Schumacher focused on first win of season

April 25

The 2011 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season is only four races old, but U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher is quite anxious to take a trip to victory lane.

“Absolutely -- that’s clearly our mindset,” said the seven-time world champion as he prepared for this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals here at Royal Purple Raceway outside of Houston. “I can feel we’re getting closer and closer. It’s just a matter of stringing together some consistent runs and we’ll be right there.”

Schumacher, who is fourth in the standings behind Del Worsham, Larry Dixon and Antron Brown, respectively, is coming off a second round loss in Charlotte two weeks ago.

“We’ve had a good car all season long,” said the Chicago-area resident. “Down at zMAX Dragway, we qualified well and had a terrific first round, but we spun the tires in round two and that took us out. We certainly didn’t plan on that happening.

“Like our Soldiers, we’re not going to quit. We’ll intently keep at it until success comes our way. And, we’re confident that’s right around the corner.”

When Schumacher enters the gates of Royal Purple Raceway on Friday, he will likely experience a flashback to two years ago when he collected his second career win at the venue formerly known as Houston Raceway Park.

“Without a doubt, that was a big win,” he said. “It was the first win with my new crew chief at the time, Mike Green, and my brand new team. It was a special moment for all of us.”

Schumacher used that victory to begin a march towards his sixth consecutive world championship and the first with Green.

“Hopefully, we can follow that plan this year,” said Schumacher. “We just need to get that first trophy of the season and we’ll be good to go.”

Schumacher says he enjoys his annual trip to the Houston area. He likes the fact Royal Purple Raceway has been known for its record-setting performances.

“The track sits close to Trinity Bay which typically pushes in cool air,” he said. “We can make a lot of horsepower there as a result. We just want to go down there and qualify well and then be the last team standing on Sunday.

“This early in the season, it’s not really all about the points. It’s about getting the car running well on a consistent basis, while looking ahead to the Countdown to 1 (playoffs) later in the year. The U.S. Army team is aware of the challenge that lies ahead. It’s going to be exciting for everyone.”