SCHUMACHER SPRINTS TO SIXTH WIN OF SEASON MOVES INTO SECOND-PLACE IN STANDINGS |
|---|
Topics: Tony Schumacher, NHRA Las Vegas Nationals
|
U.S. Army Racing
October 31, 2010
LAS VEGAS, Nev., October 31, 2010 -- U.S. Army Top Fuel pilot Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher grabbed his sixth victory of the year here Sunday in the Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After taking care of Dominick Lagana in the finals with a 3.845-second pass at 316.60 mph, Schumacher moved around his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Cory McClenathan, into second-place in the standings.
The Chicago-area resident will now head for the 2010 season finale at Pomona, Calif. in two weeks trailing leader, Larry Dixon, by 85 points. He is seeking his seventh consecutive world championship.
"I haven't heard the fat lady start singing," said Schumacher. "We have a deficit to make up, but we're also still very much in the fight. We're not going to give up, I will guarantee you that. Our Army Strong Soldiers expect us to put forth a 110 percent effort and that's exactly what we'll continue to do."
Schumacher and his U.S. Army team were impressive from the time they unloaded their car on Friday. Starting from the number one position, they reeled off four flawless passes, one which produced a national record speed of 325.61 mph.
"Mike Green (his crew chief) and the guys gave me one terrific race car," said Schumacher. "We tested after the Reading (Pa.) race a couple of weeks ago and were able to find some things that helped us this weekend. Hopefully, we can stay on a roll two weeks from now. It would be great to bag another win."
On the way to his 67th career win, Schumacher had to slide by Bob Vandergriff, Jr., Shawn Langdon, David Grubnic and Lagana, respectively.
"There are no easy draws in this sport," he said. "We had to stay focused with each passing round. You can never let your guard down on race day or else you will be going home pretty early."
Schumacher will stay in Las Vegas to test on Monday. He's hoping the test at The Strip will produce the same kind of results that were produced at Maple Grove Raceway.
"We want to go to Pomona with an ultra-competitive car," he offered. "We want to put ourselves in a position to win another title."
While Schumacher enjoyed victory lane, his U.S. Army Racing teammate, Antron Brown, lost in the semifinals against Lagana.
Despite not collecting his first win of the season, Brown, who drives the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster, managed to move from seventh in the points to fourth.
"We have one more opportunity to get a win," said Brown. "We're going to go to Pomona and give it our best shot."
On the U.S. Army NASCAR Racing side, driver Ryan Newman finished 23rd in Sunday's AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Newman, who remains 15th in the point standings, will travel to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Sunday, Nov. 7, for the next Sprint Cup race. It is one of three races left on the 2010 schedule.
The presence of any information identifying private companies or other non-federal entities does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.