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BROWNSBURG, Ind. --
After a little time off at the end the year, DSR and its more than 100 employees have been busily preparing for pre-season testing Thursday-Saturday near Phoenix before the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season opens a week later on Feb. 10-12 with the NHRA Winternationals outside of Los Angeles. Last year marked the fourth time DSR swept nitro world championships en route to collecting 16 of the most prized trophies in drag racing when Antron Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team won its second straight Top Fuel championship and third in five seasons while popular veteran Ron Capps won his first world championship in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T. The biggest off-season development was Papa John's Pizza committing to a full-season sponsorship for Leah Pritchett at DSR after a very successful trial for five events in 2016. DSR's astounding win total has reached 293. But Don Schumacher, DSR's hall-of-fame owner and original driver, doesn't believe in complacency. "You have to get better every day, every race and every year," Schumacher said. "You have to keep moving forward to stay ahead." Schumacher said his contingent might start the season with seven teams, the same number it has opened with since 2011 but expects soon to be back to eight which is how many were fielded for the last half of 2016.
ANTRON BROWN: Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster Brown set personal bests last year for event titles (seven), final rounds (11) and elimination round wins (55). He also set a career best elapsed time of 3.679 seconds. Brown and the Matco team have recorded the most wins in Top Fuel over the past eight years with 43 event titles. He ranks fourth in all-time Top Fuel wins with 45.
RON CAPPS: NAPA AUTO PARTS 2017 Dodge Charger R/T Capps recorded career-bests in four categories: wins (five), final rounds (10), poles (five) and round wins in eliminations (54). He recorded his career-best elapsed time (3.843 seconds) and speed (330.23 mph). His time of 3.843 was one of three NHRA track records he set last year.
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.: Make-A-Wish 2017 Dodge Charger R/T The Make-A-Wish Dodge has been the best Funny Car, cumulatively, under crew chief John Collins with assistant Rip Reynolds, over the past three seasons with third-place points finishes in 2014 and 2015 and nine event titles along with five poles over the past three years. Johnson recorded career-bests for points finish (second) and wins (three). He also ran the quickest (3.847 seconds) and fastest (328.46 mph) of his career.
Crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen return to lead two-time world champ Matt Hagan after they remained in the championship hunt until the last week of the season when they finished third in points with four event titles. The Mopar team powered by Pennzoil produced two of the most astounding runs ever when Hagan recorded the quickest elapsed time (3.822 seconds at Brainerd, Minn.) and fastest (335.57 mph at Topeka) in the history of Funny Cars. Those were two of 13 NHRA track records the team set last year along with five of the 10 quickest passes ever by a Funny Car. He has four of the seven fastest runs by a Funny Car.
JACK BECKMAN: Infinite Hero 2017 Dodge Charger R/T When the 2017 season opens, Beckman will be greeted by new crew chiefs. The team will open with three co-crew chiefs including championship veterans John Medlen and Dean Antonelli, and rookie Neal Strausbaugh, who has worked as an assistant to Mike Green for seven years on DSR's U.S. Army Top Fuel team during a span that produced 26 wins and world championships in 2009 and 2014. Beckman drove Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge to four elapsed time and seven track speed records last year including career bests of 3.825 seconds (second quickest in history) and 334.15 mph (second fastest in history). He has five of the 10 fastest runs ever in Funny Cars.
LEAH PRITCHETT: Papa John's Pizza Top Fuel dragster In addition to Papa John's Pizza, FireAde 2000 Personal Fire Suppression Systems will be a co-primary at four events (tentatively Gainesville, Charlotte 1, Atlanta and Bristol). Mopar will return to join Papa John's on her car at Denver, Mopar/Pennzoil will be her sponsor at Reading and Pennzoil will be her lone sponsor at Las Vegas 2. The popular 28-year-old Southern California native and graduate of Cal State San Bernardino, drove in 15 races for DSR last year and qualified for the Countdown to the Championship playoff where she finished a career-best seventh in points with her first Top Fuel title (Phoenix) and first No. 1 qualifying position (Reading, Pa.). DSR director of racing Todd Okuhara returns as her crew chief with assistant Joe Barlam and team manager Scott Okuhara.
TONY SCHUMACHER: U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster Shuler was Green's assistant from 2003 to 2006 on Funny Cars driven by Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr., each of whom have spent the past several years at DSR.
SHAWN LANGDON: Sponsor(s) to be determined Top Fuel dragster DSR continues to work on securing proper funding for the team that was the second best Top Fuel performer last year for DSR by finishing fifth in points with three event titles. Schumacher is optimistic that Langdon and his team will qualify for this year's Countdown playoffs. "Nothing will change how I get ready for the new season because I believe we'll be out there. I know Don is working on different programs," Langdon said.
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