Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, aboard his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, was taken out in the semifinal
round of the United Association SuperNationals here Sunday at Raceway Park.
Schumacher, who had qualified number one, was beaten by his former U.S. Army Racing
teammate, Antron Brown, in what proved to be a tight battle to the very end.
Despite giving up a slight advantage at the starting line, the Chicago-area resident
nudged ahead of Brown at half track, but the latter ran him down right at the finish line with a
3.878-second pass to Schumacher's 3.905-second trip.
"That was some good side-by-side racing," said the six-time world champion. "It seemed
like we were good to go until just past half track when the tires started spinning and the car
started to move around. I'm sure that scrubbed off a little time.
"Even though we didn't get the win here, we still managed to make a lot of progress
relative to performance. I believe we've got a solid combination right now. I'm looking for that to
translate into some wins real soon."
On the way to his meeting with Brown, Schumacher had a bye run in the opening round
before leveling Clay Millican in the quarterfinals.
As a result of his loss in the semis, Schumacher gave up some ground to Brown in the
Top Fuel standings. He now trails Brown by 34 points.
"We may not have closed the deal today for the U.S. Army on its 234th birthday, but as
usual the team worked their tails off, just like our Army Strong Soldiers do on a daily basis.
We'll turn the page on this one and quickly begin to prepare for the next race in two weeks."
Schumacher and his U.S. Army team will travel to Norwalk, Ohio, June 25-28, for the
Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. It will mark the halfway point for the 24-race NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series.
"It's hard to believe that we're almost halfway through the season," he added. "Time
sure does fly by when you're having fun."
