Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, aboard his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, secured the third starting
spot after the first day of qualifying here Friday for the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol
Dragway.
After posting a 3.883-second run at 306.60 mph in the second session, Schumacher landed
behind his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Cory McClenathan, and Brandon Bernstein, respectively,
in the order heading into final qualifying on Saturday.
"What a great effort by the U.S. Army team," said the six-time world champion. "We had
a nice pass to start the day (3.906-seconds at 305.63 mph) and then we followed that with an even
better performance. We were not that far off Cory's time, so we're right there."
Schumacher, who is the defending Thunder Valley Nationals champion, entered round eight
of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series holding second-place in the standings, 18 points
behind Antron Brown.
"We got knocked from our perch after the St. Louis race, so we're looking to reclaim
the lead this weekend," he added. "I think the guys really enjoyed being in first-place for a
couple of races. They're definitely hungry to get back there."
Saturday's Top Fuel qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET.
"As always, now that we're solidly in the field, we'll go out tomorrow and work on our
race day set up to get prepared for Sunday," said Schumacher. "We want a second straight win here
in Bristol."
