|
Tony Schumacher recorded a 3.758 E.T. during Q2 to qualify the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster 11th for the Virginia NHRA Nationals. Schumacher drew Pomona winner Justin Ashley as his first-round competitor and used a 3.792 E.T. to earn the definitive win over Ashley, who lost traction as soon as he stepped on the throttle. Schumacher then faced another heavy-hitter in round two of eliminations, lining up against reigning series champion Steve Torrence. In a battle between two of the titans of the sport, Schumacher and Torrence went into the quarterfinals each having been victorious over the other 19 times in 38 prior rounds of competition. The winningest driver in NHRA Top Fuel history was looking to break the round-win tie but was up in smoke as soon as he launched off the starting line. In the opposite lane, Torrence had troubles of his own, double-stepping at the starting line before hazing the tires down track but was able to hang on for the win.
“It was tricky all day,” said Schumacher, the 2008 Virginia NHRA Nationals Top Fuel winner. “We made a bunch of runs down the track during qualifying, and it was cloudy and cooler, and all of a sudden, today it’s hot and slippery and 110 degrees on the surface. Hey, it’s the same for everybody. I don’t make excuses. We got beat. (Steve) Torrence went out and double-stepped it, and you think, ‘how do you not pull a red light out of that,’ but they held on and did a great job getting down the track. We smoked ‘em right away. As much as you want to blame this or that, we’ll go back and figure it out. We’ll come back out at Epping like the machine that we are, the guys will do their jobs, we have some new clutch plans and we’ll have a new system.”
Schumacher departs Virginia Motorsports Park ranked ninth and will look to improve his position in the standings when the NHRA returns to Epping, N.H. for the NHRA New England Nationals, June 3 – 6.
In the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series, David Davies’ quick reflexes during round one earned him the holeshot victory over Stephen Bell. Unfortunately, in round two, the tables were turned and Davies found himself on the losing end of a quicker E.T. when Jesse Alexandra’s starting line advantage allowed him to score the round win.
Factory Stock competitors will rejoin the NHRA tour during the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., June 17 – 19, the halfway point of the eight-event series.
TONY SCHUMACHER
Driver of the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster:
Qualified: No. 11 (3.758 E.T. at 321.50 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.792 E.T. at 319.52 MPH defeated Justin Ashley 8.368 E.T. at 76.72 MPH
E2: 5.309 E.T. at 253.56 MPH defeated by Steve Torrence 4.402 E.T. at 234.98 MPH
NHRA Camping World Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 |
Brittany Force |
|
605 |
| 2 |
Steve Torrence |
|
524 |
| 3 |
Mike Salinas |
|
521 |
| 4 |
Justin Ashley |
|
468 |
| 5 |
Austin Prock |
|
367 |
| 6 |
Clay Millican |
|
365 |
| 7 |
Josh Hart |
|
345 |
| 8 |
Doug Kalitta |
|
316 |
| 9 |
Tony Schumacher |
|
295 |
| 10 |
Shawn Langdon |
|
269 |
|
