With Leatherwood Distillery and Waltrip Brewing Company co-branding on his JCM Racing dragster, eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher went into the NHRA Carolina Nationals eager to pick up his third Charlotte fall race victory. Those hopes were dashed early, though, when Schumacher ended up on the wrong side of a tough race in the first round of eliminations Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway. Still, Schumacher held on to his No. 7 spot in the points standings with four races remaining in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Schumacher went right to the top half of the field in the opening qualifying session on Friday, with his 3.782 E.T. at 327.11 mph putting him No. 7. He moved up to fifth in the second session with a 3.714-second pass at 325.92 mph to wrap up day one of qualifying. Schumacher ran into traction issues in both of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, though he remained No. 5 on the final qualifying order thanks to his Friday night effort.
In Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Schumacher met up with veteran driver Doug Foley. Schumacher grabbed a few thousands of a second advantage out of the gate, but his 3.834-second run at 320.28 mph wasn’t quick enough to hold off Foley’s winning 3.78 E.T.
“That’s a race that catches you off guard,” Schumacher said. “In no way do I want to think we were underestimating Doug Foley in any way, but it was hot out and we didn’t want to beat ourselves. They did just a hell of a job, and that one’s gonna hurt. It’s early on (in the Countdown). We needed those wins. We wanted to run early in the round to make sure we had the race track. We made a fairly soft run to ensure that it got down there and we got beat and it was painful. Now, we’ll go to St. Louis, try to recoup ourselves, and get up in the top five by the end of the year.”
Schumacher, the winningest driver in the Top Fuel category, will continue the Countdown the Championship at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, Sept. 27-29, at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis where he returns as a five-time finalist.
This story was originally published on September 23, 2024. 
