Tony Schumacher raced to his eighth victory at the U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind., tying Don Garlits for the most Top Fuel wins at historic O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Schumacher, who has been to the last eight final rounds at the event and 10 overall since he began his career at this race in 1996, powered to his fourth victory of the season and 60th of his career.
He had a time of 3.861 seconds at 314.17 mph in his dragster to hold off rival Larry Dixon, who trailed with a 4.208 at 228.58 in his dragster. Las Vegas Review - Journal
“I haven’t seen [Don Garlits] yet, but we did a TV segment that I think started the show this morning, and he was cool as could be. He said, ‘I’m pulling for you, and I hope you do it,’ ” said Schumacher. “To have a man of that caliber say something like that is just special. I hope he enjoys it, and I hope he enjoys still coming out because he’s the reason we all do this in such a safe manner. The coolest part is he said, ‘You really showed ‘em. You showed ‘em, kid, that it’s not about one guy,’ and that’s cool because you know at the beginning of the year it was ‘Schumacher’s not going to win again. He can’t win without Alan [Johnson].’ To beat Alan at Indy under all the pressure, that’s good news; that’s what it’s all about. It doesn’t happen every time, but it shows that a great group of people with determination and some serious drive can go out and do anything. We’ve got the right people.
“It wasn’t just tying “Big Daddy” Don Garlits; it’s winning Indy first. All the rest of that stuff is great, but it’s winning Indy. This is the U.S. Nationals. I did not know I had been in eight finals in a row, but that’s crazy, too. It’s awesome. To be able to come to any track and have this much dominance is fantastic because we really did this really with three separate teams — we did this with Dan Olson, Alan Johnson, and now Mike Green. I don’t know why it’s our lucky track, but I sure am glad it’s this one.” NHRA
Amid the commotion of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship angst Monday, Ashley Force Hood became the first female to win the U.S. Nationals Funny Car trophy.
She did it by beating teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight on the fabled O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis dragstrip in their first final-round meeting with a 4.170-second elapsed time at 294.75 mph in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. Hight ran a 4.217/271.19.
“As always, it was exciting and drama-filled. ... What an amazing day,” said Force, who won here in 2004 in a sportsman class. “Over the summer, we just didn’t have the (performance) that we wanted. We got our ducks in a row, and it worked out for us.”
Hight needed her help and some from her father to seize the class’ 10th and final Countdown berth from Cruz Pedregon while denying 11th-place Matt Hagan. Force Hood beat Hagan in the opening round, and John Force eliminated Pedregon in the second round before losing to Hight.
The tension of those moments triggered angry words between Force and former protege Tony Pedregon after Force Hood’s semifinal victory over current points leader Pedregon. Force did not specify what either party said but indicated he tried “to take the high road” but “had enough” Monday. He was perturbed, he said, that Tony Pedregon’s criticism of him spoiled his ability to celebrate fully with his daughter and Hight and their teams. Whittier Daily News
The Pro Stock final round between coughlin and Greg Stanfield was a rematch of the Las Vegas final, which Coughlin won, and a battle between a pair of the few drivers to have won national events in five different classes. Coughlin won again, this time by the narrowest of margins—.001-second – to collect his fourth Indy win and seventh this season, 6.689, 206.48 to 6.691, 206.35.
The Pro Stock Motorcycle final featured two riders who not only had never won The Big Go, but had never even been to the final round at the tour’s biggest event. Arana, who led qualifying most of the event, finished it where he started – on top – after defeating Michael Phillips, 7.026, 189.10 to 7.086, 185.84. Arana, whose starting-line work at this event was somewhat erratic, left first and led wire to wire for his fourth career win.
“This is the sweetest moment for me,” said Arana. “All the years I struggled people always told me, ‘There is something better for you’ but I always wondered when my time was going to come. Now, I’ve won three races this year including the U.S. Nationals and I can’t ask for anything more.” NHRA
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