Top Fuel (TF) points leader Tony Schumacher completed the weekend with a win in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. He also broke a streak in which the TF No. 1 qualifier didn’t win a race this season, until today at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA.
Schumacher ousted Brittany Force in the final and rocketed to the finish line for his 77th career NHRA victory.
“Luckily, I don’t have the give-up attitude because most people would have been Brittany’s (Force) gonna beat me,” Schumacher said of the final. “I got back in it (the pedal) and I think I pedaled it (the car) twice and finally got to hook up a little bit. I’ve been working on that a long time.”
Second-place points driver Shawn Langdon was eliminated in the first round by rookie Richie Crampton. With the defeat, Schumacher extends his points lead to 134 over the 2013 TF champ Langdon.
“We said it coming in if just we win the three next races, it’s not that hard and we’re the champs,” Schumacher added. “There’s nothing that can do about it. We started with the first one. So, good lead, it’s not over by any means, but I’d rather be in my shoes than anybody else in the world right now.”
Langdon dropped to fourth in points and now sits 148 markers behind. Schumacher defeated Doug Kalitta in the semifinals, who is now second in points. The win was crucial for Schumacher, as he says it was “massive” when he edged Kalitta by .004 of a second.
“I knew getting into the car that that was the run,” Schumacher said. “That is going to decide, very possibly, the championship. He goes on and wins the race, he’s only 70 points behind me. Now, he’s seven rounds. Huge difference.”
Kalitta ran the lowest elapsed time (ET) on the day at 3.718 seconds. Schumacher also took down Steve Torrence in the second round, who is unofficially third in points.”
The Funny Car (FC) points had a major shake-up as Matt Hagan scored the victory and took over the points lead from John Force. Hagan was on fire, literally, as the car engulfed in flames coming to the finish line. Tommy Johnson Jr. posed no threat after spinning the tires early on and allowing Hagan to coast for the win.
“I don’t know what happened in the final,” Hagan said of the car. “Probably a part broke, it didn’t give any warning. It (the car) just said ‘kaboom.’ It’s such a crazy feeling knowing that the thing’s on fire.”
All three John Force Racing cars were out after the first round and John and Courtney Force fall to second and third in FC points. Hagan leaves Reading with a 36-point lead on John.
“You always think points, there’s no way around it,” Hagan added. “I’ve really taken an approach that you just gotta chill. Let stuff come to you. Don’t push stuff away from you. I think we’ll look at points at Pomona.”
John Bojec made his Funny Car debut this weekend and fell to Cruz Pedregon in the first round Sunday. Bojec ran in the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car division before moving up to the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The two drivers have a connection, as Pedregon’s part-time assistant, Johnny West, worked with Bojec this weekend at Maple Grove.
“For our first NHRA pro appearance, I think it went pretty good,” Bojec said. “I think were satisfied. Obviously, we’re a new team, new crew. I think we look pretty good up there.”
Pedregon fell to Tommy Johnson Jr. in the second round, as Tony Schumacher was the only No. 1 NHRA qualifier to win at Maple Grove this weekend.
In Pro Stock, Roger Brogdon scored his second career win and nearly a year since his first win at Bristol in 2013. Brogdon didn’t make the Countdown for the Championship and served as a spoiler to those contending for a title. The 13th fastest qualifier, Jeff Arend, make it to the semi-finals before falling to runner-up Allen Johnson.
Eddie Krawiec took the win in the Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) division and sits 25 markers behind points leader and teammate, Andrew Hines. Krawiec prevailed over Scotty Pollacheck, who still remain winless in PSM.
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will have three weeks off until Las Vegas at the end of the month. The final eliminations from Maple Grove Raceway can be seen at 8 p.m. Sunday night on ESPN2.
Finals results from Maple Grove Raceway
Top Fuel: Tony Schumacher over Brittany Force
Funny Car: Matt Hagan over Tommy Johnson Jr.
Pro Stock: Rodger Brogdon over Allen Johnson
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Eddie Krawiec over Scotty Pollacheck
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