SUPERB REACTION TOPS OTHER GREAT LEAVERS

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1 Antron s double-holeshot sends Matco Tools dragster to second title of 14 in exciting Four-Wide near Charlotte SUPERB REACTION TOPS OTHER GREAT LEAVERS Winning on a holeshot is not common in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, but what Antron Brown did Sunday in the Top Fuel final round of the unique NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zmax Dragway near Charlotte Motor Speedway was unheard of. The popular Don Schumacher Racing driver of the Matco Tools Antron Brown, second from bottom, used holeshots on Shawn Langdon, left, Top Fuel dragster tuned and J.R. Todd, right, to overcome their quicker Top Fuel dragsters on Sunday by crew chiefs Brian to win the Top Fuel title in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte. Corradi and Mark (AutoImagery.com photo) Oswald produced a reaction at the starting line that turned the third quickest elapsed time into a championship run by leaving

2 the starting line ahead of reigning Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd, who along with Langdon and Antron have a knack for quick reactions to the starting line Christmas tree. Antron earned his 43rd NHRA event title and the 222nd for DSR with a second reaction at the start of the unique final round on the world s only four-lane dragstrip. Antron s consistent Matco dragster produced an elapsed time of seconds at mph that was matched by Langdon s elapsed time and was a blink slower than Todd s (318.32). But Antron s reaction was significantly quicker than those of Langdon (0.057) and Todd (0.072). Points leader Doug Kalitta was the fourth member of the championship quad but slowed to seconds As drivers, the only thing we can do is screw it up on the starting line, Antron said. You just have to be on point and give it all you have. When you re racing people like J.R. Todd, he s a great driver, and when you race Langdon, he s a tremendous leaver. You ve got your work cut out for you. I just went up there and was poised. Race day, you have to be on time. It feels really good to get the job done, especially when our Matco team works so hard. Just incredible. It feels good to get another win; it s tough enough just to win a round. To go out in the final round and do what we did is purely awesome. All these cars ran so good. Just to sneak one out felt good. Our car s been running good. We didn t want to push her too hard on the last lap so the boys eased her back a little. It feels good. Brown, who is second in points, moved to within 25 of points leader Kalitta. DSR teammates Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army) and Spencer Massey (Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher) advanced to the quarterfinal heat. In Funny Car, championship Sunday started with Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T on the pole with the 16th No. 1 qualifying position of his career and first for a DSR Funny Car this season. But only Matt Hagan (Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (Make-A-Wish Foundation) advanced to the quarterfinal round. The Mello Yello Series heads to Houston next week for the April event at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown. NAPA AUTO PARTS Ron Capps is cheered by the crowd Sunday when introduced as the No. 1 Funny Car Qualifier for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The hard-working crew on Matt Hagan's Mopar/Rocky Dodge Charer R/T team get ready for Sunday's quarterfinals. Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army qualified No. 6 and advanced to the quarterfinals in the Four-Wide after winning the title at the previous event at Las Vegas.

3 DSR, Chandler join Oakley to support Infinite Hero Beckman to carry IHF colors on his Dodge Charger R/T at six Mello Yello events beginning with race near Houston Jack Beckman rarely needs added motivation but he received a boost Friday and Saturday that will carry over to the next event at Houston. It was announced last Friday that his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car will carry a special paint scheme for six races that will deliver added exposure for the Infinite Hero Foundation beginning with the April event at Baytown, Texas. The Infinite Hero Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to provide funding to programs that combat the most difficult issues both mental and physical facing returning military personnel and their families. Infinite Hero will be featured on Don Schumacher Racing s Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driven by Jack though a sponsorship funded by Oakley, Terry Chandler and DSR. Not a dime of the money that would go to the soldiers goes into this race car, Jack said. Our Dodge will be used as an awareness tool to help raise money for these soldiers. Jack will drive the Infinite Hero Dodge at Houston followed by the Toyota Summer Nationals at Englishtown, N.J. (May 30-June 1); Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver (July 18-20); Carolina Nationals near Charlotte (Sept ); AAA Texas Fall Nationals near Dallas (Sept ); and the Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas (Oct. 31- Nov. 2). The Infinite Hero program honors us by letting us help their wonderful foundation, Don Schumacher Racing team Terry Chandler, second from left, and Don Schumacher, right, are funding the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T for six races beginning next weekend near Houston. Jack Beckman, left, is with retired Special Operations pilot Gary Linfoot and his wife Mary. owner Don Schumacher said. We have worked closely with our friends at Oakley for almost two decades, and partnering with them to help the Infinite Hero program is what makes being involved in NHRA drag racing with Oakley even more special. We hope to raise money to help Infinite Hero help the men and women of our military who sacrificed so much for us. Having Infinite Hero on Jack Beckman s Dodge Charger R/T for six events will bring more awareness to the Infinite Hero Foundation. Chandler is funding another DSR Funny Car this season to promote awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We owe so much to the men and women of our military for our freedom, Chandler said. Infinite Hero helps them when they come home, and also helps their children who are going through the hard times, too. That's what hits my heart, and I'm grateful to be able to bring awareness to this wonderful foundation. Paralyzed pilot who stood for U.S. gets to stand, walk again The special guests at the unveiling of DSR s Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car were retired Special Operations helicopter pilot Gary Linfoot, who has been paralyzed below the waist since a crash in 2008 in Iraq, and his wife, Mary. I m so glad Gary and Mary came out here to put very human faces on a good cause, Jack said. Gary showed what support of the Infinite Hero program can do when he stood up with the Ekso suit for

4 the first time in four years and it helped him take steps, that is something he never thought he would be able to do again. The Infinite Hero Foundation funded the purchase of the Ekso suit, which is a bionic exoskeleton that enables individuals with paralysis to stand and walk again. One of the 2013 IHF grant recipients was the Airpower Foundation. With a $100,000 grant from IHF, Linfoot, a Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Ret.), was the first military hero to receive an Ekso suit for personal use. Linfoot served as a member of the 160 th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), home to the Army's best-qualified aviators and support soldiers. In June 2008, during his 19 th combat tour in Iraq, Linfoot s helicopter suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and crashed. Instantly paralyzed below the waist, Linfoot had permanently lost his motor abilities, yet returned to duty just three months later and culminated his career as the Officer in Charge of the Special Operations Aquatic Training Facility. Linfoot will demonstrate the exoskeleton at the Denver race, July 18-20, for a collection of owners and corporate sponsors in an effort to galvanize the NHRA community to join the cause under the Infinite Hero banner. It is among the greatest honors of my life to receive the first Ekso device, said Linfoot. To have the chance to walk again, to see my wife, Mari, eye-to-eye, and hug my children heart-to-heart is a feeling I cannot begin to explain. I m thrilled to act as an ambassador to help expand this use of this technology in the hopes to one day grant the same life-changing experience to other wounded veterans. All-Pro receiver Smith joins Antron, DSR for a day at Four-Wide Antron Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team were a little distracted Friday on opening day of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte Motor Speedway but it was well worth it for Antron and the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Three-time All-Pro NFL wide receiver Steve Smith and his son Boston joined the Matco Tools team during the first of two qualifying days, and Smith was as wideeyed as Antron will be when Smith returns the favor and gets Antron on the sidelines with him and his Baltimore Ravens teammates when they visit the Indianapolis Colts this season. It was just a pleasure to have him out here for the NHRA Mello Yello race, Antron said. We re just kicking back and having fun. Antron and the team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald were anything but distracted Saturday. Smith, a longtime Charlotte resident who signed a three-year, $11 million contract with the Ravens a day after he was released March 13 after 13 seasons with the Carolina Panthers, sat in Antron s Don Schumacher Racing Top Fueler while the team started it in preparation for Friday s second run. It was an eye-opening experience for Smith. Being an athlete and seeing all the things that go on behind the scene shows there is much more of a science to it. That s another level I didn t know about it, said Smith, who said he often watches NHRA telecasts on ESPN2. That s unbelievable. Just watching them break down the car and put it back together in less than 35, 40 minutes. As athletes we come across things and say I could do it. I couldn t do it. I could try but you can t do what these men and women have been doing and perfecting since they were young kids. You can t just roll out of bed and think you re going to be a driver. These drivers are athletes. Antron Brown, left, and Steve Smith address a throng of media on during the Four-Wide Nationals. Smith, right, with DSR driver Tommy Johnson Jr., and Johnson s 9-yearold nephew Gage Childers who lives in Mooresville, N.C.

5 SPOTLIGHT ON DSR MICHAEL KNUDSEN: Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots assistant crew chief Michael Knudsen started with Don Schumacher Racing in 2005 and thought one day he d become a crew chief. The first step toward that goal was at the start of the 2013 season when he was selected by crew chief Dickie Venables to be his assistant on the Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T driven by Matt Hagan. Heading to the last event of the season, the team already had won four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event titles. But the week before leaving for the season-finale at Pomona, Calif., Venables was faced with emergency surgery that left Knudsen, 33, to run the team with assistance from other DSR crew chiefs. I went to see Dickie the Friday before we left for Pomona and I didn t think he d be able to make the trip, Michael said. (DSR director of racing) Todd Okuhara let me know Tuesday that Dickie wouldn t be going. Todd wanted to know our plan and I told him we could run it with our crew. The result was a stunning win and Pomona track speed record ( mph) by Hagan that gave the team five titles for the season and a runner-up spot in the championship standings. I didn t eat or sleep after that Tuesday, said Michael, who graduated with a 3.3 gradepoint average in marketing and finance from the University of Illinois. The butterflies and nerves were ridiculous. But he was well prepared. He was a crewman for Funny Car teams owned by Jerry Toliver and Jim Head before joining DSR. After working for a beverage company after college, he was invited by lifelong friend Eric Wrightman to join him at Head s team. Before that, his interest in auto mechanics came from his Hagan and the Mopar/Rocky team give Michael a Mello Yello shower after the won the 2013 season-finale. Michael and Katherine Knudsen with son Andrew and daughter Leah. father, Robert Knudsen, and drag racing experience resulted from watching the Pro Stock team of Kevin Lawrence. After working with DSR drivers Whit Bazemore, Gary Scelzi, Cory McClenathan and Spencer Massey, it was Venables who offered Michael a chance to help run a team. Michael, a native of Oak Lawn, Ill., lives in Zionsville, Ind., with his wife of five years, Katherine, and their children (Andrew and Leah).

6 NHRA, ESPN to take three Mello Yello events live The National Hot Rod Association, in conjunction with broadcast partner ESPN, announced this week that it will feature three live broadcasts during the remainder of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The first live event will air on ESPN with three hours of coverage of the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H., on June 22 from 2-5 p.m. EDT. The next live broadcast will be the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago on ESPN2 June 29 for three hours from 3-6 p.m. EDT. The Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver on July 20 will be a three-and-a-half-hour show on ESPN from 2:30-6 p.m. EDT. Last season, viewers of the Houston event witnessed live elimination rounds of the world s most powerful form of motorsports and were given a blow-by-blow account of the challenges facing the teams in their bid to hoist an NHRA Wally. This year, the live Sunday broadcasts will not only feature the intense on-track action, but also highlight the drama and intensity in the pits to see which teams will rise to the challenge of preparing their cars for each subsequent round of racing. All air dates and times are subject to change. NHRA.com will have any updates on event airtimes and dates during the course of each of the remaining NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. TOP FUEL driver (wins), points NHRA MELLO YELLO STANDINGS FUNNY CAR driver (wins), points 1. Doug Kalitta (1), Robert Hight (2), ANTRON BROWN (2), John Force (1), Steve Torrence (0), Alexis DeJoria (2), Shawn Langdon (0), RON CAPPS (0), TONY SCHUMACHER (1), Del Worsham (0), Khalid albalooshi (1), TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (0), SPENCER MASSEY (0), MATT HAGAN (0), Brittany Force (0), Courtney Force (0), Richie Crampton (0), Tim Wilkerson (0), J.R. Todd (0), JACK BECKMAN (0), 234 DSR driver statistics, standings (Through 2014 Charlotte 1; fifth of 24 events) REVISED APRIL 15 TOP FUEL ANTRON BROWN: Matco Tools nd CAREER TF/16 PSB Best Time, Speed: 3.701*/** sec. ( , Reading, Pa.); mph ( , Reading) * Quickest ever/** NHRA record TONY SCHUMACHER: U.S. Army th CAREER Best Time, Speed: sec. ( , Reading, Pa.); mph ( , Charlotte 1) SPENCER MASSEY: Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher th CAREER Best Time, Speed: sec. ( , Englishtown, N.J.); mph

7 FUNNY CAR JACK BECKMAN: Valvoline MaxLife Dodge Charger R/T th CAREER Best Time, Speed: sec. ( , Reading, Pa.); mph ( , Charlotte 1) RON CAPPS: NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T th CAREER FC/1 TF Best Time, Speed: 3.964* sec., ( , Englishtown, N.J.); mph ( , Englishtown) * Quickest ever in NHRA TOMMY JOHNSON JR.: Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T th CAREER (7 FC/2 TF) Best Time, Speed: sec. (2014, Pomona 1); mph (2014, Pomona 1) MATT HAGAN: Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T th CAREER Best Time, Speed: sec. ( , Sonoma, Calif.); mph ( , Charlotte 2) 2014 NHRA MELLO YELLO SERIES SCHEDULE, 13 DSR WINNERS, 14 RESULTS 2014 REGULAR SEASON 2013 DSR WINNNERS 2014 WINNERS Feb. 6-9 Pomona, Calif. TF albalooshi FC J. Force Feb Phoenix TF T. Schumacher FC Ron Capps TF ANTRON FC DeJoria March Gainesville, Fla TF Antron Brown FC Johnny Gray TF Kalitta FC Hight March Las Vegas TF T. Schumacher TF TONY FC DeJoria April Charlotte, N.C. TF S. Massey FC Matt Hagan TF ANTRON FC Hight April Houston TF FC May Atlanta TF Antron Brown FC Johnny Gray TF FC May Topeka, Kan. FC Johnny Gray TF FC May 29-Jun 1 Englishtown, N.J. FC Matt Hagan TF FC June Bristol, Tenn. TF FC June Epping, N.H. TF Spencer Massey TF FC June Chicago TF T. Schumacher FC Matt Hagan TF FC July 3-6 Norwalk, Ohio FC Johnny Gray TF FC July Denver TF Spencer Massey TF FC July Sonoma, Calif. FC Ron Capps TF FC Aug. 1-3 Seattle FC Matt Hagan TF FC Aug Brainerd, Minn. TF S. Massey FC Ron Capps TF FC Aug. 27-Sep. 1 Indianapolis (Traxxas Shootout FC Jack Beckman) TF FC COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP Sept Charlotte, N.C. TF FC Sept Dallas TF FC Sept St. Louis TF Antron Brown TF FC Oct. 2-5 Reading, Pa. TF FC Oct. 30-Nov. 2 Las Vega TF Antron Brown TF FC Nov Pomona, Calif. FC Matt Hagan TF FC About Don Schumacher Racing Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline MaxLife Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. DSR has won 222 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

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