Six-time defending series champion Tony Schumacher won the NHRA Top Fuel class at the Gatornationals on Sunday.
Schumacher beat teammate Antron Brown in the final. It was Brown’s first event since his deadly crash at Phoenix three weeks ago, when a tire spun off his dragster, bounced into the grandstands and killed a Wisconsin woman.
The Top Fuel victory was the 62nd of Schumacher’s career. It also was his fourth win at the Gatornationals, which tied him for the all-time record with Larry Dixon and Joe Amato.
Tim Wilkerson, who hadn’t won a single heat this season, beat defending race winner Bob Tasca III in the Funny Car final.
Jason Line won the Pro Stock class, and Eddie Krawiec claimed the Pro Stock Motorcycle title. Tampa Tribune
All four of Wilkerson’s opponents spun their tires and shut down. In the first two races of the season he couldn’t win. At Gainesville he couldn’t lose.
“Sometimes, you get the luck,” he said. “Sometimes, you get the mojo. We were lucky enough to run a car that couldn’t beat us. We still made it down the track. To win these things, you have to get down the track. We did what we were supposed to do. It all fell into place all weekend.”
While Wilkerson was celebrating his first win at one of drag racing’s premier events, Tony Schumacher and Jason Line were adding Gatornationals trophies to their collections.
“It’s the Gatornationals. It’s Gainesville. I needed this confidence,” Schumacher said. “We did exactly what we needed to do.”
Brown and Schumacher were the fastest in qualifying, and they carried that same speed into the Round of 16 eliminations. He eliminated Terry McMillen in the first round by .047 seconds, and then he got an easy win over Doug Foley when he spun his tires. Florida Times-Union
“I’ve won it four times now. But my lights have been bad at the first two races. We’ve had a car that could win, and I’ve been doing everything I can. We finally started working on it hard, and we needed that confidence; I needed that confidence again. That was perfect. It was exactly what we had to go out and do at the exact right time,” said Schumacher.
“The [DSR] crew chiefs are doing a great job, but they’ve been asking us, the drivers, to focus on driving the same, and we’ve worked on that for quite a while. We’re trying to keep in the same. Cory goes out yesterday and runs a .83, then he turns around and the crew chief says this is what we have to fix. We change it and go out and run a .82, turn around tell Antron’s crew, ‘This is what we got to do.’ It was just perfect — better, better, and best. That’s what teams can do. When they really work well together and jell and they’re not out there doing stupid things, they just get stronger and better.”
“It really wasn’t a good weekend, actually,” said Line. “We started out awful, and I didn’t think we were going to qualify. Going into the third session, I really felt like this was going to be the time we didn’t qualify. Some fan came up to me and said, ‘I just wanted to meet you because I read in the [NHRA] Fan Guide that you’re the only guy who hasn’t not qualified.’ It’s like, ‘Thanks a lot, buddy.’ But we got it done somehow. We didn’t run great, that’s for sure, but I guess right now the only way to beat Mike is with your left foot because you’re not going to outrun us. Fortunately, he gave us the opening, and we managed to get it done somehow.”
“Ken [Black, team owner] is definitely improving, and hopefully, this is going to help. This Wally has his name written all over it. I talked to him on the phone last week, and he’s really doing good. He’s working hard. The rehab has been tough, but he’s working really hard at it. We want him out there, and he wants to be out here, so we’re just hoping for the best.”
“Gainesville is very special to me,” said Krawiec. “Years ago when I first started out, I wanted to win here. To finally get a win here, I can’t be any more excited. We ended 2009 with a win in Pomona and to start 2010 with another one is awesome.
“I guess it showed this weekend that all the bikes were pretty close. Everybody did their R&D this winter, and that is great for the class. This time, a Harley-Davidson was fortunate enough to get the win, but it turned into a rider battle, not just a contest to see who had the fastest bike. I almost gave it up in semi’s against Craig Treble, but I got lucky.” NHRA
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