Mopar Driver Schumacher Puts Top Fuel Dragster No. 1 in Abbreviated Atlanta Qualifying
Tony Schumacher qualifies U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster in top spot for NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway; it is the 82nd No. 1 qualifying effort of his career
Mopar HEMI®-powered Top Fuel cars have claimed four No. 1 qualifying positions in 2017
Mopar-powered Don Schumacher Racing Funny Cars will begin the day 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Five Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars qualify for 16-car field
Event featured only two qualifying sessions on Saturday due to Friday rain
May 6, 2017 (Commerce, Ga.) – Due to persistent rain on Friday, competitors in the Nitro categories of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series had only two tries this weekend to lay down the quickest qualifying lap for the 37th annual Southern Nationals. It mattered little to eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher and his Mopar-backed team. They put HEMI® power No. 1 in the Top Fuel category during their last chance to claim the top spot at Atlanta Dragway on Saturday afternoon.
Schumacher turned in a lap of 3.736 seconds at 325.45 mph in his U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster during Saturday’s second and final round of the one-day qualifying program. The pass was good enough to claim the fourth No. 1 qualifying position for Mopar-powered Top Fuel cars fielded by Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) this year. It is the 82nd No. 1 of Schumacher’s career and puts him in prime position to pick up his first win at the track northeast of Atlanta.
Schumacher also claimed the No. 1 spot at the Gatornationals in March, while his teammate Leah Pritchett has been the top qualifier in the Top Fuel category on two occasions in 2017. Pritchett will start from No. 11 on the elimination ladder in her Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil machine.
Friday’s washout meant that each team got just two passes on Saturday instead of the usual four scheduled over the first two days of the event.
Mopar Funny Cars also made the best of the abbreviated schedule, with three of the four in the DSR contingent making laps that will put them in the top four when the elimination ladder begins to pare down the 16-car field on Sunday. Matt Hagan led the way in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, turning in a pass of 3.930 seconds at 325.45 mph to put him in the No. 2 position. Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified No. 3, while Ron Capps laid down a lap that puts him in the No. 4 spot.
Five Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car drivers are in the running to hoist the Wally trophy.
Mopar/Dodge Notes & Quotes
(best elapsed time in bold)
*Friday qualifying sessions rained out
Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 1, will face No. 16 Brittany Force
Saturday: (3.778 seconds at 323.35 mph – Q1); (3.736/325.45 – Q2)
“The first round was a decent run and we’ve been suffering through too many decent runs. We’ve been putting cylinders out and (crew chief) Mike (Green) on that last run said, ‘We’re making a change. We’ve absolutely got to make a change.’ That thing was just stuck in from the beginning to the end. It was a good, straight run down the racetrack. I couldn’t be happier going into racing No. 1.”
“This is the only race that the trophy doesn’t sit on my shelf. We’re going in No. 1; we’ve got every chance in the world to win it now.”
Matt Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 2, will face No. 15 Cruz Pedregon
Saturday: (5.516 seconds at 129.16 mph – Q1); (3.930/325.45 – Q2)
Leah Pritchett, Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified No. 11, will face No. 6 Terry McMillen
Saturday: (3.862 seconds at 304.05 mph – Q1); (6.513/98.56 – Q2)
Tommy Johnson Jr., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 3, will face No. 14 Jack Beckman
Saturday: (4.731 seconds at 169.85 mph – Q1); (3.937/319.29 – Q2)
Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 4, will face No. 13 J.R. Todd
Saturday: (5.537 seconds at 15.30 mph – Q1); (3.955/323.97 – Q2)
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
Qualified No. 14, will face No. 3 Tommy Johnson Jr.
Saturday: (5.584 seconds at 124.27 mph – Q1); (5.738/120.08 – Q2)