U.S. Army NHRA Racing SpringNationals Friday Qualifying Report
Houston, TX – Day one of the 27th O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway in the Houston suburb of 
Baytown, Texas, came to a merciful and extremely dark ending with U.S. Army Top Fuel drivers Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Antron Brown seventh and 10th after the opening two rounds of qualifying for Sunday’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series elimination rounds.
The seven-time champion Schumacher had to endure an unusually lengthy 48-minute delay for track cleanup as darkness fell on the relatively unlit racetrack, all while strapped inside his U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). But, proving that only the strongest wear the colors of the U.S. Army, and that the Army NHRA partnership provides Americans a platform to experience the speed, power, teamwork and technology that drives that strength, Schumacher delivered his fastest run of the day – 3.839 seconds at 324.12 mph. It was good for seventh in the provisional qualifying order. Schumacher opened the day with an afternoon run of 3.881 seconds at 317.12 mph, which was eighth-best for the session.
“It was dark, it was uncomfortably dark,” said Schumacher, who is vying for his third career event title at Royal Purple Raceway this weekend. “This is the fastest sport in the world and I’m out there driving 300 mph into total darkness. They typically don’t run here at night, but for times that we do, I think it would be a good idea to light the track. It was a little strange when we were staging, too. I was rolling. I was definitely on the brakes, but my equilibrium told me I was creeping. So, with that, I think we gave up a little even though it was a pretty decent run as it was. We can definitely win with this car. We just need to get some little bugs worked out. I sure had a lot of time to sit and think during the delay. But I wasn’t about to let it have a negative effect on us. The mental, emotional and physical strength like no other displayed by our Soldiers is inspiring and plays a huge part in our drive to be successful. I’m looking to have a good day tomorrow.”
Brown, meanwhile, clocked his fast lap of the day in the opening session with a run of 3.869 seconds at 316.75 mph. It was seventh-best for the opening session but 10th-best for the day. He encountered a slight mechanical issue in his second run, which was clocked at 3.880 seconds at 315.05 mph.
“We actually hurt a part before we got to the start line,” said the driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR. “An 88 (3.88) wasn’t anywhere near what we were trying to run. We were trying to go low. We were pushing for a high 70 (3.70). The boys are pushing with everything they’ve got. We’re changing everything on the car to fix the problem. But, hey, we went 88 on seven cylinders. Actually, I heard another one going down, so we were on six at the end of the racetrack. So that’s still not too shabby. We’ll be alright.”
The final two Top Fuel qualifying sessions are set for 2 and 4:30 p.m. EDT Saturday. ESPN2’s two-hour qualifying show begins at 6 p.m. EDT Saturday while its three-hour coverage of Sunday’s elimination rounds begins at 7 p.m. EDT.
