The NHRA Northwest Nationals is where Tony Schumacher delivered the first Top Fuel victory for new team owners Joe and Cathi Maynard in 2022, so Schumacher couldn’t think of a better place to score his second win of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, a puff of tire smoke dashed those plans in the second round of eliminations on Sunday at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.
Schumacher brought out the Leatherwood Distillery paint scheme on his JCM Racing dragster for the first time since the New England Nationals. The Tennessee-based distillery recently launched a new sales promotion in which fifty cents of every bottle sold is donated to A Soldier’s Child with an additional fifty cent contribution going toward Brother’s Keeper Veteran Foundation. This promotion runs through Veteran’s Day.
Schumacher, whose 2022 Northwest Nationals win was the most recent of his class-best five victories at Seattle, was one of the drivers who struggled to get down the racetrack in the first two qualifying sessions on Friday. He bounced back on Saturday, though, recording a 3.911 E.T. at 317.79 mph followed by a 3.926-second pass to qualify No. 12 for Sunday eliminations.
Race day started with a major matchup against another multi-time world champion, Brittany Force. Schumacher grabbed a starting line advantage, but he soon lost traction and had to pedal. As Schumacher was recovering, Force’s car went silent, allowing Schumacher to charge past to win with a 3.986 E.T. at 326.00 mph. Schumacher was first off the starting line in the second round against Clay Millican as well, but traction issues continued to plague the Leatherwood Distillery machine. Schumacher had to click it off to a 4.313 E.T.
“We should have won that one,” said Schumacher, who has a win and two runner-up finishes in the first 11 races of the season. “We need to go down the racetrack and we’re gonna work hard at it. We can’t just win ones that are ugly. Sometimes we gotta go down the track fast. My crew chiefs are the smartest guys out here. It’s not an if, it’s a when. Persistence is what does this stuff. We’ll do our testing when we can, we’ll get down that racetrack, and we’re gonna win us a championship.”
Schumacher, ranked sixth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings, won’t have to wait long to get another chance at a trip to the winner’s circle, as JCM Racing will be back on track July 26-28 at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
This story was originally published on July 22, 2024. 
