Tony "the Sarge" Schumacher put together two solid runs today, driving his U.S. Army Top Fuel
Dragster into seventh position after the first day of qualifying, with two more qualifying rounds
remaining Saturday, for the 22nd Annual NHRA Northwest Nationals here at Pacific Raceway.
Schumacher, defending event champion (winner of the previous three NHRA Full Throttle
races here and four of the past five), posted a 3.937-second run in the day's second session at
303.98 miles per hour, bettering his first run on the 1,000-foot course of 4.049 seconds at 294.11
mph.
"These were two good, consistent runs," said the Chicago-area resident. "I was happy we
got down the track cleanly and that we are running with the field. But, of course, I expect us to
do better before the weekend is over."
Schumacher, six-time Top Fuel Champion, including world titles the past five years,
entered this weekend third in the championship race with 938 points after 13 events. He entered the
event two points behind Larry Dixon and 118 behind Antron Brown.
"We want to get back to victory circle," he said. "Obviously, I like this track and
have had great success here in recent years. We hope to keep that streak alive."
