Tony Schumacher’s dramatic clinching of his third straight NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world championship convinced an expert panel that he was the Fourth Quarter Driver of the Year 2006.
Schumacher, who was in eighth place in the standings, 336 points behind, almost halfway into the season, staged a late-season charge that stunned the racing community. Schumacher claimed four poles and two victories and set a national elapsed record in the final pass of the final event to cap the biggest comeback in series’ history.
In the voting, by an elite panel of print and broadcast journalists, the 36-year-old Chicago native was dominant, taking 11 out of the 16 first-place votes that were cast.
The four-time series champion, who drives for his father Don Schumacher, was humbled upon learning the results. “I’m truly honored that the media selected me for this award,” he said. “To be singled out among the great drivers from so many different series is real exciting.”
Coincidentally, Melanie Troxel, Schumacher’s former teammate, was the first woman to win a quarterly vote earlier this year. Schumacher noted, “It’s nice that I join my former Schumacher Racing teammate as a quarterly winner. She should be proud of all her accomplishments throughout the 2006 season.”
Jimmie Johnson, who had a no-less remarkable comeback in the last few races of the NASCAR season with one victory and five second-place finishes to lock up his championship, tallied two first-place votes and totaled 73 points.
Kevin Harvick clinched his second NASCAR Busch Series early in the fourth quarter with three victories. The Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver had one win in the NASCAR chase and earned one first-place vote, tallying 68 points.
Tony Stewart – the 2005 Driver of the Year – won three races, and, although he was out of the Chase for the Cup, was rewarded with two first-place votes, finishing fourth with 62 points.
A total of 12 drivers scored points in the fourth-quarter voting.
In its 40th year, the Driver of the Year awards are unique because they are the oldest award that encompasses all of the racing series in the United States. A panel of 17 leading journalists and broadcasters from across the U.S. determine the winner. In quarterly voting, points are awarded on a declining 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis. A separate one-driver vote will determine the 2006 Driver of The Year.
“I don’t look upon this as an individual award,” Schumacher said. “To me, this is a team award. Without the ongoing, committed efforts from my U.S. Army team and [crew chief] Alan Johnson I would not be in this position. Any postseason award that I receive is going to be theirs to enjoy as well.”
In recognition of the award, Schumacher will receive a trophy and a Maurice Lacroix wristwatch. The trophy presentation will take place at a time and place to be announced later.
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