U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher clearly enjoyed spending time with his family
during a recent two-week break in the NHRA schedule, but admittedly he's anxious to return to the
comfortable confines of his record-setting dragster.
"I really loved being with the family the last couple of weeks, but it's time to return
to work," said the six-time world champion as he prepared for this weekend's Lucas Oil Nationals at
Brainerd International Raceway. "We have unfinished business to attend to."
The unfinished business Schumacher refers to is his quest for a sixth straight world
title. The Chicago-area resident heads for the Gopher State sitting in second-place in the Top Fuel
standings, 199 points behind Antron Brown.
The Lucas Oil Nationals is one of three races remaining before the Countdown to One
begins in Charlotte the middle of September.
"The playoffs are fast approaching, so we need to make sure over the next few races we
start running with more consistency," said Schumacher. "Obviously, during that stretch, we'd also
like to pocket some wins, specifically, for our hard-working Army Strong Soldiers."
Schumacher and his U.S. Army team are coming off a Western Swing which produced a pair
of quarterfinal round losses (Denver and Sonoma, Calif.) as well as a final round loss (Seattle).
"While the results were not very spectacular, we did accomplish a lot out there," he
offered. "In preparation for the Countdown to One, we tested a few things on the car and managed to
put up some good numbers. I'm sure we'll be refining things even more during the coming weeks."
Given his three career wins in Brainerd (2000, 2004 and 2008), Schumacher will be
looking to strike gold once again come Sunday afternoon.
"Absolutely," he said. "We could use a nice pick me up in the form of a victory. Once
again, we want to build some momentum before the playoffs. If we can have success in Brainerd,
Reading (Pa.) and Indianapolis, that will help dictate the direction we go in by the time we get to
Charlotte."
