The latest news on NHRA Drag Racing`s Super Team SAFETY

The latest news on NHRA Drag Racing’s Super Team
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012
BROWNSBURG, INDIANA
SAFETY CANOPY APPROVED
U.S. Army dragster will feature ‘Tony Under Glass’
to start the NHRA Nationals in Minnesota on Friday
Top Fuel Dragsters will enter a
new era on Friday at Brainerd
International Raceway when Tony
Schumacher races with the
recently approved enclosed safety
canopy on his U.S. Army dragster
for the first time in NHRA
competition.
The truly 21st-century
protective canopy and other safety
enhancements developed by Don
Schumacher Racing and Aerodine
Composites of Indianapolis were
Tony Schumacher tests the U.S. Army cockpit canopy
during January testing in Florida. A slightly modified
approved by NHRA late Monday
version will run on Friday.
afternoon for use in NHRA
competition beginning at Brainerd.
DSR plans on using the canopy in the first
qualifying session at 3 p.m. Friday at the
Minnesota track.
“We are very, very excited to be able to take
NHRA and Top Fuel Dragsters into a new era of
safety,” said team owner Don Schumacher, a
longtime safety innovator since he began driving
and owning Funny Cars in the mid-1960s.
“I’m proud of what our talented people at DSR The latest version of the canopy.
were able to develop with Aerodine, and thankful That NHRA invested the time into
studying it and then approved it once we were able to incorporate their requests.”
It will be the first time since preseason testing Jan. 17-21, 2012, at Palm Beach
International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla., that the canopy will be used at a dragstrip
Schumacher, the seven-time Top Fuel world champion, made 13 runs with it at
Florida and posted a best run of 3.761 seconds and 324.28 mph. Since then and
without a canopy, Schumacher has run as quick as 3.746 seconds (Englishtown, N.J.,
2012) and became the first Top Fuel driver to reach 330-mph (Charlotte, N.C., 2012)
since NHRA shortened the racing distance by 320 feet to 1,000 feet in mid-2008.
“This never has been about performance. This is about safety,” Tony Schumacher
said. “I want every driver to have one. We aren’t hiding anything. Again, this is just all
about making it safer for all the guys in Top Fuel.
“When I sit in this car under the canopy I have a level of comfort in a racecar that I
haven’t had in a long time. Every driver should have that feeling. I’ve lost some good
friends out here and don’t want to lose any more."
Other than Florida testing in January, the only time the canopy was used was for a
promotional burnout with DSR teammate Antron Brown on pit road of Charlotte Motor
Speedway during pre-race festivities for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 on
May 27.
The canopy was approved after a few modifications were made at NHRA’s request.
Races tighten for Capps, Hagan heading to Brainerd
Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps and Matt Hagan find their teams racing at
opposite ends of the Funny Car standings in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
as the pro tour heads to Brainerd,
Minn., for the 16th of 23 national
events of 2011.
While Capps and the NAPA
AUTO PARTS team led by crew
chief Rahn Tobler are well within
reach of catching points leader
Robert Hight before the
standings are reset after the Aug.
29-Sept. 3 NHRA U.S. Nationals
near Indianapolis, Hagan and his
Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T is battling to get a chance to defend
the Funny Car world championship they won a year ago.
Capps trails Hight of John Force Racing by 31 points heading to this weekend’s
event two hours north of Minneapolis, while a pair of consecutive championship round
appearances by Hagan and crew chief Tommy DeLago have moved them up to 11th in
points and only 62 outside the coveted 10th
position in the standings.
DSR teammate Johnny Gray moved up to
fourth place in his Big O Tires/SpeeDee Lube
Dodge after winning the title July 29 at Sonoma,
Calif.
After the U.S. Nationals, the top-10 in each Full
Throttle pro category will qualify to compete over
the last six events of the year for season
championship. The points standings will be reset for the Countdown and the points
leader after Indy will start the Countdown with a 30-point advantage over second place.
NHRA FULL THROTTLE STANDINGS
(Through Kent, Wash., 15 0f 23 events; DSR drivers in CAPS; clinched spots in Countdown)
TOP FUEL
1. *SPENCER MASSEY, 1,236
2. *ANTRON BROWN, 1231
3. *TONY SCHUMACHER, 109
4. *Steve Torrence, 1108
5. Doug Kalitta, 902
6. Shawn Langdon, 839
7. Morgan Lucas, 829
8. Brandon Bernstein, 766
9. David Grubnic, 756
10. Bob Vandergriff, 633
FUNNY CAR
1. *Robert Hight, 1143
2. *RON CAPPS, 1112
3. *JACK BECKMAN, 1003
4. JOHNNY GRAY, 942
5. Mike Neff, 933
6. Courtney Force, 851
7. Cruz Pedregon, 803
8. Jeff Arend, 749
9. John Force, 746
10. Bob Tasca, 739
11. MATT HAGAN, 697
Vote4Hagan.com campaign is on
Start warming up your best key-punch finger
because moments after completion of Sunday’s
NHRA
Nationals
at Brainerd you will be able to jump on the
computer and vote for Matt Hagan to become the
eighth and final contestant for the Sept. 2 NHRA
Traxxas Nitro Shootout.
You can go directly to Facebook.com/nhra to
cast for vote for Hagan or take a little detour to
Vote4Hagan.com that could be very much worth
the slight detour. On Monday, the fourth and final
announcement about the Vote4Hagan.com
campaign will be announced and it’s worth
keeping up to speed about it at Vote4Hagan.com.
We would never steer you wrong, not even
remotely. The news is so huge it should be
shown on a big screen TV so don’t dodge the
opportunity to dart over to Vote4Hagan.com on
the way to casting your vote to get Hagan into the
Shootout for his chance to win $100,000.
The eighth Shootout contestant will be named
on Aug. 29 at Monument Circle during NHRA
Fanfest in Downtown Indianapolis.
Six of seven DSR drivers are locked into the special event for Top Fuel Dragsters
and Funny Cars.
DSR’s Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray will be joined by John Force,
Robert Hight, Mike Neff and Jeff Arend.
In Top Fuel, Spencer Massey, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher will be joined by
Morgan Lucas, Steve Torrence David Grubnic and two others including a fan-favorite
announced on Aug. 29.
Big O Tires DSR Open House for Riley Hospital returns
Aug. 31, features 330-mph artwork, racing technology, stars
The seventh annual
Big O Tires presents the
Don Schumacher
Racing Open House is
in three weeks, and this
year’s theme ”330-mph
Art & Technology” is
expected to attract
another record crowd to
team headquarters near
Indianapolis during the
NHRA U.S. Nationals.
The free event will raise money for the Riley Children’s Foundation that supports
Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and Camp Riley through a silent
auction and other donations. Riley Hospital has served as Indiana’s only comprehensive
children’s hospital since 1924.
The annual Open House and other DSR functions have
raised more than $175,000 for Riley Hospital.
Auction items range from 60-inch HD, flat panel television
provided by Aaron’s to the actual front end from Matt
Hagan’s Aaron’s Funny Car that was featured worldwide on
the Internet and television news programs after the car
exploded earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s
zMAX Dragway.
A complete and updated list of silent auction items soon
will be posted at ShoeRacing.com and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
The Open House, which is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature DSR professional
drivers Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Spencer Massey, reigning NHRA Funny Car
world champion Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray.
In addition to the event’s annual features, new this year will be a motorsports art
exhibit and displays of DSR’s metal-working technology.
Among the featured artists:
Thomas Patsis, a full-time DSR metal
fabricator, will display his unique and creative
race-themed
metalwork. During the
five-hour Open House
Patsis will create a
special piece that will
be auctioned that
afternoon with proceeds going to Riley Hospital. Examples
of his work are at: ColdHardArt.com
Bruce Tatman (right) is a
native of Dayton, Ohio, and an
Indianapolis resident. The
graduate of the Central
Academy of Commercial Art in
Cincinnati is noted for realistic
illustrations of racecars. He will
complete an illustration during
the Open House and donate it
for auction.
Todd Myers, a 41-year old
native of Paris, Tenn., is an
award-winning multimedia artist
whose creations (below) have
been seen in fine art galleries from Tennessee to
Michigan. Myers, who studied fine art and graphic
design at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., has
worked as the public relations representative and
creative director for Kalitta Motorsports for 11 years.
Motorsports, in particular drag racing, influences
can be seen in his art.
The technology aspect of the Open House will
allow visitors for the first time to tour the DSR
Machine Shop that includes high-tech machinery
used to manufacture more than 200 components
used on DSR Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars.
The DSR 8,000-horsepower supercharger dynometer also will be operated at
various times throughout the day.
Annual crowd pleasers also return this year, including a custom car show operated
by the Indianapolis Hi-Winders Car Club; a “Nitro Cacklefest” with several nostalgia
dragsters including the legendary
“Jungle Jim” Funny Car that will
rumble the ground when they
ignite the “fire in the pipes;” and
fans can have a picture taken in
the FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel
Dragster.
More details follow as approach the seventh annual Big O Tires Don Schumacher
Racing Open House on Aug. 31.
At DSR, we’re racing to win and racing to help kids at Riley Hospital.
Hagan takes to water like 170-mph duck
The driver of Don Schumacher Racing’s Aaron’s Dream
Machine Funny Car was runner-up at the past two Full Throttle
events and needed something to tide him over until this
weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
So he flew to Texas last week and went drag boat racing for
the first time.
The cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., is now licensed
to drag race even on a wet track provided power is distributed
to a propeller and not rubber slicks.
“Man, that was just awesome,” Hagan said after going 168.539 mph covering the
liquid quartermile in 7.090 seconds during Lakefest at Marble Falls, Texas, in the Lucas
Oil Drag Boat Series. “It’s not like I’m going to quit my regular job driving my Dodge but
I’d like to try it again.
“You know, it was just something I wanted to try ... something I wanted to do for
myself. I wasn’t trying to prove anything to anybody.”
Hagan was the pilot of Randy Benson’s Texas Bounty Hunter H20 in the Pro
Modified class for supercharged boats with fully-enclosed driver capsules. Benson is
has won series championship in the category several times and is contending again.
Beckman honored
at Irwindale Dragstrip
DSR Funny Car driver Jack
Beckman was honored Aug. 9 at
Irwindale Dragstrip in Southern
California in association with
MoparMax.com magazine. The local
drag racing hero and champion was
presented with the "key" to the
Irwindale track in recognition of his
many contributions to the sport of drag
racing on and off of the track.
"This guy is one of our true local
heroes, everyone loves "Fast" Jack
Beckman, right, shares spotlight with his son,
Beckman said Irwindale facilities
Jason, and Alex Rogeo of MoparMax.com
manager Bob Klein.
magazine.
“He's a real winner in all of our
books, and this chance to tell him that right here at our little strip is a big deal for all of
us."
The inscription recognizes Beckman as “a great racer, but as an even greater human
being.” A cancer survivor, Beckman has become a highly-respected spokesperson in
the fight against the deadly disease.
Upcoming events
Aug. 16-19
NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 21-23
NHRA nitro testing, Indianapolis (closed to public)
Aug. 29
U.S. Nationals Fanfest, Monument Circle, Downtown Indy
Aug. 20-28
Vote for Matt Hagan at Facebook.com/nhra
Aug. 31
Big O Tires seventh annual DSR Open House
to benefit Riley Hospital for Children, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.,
Brownsburg, Ind.
Aug. 29-Sept. 3
U.S. Nationals at Raceway Park, Indianapolis
Don Schumacher Racing statistics
(Updated through Aug. 5, Seattle; 15 of 23 events)
TOP FUEL DRAGSTERS
SPENCER MASSEY, Prestone/FRAM DSR dragster
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 4; lost in first round to Doug Kalitta
Career at Brainerd: Wins 0, Runner-ups 0, Poles 0
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
1st
15
4
2
3
0
32-11
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
63
10
9
8
2
109-51
ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools DSR dragster
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 5; defeated Tony Schumacher in championship round
Career at Brainerd: Wins 5 (Top Fuel: 2011; Pro Stock Motorcycle: ’00, ’01, ’03, ’06),
Runner-ups 2 (PSM: ’01, ’03), Poles 2 (’01, ’04)
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
2nd 15
4
3
2
0
33-11
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
254
35*
34 31
2
427-217 (*19 Top Fuel)
TONY SCHUMACHER, U.S. Army DSR dragster
2011 at Brainerd: Wins (), Runner-ups (), Poles
Career at Brainerd: Wins 3 (’00, ’04, ’08), Runner-ups 3 (’03, ’06, ’11), Poles 5 (’00,
’05-’08
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
3rd
15
1
4
2
0
25-14
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
352
68
47
69
8
613-276
FUNNY CARS
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 4; lost in championship round to Johnny Gray
Career at Brainerd: Wins 2 (1998, 2001), Runner-ups 2 (1009, 2011), Poles 1 (2000
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
2nd 15
2
3
2
1
28-12
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
379
35
39 13
17
453-327
JACK BECKMAN, Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger R/T
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 9; lost first round to Melanie Troxel
Career at Brainerd: Wins 0, Runner-ups 2 (2008, 2011), Poles 0
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
3rd
15
2
0
0
1
23-12
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
148
14
15
5
6
191-128
JOHNNY GRAY, NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger R/T
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 7; defeated Ron Capps in championship round
Career at Brainerd: Wins 1 (2011), Runner-ups 0, Poles 0
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
4th
15
2
1
2
0
20-13
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
196
3
11
3
40
121-153
MATT HAGAN, Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T
2011 at Brainerd: Qualified No. 1; lost Ron Capps in semifinals
Career at Brainerd: Wins 0, Runner-ups 0, 1 Poles (2011)
2012
Pts Races
Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
11th 15
0
2
0
1
10-14
Career
Races
Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
87
5
8
10
4
96-79
For more information: (317) 858-0356
Jeff Wolf
wolfj@shoeracing.com
(702) 524-1368, cell
Leah Vaughn
vaughnl@shoeracing.com
(618) 516-1988, cell
Twitter.com/shoeracing Facebook.com/shoeracing
ShoeRacing.com
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven
professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time
world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey
and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny
Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T,
Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of
Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 189 NHRA
national event titles and nine world championships.
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