U.S. Army Teammates Seeking Season’s Signature Moment in U.S. Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS – There is no simple way to prepare yourself to win the greatest of all victories in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, but U.S. Army driver Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team may have the most insight of all the teams preparing for this weekend’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

To win Indy, Schumacher, a nine-time U.S. Nationals champion, believes he needs to be surrounded by people who know how to win an event of this magnitude and, as a team, possess versatility and the ability to evolve and succeed in all environments.

The U.S. Nationals challenges the drivers and teams like no other event on the 24-event schedule. The winner must navigate through five qualifying sessions. In most cases, he or she must also compete in the pressure-packed $100,000-to-win Traxxas Nitro Shootout Saturday. And make the most of the extra points up for grabs in Monday’s eliminations, the final opportunity to advance position prior to the standings being reset for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

On top of all that, Schumacher will again be looking to make history and become the first driver to win the prestigious event 10 times. This weekend, the eight-time Top Fuel world champion and winningest driver in class history will debut new Army colors in Indy just like he did in 2000, the year he won his first U.S. Nationals. The new scheme on the U.S. Army Dragster for DSR features strong, straight lines with innovative line-based patterns embodying the U.S. Army’s ability to anticipate, adapt to and address New Front Lines.

Schumacher and his U.S. Army and DSR teammate Antron Brown have reached the pinnacle of the sport the past two seasons, each claiming an NHRA Top Fuel world championship, and each driver is eyeing a U.S. Nationals triumph Monday to push him into this year’s six-race Countdown with momentum.

Success in NHRA’s biggest event has been a regular occurrence during the past 16 seasons of the partnership between DSR, Schumacher and the U.S. Army. Schumacher piloted the U.S. Army machine to Indy glory first in 2000, before winning three consecutive times Indy from 2002 to 2004. He won four straight from 2006 through 2009, and eclipsed “Big Daddy” Don Garlits’ record of eight Top Fuel U.S. Nationals wins with his 2012 victory.

A Saturday triumph in the Traxxas Shootout, followed by a record-setting 10th U.S. Nationals title, would be the ideal way for Schumacher to close the 2016 regular season. Two years ago, he parlayed the momentum of winning the Traxxas Shootout with winning the first two races of the Countdown into his eighth Top Fuel world championship. Schumacher earned his 81st career victory in Denver earlier this summer over a stretch of races during which “The Sarge” also established a new career-best elapsed time en route to his 80th career No. 1 qualifying position at Seattle. He ranks fifth in the standings, but has the opportunity to improve his position this weekend.

Brown took over the top spot in the standings with his victory in Chicago to kick off July. The two-time and reigning Top Fuel world champion has driven the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR into the finals in four of the last five events and has a stranglehold on the top position heading into the Countdown. He leads the series with four victories this season, but a second career U.S. Nationals triumph in Top Fuel is his focus this weekend. As a historian of the sport, Brown knows the importance of succeeding in the biggest event of the year. The New Jersey native has called Brownsburg, Indiana home for more than a decade and is eager to join some of his childhood heroes with multiple wins in two classes at the U.S. Nationals. Brown earned a pair of U.S. Nationals Pro Stock Motorcycle titles early in his career before winning the Top Fuel class in 2011.

While positioning themselves for Monday’s elimination rounds, the U.S. Army duo of Schumacher and Brown will compete Saturday in the fifth annual Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The winning team will earn $100,000 for coming out on top after three rounds of competition. The ladder is set by the rankings in the standings of qualifying drivers. Brown, the defending Traxxas Nitro Shootout champion, will open against Terry McMillen, who earned the final qualifying position through a random draw Wednesday afternoon, while Schumacher goes against Brittany Force. The first round and semifinals of the Shootout will run concurrently with the second and third U.S. Nationals qualifying sessions.

The 62nd Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals will be showcased nationwide on FOX and FS1. FS1 will air highlights from the event.Sunday at noon and 5 p.m. EDT. FS1 will also carry the opening two hours of Monday’s elimination rounds live beginning at 11 a.m. The FOX broadcast network will carry the final three hours of eliminations beginning at 1 p.m.

TONY “THE SARGE” SCHUMACHER, driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster:

The 2016 season for you and the U.S. Army team has been about the big picture of winning the championship. Do you feel like things are coming into focus for you heading into the final event before the Countdown?

“We’ve been building. And we have been for the last eight or nine races. It’s the big picture, winning a world championship that we have been working on. Mike Green and Neal and all the Army guys know how to make a car fast, but it’s about finding a way to make a car faster than everyone else and that takes time and commitment. We’re getting better and better. We still need to keep fine-tuning this thing. We need to get out of being close with the other cars. We need to get back to where we were and that’s better than everyone else. We have great people on this team and together we will get back to having the great performances that we’ve had in the past.”

What sort of results are you looking to for this weekend to confirm that you are where you need to be at this point of the season?

“I’m here to dominate and win. We represent the Army and the perception that we win. This is one of those years that we are part of the battle and it’s a good battle. I speak 200 times a year and the speech is so much about adversity and figuring it out. We talk about STEM to these kids and we talk about why they should get educated. You educate yourself so you can adapt. You don’t know what the conditions will be tomorrow. We don’t know what job we’ll have tomorrow. And that’s where adaptability is key. We don’t know what is going to happen at this year’s U.S. Nationals, but we know that success at Indy is something that can really launch you into the Countdown with momentum. Most of the time, when you can get momentum going, it’s something you just keep working at to build more and more of. Two years ago, we won the Traxxas Shootout and then won the first two races of the Countdown and never looked back on our way to a world championship. We want to win this weekend. Period.”

The performances you and the U.S. Army team have had in the U.S. Nationals are unmatched. Is there added pressure in chasing history and trying to become the only driver to win 10 U.S. Nationals?

“I look at the U.S. Nationals as an opportunity and I talk a lot about being gifted. And that’s not a statement of being arrogant, it’s a statement that I believe having a chance to be part of great moments is a gift. Being surrounded by a group of people capable of that moment is a gift. It’s been a gift to carry the U.S. Army colors for the last 16 years and it’s been such an incredible run. I think being surrounded by people who have done it before is a huge part of having success at Indy. The leadership. The knowing you can win. The positive attitudes. Those are things that win Indy. When I’m sitting in the car getting ready to go Friday night, I know that (crew chief) Mike (Green), (assistant crew chief) Neal (Strausbaugh) and the rest of my nine-man team are ready for what’s ahead of us. These are the four days you look forward to most.”

ANTRON BROWN, driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster:

You’ve always been one to talk about the history of the NHRA, the events and the drivers that have come before you. How special is it for you to compete in the U.S. Nationals?

“It’s incredible. I feel blessed to have the job I have. I drive for an incredible team. I have a tremendous crew. The sponsors we have are awesome. My family supports me 100 percent. And this week I get to compete in the U.S. Nationals. Oh man, it’s great. I know everyone on my team is feeling good coming into this weekend. We’ve been putting in a lot of work and everything has been coming to fruition where we are pushing hard, working hard and it’s paying off. Hopefully our game plan just keeps going the way we want it to go. The competition is at an all-time high and we are just looking forward to the challenges at Indy with the all-star (Traxxas Shootout) race. That’s a big to-do on the list and our main focus is to win the U.S. Nationals. We missed out on it last year and we really felt like we had the car to win and we want to go out there and make up for that.”

The U.S. Nationals are your focus this weekend, but you also are in great position to fight for the season championship. As the leader in the standings, can you throw caution to the wind this weekend and bring a win-at-all-costs mentality?

“I said it before, but the competition is so good in NHRA right now. You better bring everything you have. We had a good test last week to work on several different things that may come into play down the line. It may be this weekend or during the Countdown, but bottom line is that we are here to do two things this weekend – win the Traxxas Nitro Shootout Saturday, then have a chance late Monday afternoon to win the U.S. Nationals. I know (co-crew chiefs) Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) and all the Matco Tools/U.S. Army boys are going to bring everything they’ve got to give us a chance at both of them.”