Prior to the Western Swing, Tony Schumacher and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team had a successful test session in Indianapolis and were eager to take what they learned and apply it in competition. With the NHRA Mile-High Nationals near Denver, the first of three Western Swing events, widely regarded as a ‘one off’ due to the high elevation, Schumacher and his Mike Neff-led team were looking forward to putting their newly-acquired data to the test in the sea-level conditions found at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.
Schumacher returned to the NHRA Northwest Nationals as the defending Top Fuel event champion. His 2022 Seattle triumph went down in the books as win No. 1 for the JCM Racing team, which made its debut that same weekend, and he was looking forward to going two-for-two at a facility where he is a five-time event winner.
During qualifying, Schumacher and the SCAG team made two solid passes out of three, with their best-of 3.826-second pass placing them in the No. 12 position on the Top Fuel ladder.
Round one featured an intramural battle between JCM Racing teammates with Schumacher squaring off against Maynard Ashley Racing driver, Justin Ashley. Against Ashley, Schumacher powered to his best run of the weekend, clocking a 3.785 E.T., but it wasn’t enough to take down the Top Fuel point leader.
“That was a disappointing Seattle showing but we have an incredible outlook for Sonoma,” said Schumacher. “We were literally one run behind here. Friday, we smoked the tires hard, with so much power behind me, that we had to back it down so much. We had to chip away and kept getting closer and getting 500ths better each run and we ran out of time. It’s unfortunate, sometimes the three qualifying runs at the races can be tough on newer teams like ours. For the first time, I swear all year long, the lines look correct and everything looks like we can take exactly what we’ve got and take it to Sonoma and not make any major changes. We’re just going to bring it in a little bit, go 70s out of the box and start racing from there.
“We’ve still got a long time to go,” added Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. “It’s been a disappointing start to our season but we are looking for an epic finish. We are so close to everything being perfectly lined up and bringing home that Top Fuel Wally for the folks at SCAG. We’ve loved showing their dealers and distributors a great time at the race track and the only thing that will make that better will be sending a Wally back to their headquarters in Mayville, Wisconsin.”
From Pacific Raceways, the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team will head south to Sonoma Raceway for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 28 – 30, where Schumacher returns as a two-time event champion.
Schumacher returned to the NHRA Northwest Nationals as the defending Top Fuel event champion. His 2022 Seattle triumph went down in the books as win No. 1 for the JCM Racing team, which made its debut that same weekend, and he was looking forward to going two-for-two at a facility where he is a five-time event winner.
During qualifying, Schumacher and the SCAG team made two solid passes out of three, with their best-of 3.826-second pass placing them in the No. 12 position on the Top Fuel ladder.
Round one featured an intramural battle between JCM Racing teammates with Schumacher squaring off against Maynard Ashley Racing driver, Justin Ashley. Against Ashley, Schumacher powered to his best run of the weekend, clocking a 3.785 E.T., but it wasn’t enough to take down the Top Fuel point leader.
“That was a disappointing Seattle showing but we have an incredible outlook for Sonoma,” said Schumacher. “We were literally one run behind here. Friday, we smoked the tires hard, with so much power behind me, that we had to back it down so much. We had to chip away and kept getting closer and getting 500ths better each run and we ran out of time. It’s unfortunate, sometimes the three qualifying runs at the races can be tough on newer teams like ours. For the first time, I swear all year long, the lines look correct and everything looks like we can take exactly what we’ve got and take it to Sonoma and not make any major changes. We’re just going to bring it in a little bit, go 70s out of the box and start racing from there.
“We’ve still got a long time to go,” added Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. “It’s been a disappointing start to our season but we are looking for an epic finish. We are so close to everything being perfectly lined up and bringing home that Top Fuel Wally for the folks at SCAG. We’ve loved showing their dealers and distributors a great time at the race track and the only thing that will make that better will be sending a Wally back to their headquarters in Mayville, Wisconsin.”
From Pacific Raceways, the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team will head south to Sonoma Raceway for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 28 – 30, where Schumacher returns as a two-time event champion.
This story was originally published on July 24, 2023. 
