U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher dropped a tight quarterfinal round race to
Doug Kalitta here Sunday in the MOPAR Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
Schumacher, who had qualified third, recorded a 4.005-second pass at 303.57 mph, but
Kalitta was just a little bit better with his 4.003-second trip, also at 303.57 mph.
"Man, what a great race that was," said the Chicago-area resident. "The fans definitely
got their money's worth. We were right there with Doug the whole way down the track. There's really
not much you can say other than it was a great battle between two terrific teams."
After leaving the starting line around the same time as Kalitta, Schumacher nudged
ahead at the 330-foot mark, but Kalitta swiped the lead by half track and just held on at the
finish line.
"We have no reason to hang our heads," added the six-time world champion. "We performed
quite well here today. If we were beating ourselves that would be one thing, but that's clearly not
the case.
"As always, we'll follow the lead of our Army Strong Soldiers as we move forward. We'll
never accept defeat and in the end we will accomplish our mission."
Heading for the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways outside of Seattle next
weekend, Schumacher will retain third-place in the Top Fuel standings.
The Seattle race marks the second leg of the NHRA's annual Western Swing which culminates with the
FRAM-Autolite Nationals, July 24-26, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
Additionally, counting the Seattle and Sonoma tour stops, there are just five races remaining
before the Countdown to 1 phase of the Countdown to the Championship commences.
"For sure, we want to win as many races as we can prior to the playoffs," offered Schumacher. "The
most important thing is for us to be running consistently by the time we get to that first
Countdown to 1 race in Charlotte (N.C.)."
