Eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher started the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series season armed with a new team, a new car, and a renewed partnership with SCAG Power Equipment, the principal backer of his 11,000-horsepower machine.
Crew chiefs Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff and Jon Schaffer joined JCM Racing over the off-season and have been hard at work getting the SCAG dragster prepped and ready for the NHRA Gatornationals season-opener.
In front of a sellout crowd, Schumacher made his best run of the weekend during Saturday’s final qualifying session, clocking a 3.774 E.T. to set up a first-round contest with Josh Hart, the No. 7 qualifier. Hart looked unstoppable on Saturday as he clinched the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Call Out race win, but he was no match for Schumacher and the SCAG team come Sunday morning. Schumacher and Hart were the first pair of Camping World Series competitors to hit the track on race day, and Schumacher used his holeshot advantage to capture the first win light of the year, effectively stopping Hart in his tracks as he attempted to go two-for-two at Gainesville Raceway. Round two featured a battle between two Top Fuel titans as Schumacher lined up opposite Steve Torrence. Once again, Schumacher left the starting line first, but his machine lost traction as he approached the 330-foot marker, and Torrence made a clean pass for the win.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Phoenix,” said Schumacher, the category leader at Gainesville Raceway with five Gatornationals victories. “We’ve got a brand new car, brand new team, and the guys just did outstanding. We didn’t have a lot of runs under our belt coming into this weekend. We did a lot of testing, but we didn’t have all of the parts here for the first session, so we just didn’t have as many runs as a lot of our competitors.
“Had a heck of a first round today,” added Schumacher of his DSR Performance-powered SCAG dragster’s strong opening run against Hart. “Second round was a tough one. We didn’t have lane choice. Steve made a decent run but we probably could have won that one. But, in all, I’m proud of our team. We made huge, monumental steps this weekend and we’re looking forward to the next race.
“For SCAG, American Coach, RAC Financial, Okuma, and GearWrench, and all of the people who have helped us out, I just want to say thank you. SCAG brought out a heck of a lot of people this weekend. They had an incredible time and we love having that hospitality full.”
No. 7 ranked Schumacher (tied with Austin Prock) and the SCAG Power Equipment team will compete next at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, March 24 – 26.
This story was originally published on March 13, 2023. 
