers represent by qualifying fifth and 9th respectively.
Schumacher continued an incredible run of consistency behind the wheel of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). “The Sarge” made four strong passes for the second consecutive event and his first run Saturday of 3.833 seconds at 315.59 positioned the 2008 Carolina Nationals winner fifth on the final ladder. He’ll be looking for career win number 75 Sunday and begins with a match-up against Bob Vandergriff in the opening round of eliminations. The two have never met head-to-head in the Carolina Nationals, but Schumacher has an overall record of 25-10 versus Vandergrif.
“We’ve had a really good start, now it’s time to finish the weekend,” said Schumacher, who is seeking is first title since 2009. “We have a great car. We’re in a great situation. We are absolutely ready. This car just keeps going down the track, and we’ve been able to do that quite a few times in a row. We’ll likely have some unknown’s tomorrow with the forecast saying the weather will be quite a bit different, but to be serious title contenders, we have to make it the final tomorrow. The one thing about the way things shook out in qualifying is that you have several championship contenders paired up right away. Only one driver can go on, so it’s so important we have a big day. We really need to win this race for the U.S. Army, be bad to the bone for the next six races and bring this championship back to the Army. We’re learned this year several times that you can’t leave anything on the table, so bringing our best is the only option.”
Brown returned to Charlotte as the most recent winner at zMAX Dragway with his Four-Wide triumph in April. He made it down the track all four sessions and improved his time in the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster for DSR with each run. The 2011 Carolina Nationals winner claimed the ninth slot with his pass of 3.853 seconds at 311.99 mph to close qualifying. For the second consecutive event, Brown will battle a DSR teammate in the opening round. He and Spencer Massey have met several times in the Four-Wide, but their only previous contest in the Carolina Nationals came in the 2011 final, which went to Brown. Brown holds a 16-13 advantage in previous meetings, but lost to Massey in their most recent match-up in the opening round at Sonoma.
“Everyone on this Matco Tools/U.S. Army team was looking to be a little higher on the grid, but we kept making progress all weekend,” said Brown, the 2012 Top Fuel champion. “Both (co-crew chief) Brian (Corradi) and (co-crew chief) Mark (Oswold) all the guys have been taking steps in the right direction, and tomorrow we are just going to keep on heading in that directions. It doesn’t make a difference who you are up against it’s a tough round match-up no matter who you race. We’ve got Spencer right away and that’s what makes our Top Fuel class the best I think it has been in the history. We are just looking forward to the challenge and ready to go after it on race day tomorrow.”
Eliminations in Top Fuel are set to begin at 12 noon EDT on Sunday. ESPN2 will provide three hours of tape-delayed coverage of the Pep Boys Carolina NHRA Nationals beginning at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
