Tony Schumacher kept right on digging at the inaugural Carolina Nationals on Sunday, and the more he does the deeper he buries old records in National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel competition.
Schumacher took a stride toward his fifth straight Top Fuel championship by winning his seventh straight race and extending his winning streak to 28 rounds. Both are records. So, too, are his 12 victories this season.
But the big record that fell when he beat Antron Brown in the final at zMax Dragway @ Concord was the career mark for Top Fuel victories. Schumacher’s win was his 53rd, moving him past Joe Amato’s 52.
“We have to dig. We have to earn it. It’s hard work to get it,” Schumacher said. “You win two or three and you start to go toward setting records, it just seems so impossible. Nobody’s ever done it. There’s a reason. Things happen, cars break, mistakes are made. And we just keep making it happen.”
He credited crew chief Alan Johnson and his team.
“A lot of credit goes to Alan, but there are nine guys on that team who are incredible,” Schumacher said. “I think the significance of what we’ve accomplished this year will hit me much later. I am very aware of it. I know how difficult it is to get here. But we’ve still got a championship to win and we need to focus on that.”
Schumacher beat Countdown contenders Dave Grubnic, Larry Dixon and Hillary Will before outrunning Brown in the final. Schumacher said the key was his second-round victory over Dixon.
“That round against Dixon was just a huge moment,” Schumacher said. “That was another down to the wire moment and we’ve been fortunate to have been a part of some of the greatest moments in NHRA history the last few years.
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