U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher has already put Sunday's Denver race in his
rear view mirror and is now looking ahead to this weekend's Northwest Nationals here at Pacific
Raceways.
After absorbing a second round loss to Doug Kalitta in the MOPAR Mile-High Nationals,
the Chicago-area resident is quickly turning his attention to the second leg of the NHRA's infamous
three-race Western Swing.
"That's what we have to do," offered the six-time world champion. "We're not going to
dwell on the past. We have another race coming up right away, so we need to concentrate our efforts
there."
Despite his early exit at Bandimere Speedway, Schumacher feels his U.S. Army team is
heading in the right direction and will bust out soon.
"I truly believe that," he said. "Mike Green (his crew chief) has the car dialed in
quite nicely. I feel a win is right there within our grasp. We're definitely overdue to get a
victory for our Army Strong Soldiers."
Schumacher will travel to the Pacific Northwest still holding third-place in the
standings. He's two points removed from Larry Dixon in second and 118 points in back of Antron
Brown in first.
"There's a lot of parity in the Top Fuel class this year," he said. "I'm very impressed
with the amount of talented teams we have competing at every race. Anyone can rise up to win on a
Sunday."
While Schumacher will enjoy the spectacular views of Mount Rainier this weekend, he
will especially enjoy pulling through the gates of Pacific Raceways given his success there over
the years.
"We've won three straight up there and four times in the last five years," he said. "I
guess that's a pretty decent history to have."
Only Joe Amato has more Top Fuel wins at Pacific Raceways - five.
