nhra countdown to the championship standings

Matt Hagan and the Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T roars into the NHRA
Countdown for the Championship with No. 1 seed. (PHOTO: AutoImagery.com)
COUNTDOWN IS ON
Hagan, Magneti Marelli/Rocky Boots team leads DSR into playoff
with Funny Car top seed, Massey ranks second in Top Fuel
The seven Don Schumacher Racing teams will get a well-earned weekend off before leaving next week to
start the seventh annual Countdown to the Championship on Sept.13 at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte Motor
Speedway after the 18-event NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series concluded Monday.
DSR’s teams are in solid positions to make runs at NHRA world championships and $500,000 bonuses that
go along with the titles.
Leading the way will be Matt Hagan and the
Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge
Charger R/T team that have made a miraculous
turnaround after not qualifying for the Countdown a year
ago and will start this year’s edition as the No. 1 seed.
Hagan’s team, the 2011 world champion,
suffered through 2012 without winning an event title or
No. 1 qualifying position, but after 18 events this year
with new crew chief Dickie Venables and rookie assistant
Michael Knudsen the team has won four titles and four
poles heading to the Countdown.
Hagan starts as the top-seed with a 30-point lead
over DSR teammate Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO
PARTS team. Before the points were reset for the
Countdown after the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day
Assistant crew chief Michael Knudsen, left, and crew
Weekend, Hagan had built 215-point lead over. Hagan
chief Dickie Venables along with the team helped Matt
won the pole U.S. Nationals pole last weekend near
Hagan win four titles and four poles through the first 18
NHRA Mello Yello Series events. (PHOTO:
Indianapolis by setting track records for time (4.007
AutoImagery.com)
seconds) and speed (319.22 mph).
DSR starts the playoff with its four Funny Car drivers seeded in the top-five: Hagan first, Capps second,
Johnny Gray third and reigning Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman fifth.
In Top Fuel,
Spencer Massey and
the Battery Extender
Powered by
Schumacher team with
crew chiefs Todd
Okuhara and Phil
Shuler, leads DSR with
the No. 2 seed while seven-time world champion Tony
Schumacher ranks third. Reigning Top Fuel world champion
Antron Brown is seeded sixth.
DSR heads to Concord, N.C., after a highly successful
regular season when it won 20 of a possible 36 nitro event
titles – a 55 percent winning rate.
Spencer Massey with crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and
DSR has won 11 of 17 Funny Car titles (Gray 4,
Phil Shuler lead DSR's Battery Extender Powered by
Hagan
4,
Capps 3) and 9 of 17 in Top Fuel (Massey 4,
Schumacher dragster as No. 2 seed in Top Fuel for
Schumacher 3, Brown 2). Six times this season, DSR left
the Countdown to the Championship.
events with both nitro trophies.
NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
(Reset for start of six-event playoff that starts Sept. 13 near Charlotte)
TOP FUEL
FUNNY CAR
1. Shawn Langdon
2,110
1. MATT HAGAN
2. SPENCER MASSEY
2,080
2. RON CAPPS
3. TONY SCHUMACHER
2,070
3. JOHNNY GRAY
4. Doug Kalitta
2,060
4. John Force
5. Khalid alBalooshi
2,050
5. JACK BECKMAN
6. ANTRON BROWN
2,040
6. Cruz Pedregon
7. Clay Millican
2,030
7. Courtney Force
8. Morgan Lucas
2,020
8. Tim Wilkerson
9. Steve Torrence
2,010
9. Robert Hight
10. Bob Vandergriff
2,000
10. Del Worsham
2,110
2,080
2,070
2,060
2,050
2,040
2,030
2,020
2,010
2,000
NHRA Countdown to the Championship schedule
Sept. 13-15 – zMAX Dragway, Charlotte, N.C.
Sept. 19-22 – Texas Motorplex, Dallas
Sept. 27-29 – Gateway Motorsports Park, St. Louis
Oct. 3-6 – Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pa.
Oct. 24-27 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
Nov. 8-11 – Auto Club Raceway, Pomona, Calif.
NHRA MELLO YELLO SERIES REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
(Final regular season after 18 events through U.S. Nationals)
TOP FUEL
FUNNY CAR
1. Shawn Langdon
1,488
1. MATT HAGAN
2. SPENCER MASSEY
1,273
2. RON CAPPS
3. TONY SCHUMACHER
1,238
3. JOHNNY GRAY
4. Doug Kalitta
1,086
4. John Force
5. Khalid alBalooshi
1,074
5. JACK BECKMAN
6. ANTRON BROWN
1,035
6. Cruz Pedregon
7. Clay Millican
979
7. Courtney Force
8. Morgan Lucas
968
8. Tim Wilkerson
9. Steve Torrence
893
9. Robert Hight
10. Bob Vandergriff
821
10. Del Worsham
1,297
1,183
1,125
1,115
1,110
1,099
1,071
1,023
1,015
948
2013 TOP FUEL WINNERS: Langdon, SCHUMACHER, BROWN, SCHUMACHER, MASSEY, Vandergriff,
BROWN, Langdon, Langdon, Steve Torrence, MASSEY, SCHUMACHER, alBalooshi, MASSEY, Langdon, Lucas,
MASSEY, Langdon.
2013 FUNNY CAR WINNERS: C. Force, CAPPS, GRAY, C. Pedregon, HAGAN, C. Pedregon, GRAY,
GRAY, HAGAN, J. Force, C. Force, HAGAN, GRAY, C. Pedregon, CAPPS, HAGAN, CAPPS, Hight.
Beckman explodes to Traxxas Nitro Shootout title
Valvoline/MTS Dodge sets off fireworks after winning $100,000
For the second consecutive year, DSR won a Traxxas Nitro Shootout (Spencer Massey won the Top Fuel
title a year ago) and Jack Beckman did it in a very memorable way Sunday during the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil
Raceway near Indianapolis.
Beckman’s engine violently exploded and shredded most of the body on his Valvoline MaxLife/MTS Mail for
Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, but used a superior starting line advantage
to
edge Cruz Pedregon at the finish line to win $100,000 for DSR in the Shootout.
The reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion left Pedregon at the starting
line that allowed him to overcome Pedregon’s quicker elapsed time. Beckman used a
tune-up from crew chief Todd Smith and assistant Terry Snyder to win the title by
three-thousandth of a second that amounted to about one foot at 310 mph.
Beckman’s winning time of 4.086 seconds beat Pedregon’s quicker 4.066.
The winning difference was Beckman’s reaction time of 0.052 seconds – his best of
the U.S. Nationals weekend – that was considerably quicker than Pedregon’s 0.075. ‘Fast’ Jack, left, with his
father, 'Slow’ Bob
A blink of an eye after Beckman crossed the finish line, the explosion blew
Beckman
the body from behind the front fenders skyward while Beckman was able to maintain
control of the bouncing Funny Car and brought it to a stop.
“Our car was haulin’,” he said with a smile that had been on his face from the moment he climbed out of his
new convertible cockpit to stand atop a Goodyear racing slick with hands raised in victory.
“It was truckin’. Right after it blew Todd Smith got on the radio and kept asking if I was OK. This’s how
great a guy he is. He didn’t care about anything but me. I said I was fine but wanted to know if we won. Once he
gave me a yes I felt even better.”
It was a big win for Beckman and his team, which has yet to win a regular NHRA Mello Yello Series title
this year after winning three a year ago. But they came close on Monday when the team advanced to the
championship round before losing to Robert Hight of John Force Racing.
TRAXXAS FUNNY CAR NITRO
SHOOTOUT
Round 1: Cruz Pedregon (4.068
sec., 309.06 mph) def. John Force
(4.056, 312.71); Courtney Force
(4.116, 312.06) def. JOHNNY GRAY
(4.122, 309.70); JACK BECKMAN
(4.062, 310.20) def. RON CAPPS
(4.118, 304.46); Tim Wilkerson
(4.086, 312.50) def. MATT HAGAN
(4.109, 311.20).
Semifinals: C. Pedregon (4.124,
306.12) def. Wilkerson (4.107,
307.37); BECKMAN (4.082, 310.55)
def. C. Force (4.099, 314.75).
Final: BECKMAN (4.086, 310.77) def. C. Pedregon (4.066, 308.35)
SPECIAL DAY
Pitch Energy honors John R. Gray by donating power wheelchair
through the Darrell Gwynn Foundation over Labor Day Weekend
The Darrell Gwynn Foundation, on behalf of Pitch Energy, Funny Car driver Johnny Gray and wife Terry,
and Johnny's sister Terry Chandler, donated a custom power wheelchair to 4-year-old Aiden Brown of Noblesville,
Ind., on Sunday at the U.S. Nationals at Lucas
Oil Raceway.
The wheelchair donation was made in
honor of Johnny Gray and Terry Chandler's
father, the late John R. Gray.
“We are very humbled to be associated
with the Darrell Gwynn Foundation and be able
to share this gift with Aiden," said Johnny Gray,
who drives the Pitch Energy Dodge Charger R/T
for Don Schumacher Racing.
"My wife Terry and I, along with my
sister Terry Chandler, have been touched by
this foundation and those like it, and we sure
hope that this presentation today raises
awareness. We're real glad we can help Aiden, and we'd like it if other people became involved in helping these
folks who really need it too."
For more information on the Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s Wheelchair Donation Program please visit
DarrellGwynnFoundation.org.
FANS OPEN HEARTS
Eighth annual DSR Open house sets fund-raiser
record during fun-filled day to benefit Riley Kids
Everyone had fun at the Aug. 30 eighth annual Don
Schumacher Racing Open House to benefit Riley Hospital for Children
at Indiana University Health and Camp Riley.
An overflow car and bike show put on by the Indy Hi-Winders
was another resounding success along with the DSR autograph
session when dedicated fans filled an hour-long line.
Artist Bruce Tatman created a beautiful painting that saluted
team owner Don Schumacher’s induction this year into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
And best of all ... the five-hour event raised $26,000 for Riley
Kids that pushed the total raised by DSR for Riley to over $225,000.
Mark the date for next year’s event – Aug. 29 – that promises
to be the biggest and best ever to help NHRA celebrate the 60th
edition of the U.S. Nationals at nearby Lucas Oil Raceway.
The Cars ...
... Our DSR Stars
Before
...
After
Only at a DSR Open House would a
fan give up his beard and hair to
help Riley Kids. This unidentified
guest made a donation to get a free
haircut from a Salon 26 stylist.
Salon 26 (1024 E. Main St.,
Brownsburg) raised more than $400
for Riley Kids.
The CNC and machine shop
was another big hit at the
Open House as DSR's
talented machinists gives
fans an inside look at
DSR's speed factory.
The identity of this mystery cartoonist
will be revealed in the next issue of Shoe’s News!
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., starts 2013 with seven professional NHRA teams.
In Top Fuel, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the U.S.
Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher and the Battery Extender Powered by
Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in
the Valvoline/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the
Magneti Marelli Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Pitch Energy
Dodge of Johnny Gray.
DSR has won 216 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.