U.S. Army rockets to Las Vegas win for 73rd title, jumps to fourth; NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge advances to second semis of 14 Don Schumacher Racing s Top Fuel contingent had a stellar weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and intend to keep the momentum heading to the April 11-13 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zmax Dragway near Charlotte Motor Speedway. A year ago in the Four-Wide Nationals, DSR s Spencer Massey in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car left with the two premier titles. It was one of six times in 24 events last year when DSR won both Top Fuel and Funny Car titles. DSR has doubled-up 38 times since 2003. Since the first Four-Wide event in 2010, DSR has won four of the eight nitro titles: Massey two and Hagan and Jack Beckman, 2011 in Funny Car. Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army team led by crew chief Mike Green and assistant Neal Strausbaugh earned its eighth Las Vegas title when they won the SummitRacing.com Nationals Sunday to snap a streak of 15 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events without earning the Wally trophy. Schumacher s last final round was last June at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago where he almost also won the last of three titles in 2013. I wouldn t trade Mike and Neal for the world. I know what they ve been trying to do. They stay here late and get here before everyone else. They want to win more than anyone I ve ever seen. It s easy to smile when you re winning but to pull a team together through a difficult time like we were having is what makes championship teams. At the end of the year when you re making those last couple of runs to win a championship and you knew you stuck together through the adversity and got through tough times. That is when you want to win the most together and pull off miracles.
We re going to be a great team. It is the 73rd title for Tony and 221st for DSR. The win was the final piece of a Top Fuel sweep for DSR. Antron Brown and the Matco Tools team earned the pole and then produced the quickest run of the event with a 3.758-second blast in the first round. Tony had the fastest run at 327.43 mph in his final round victory over points leader Doug Kalitta. In Funny Car, Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant Eric Lane advanced to the semifinals for the second time this season and moved up to fourth in the Mello Yello standings. The good thing is we have our race car back, Ron said. Tobler is very, very confident now. The changes we made are paying dividends and Eric has just been a gem to work with Tobler. I m excited about these next few races. I know for sure a win is coming soon. I feel like this team is really back to where it was the last couple of years. The quickest Funny Car in each of the first three qualifying sessions was the Mopar Express Lube/Rocky Boots Dodge driven by Matt Hagan and tuned by Dickie Venables and assistant Mike Knudsen. Matt, the only DSR Funny Car driver to advance past the semifinals this season, was low qualifier heading to the last of four sessions with a time of 4.046 seconds (318.17) but dropped to fifth for eliminations when his Dodge lost traction and the team s day ended in the first round for the third straight event. Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish Dodge led by crew chief John Collins qualified third with a 4.023 (317.87) but lost DSR teammate Jack Beckman in the first round. Make-A-Wish crewmen Ryan Elliott, Rip Reynolds and crew chief John Collins watch Tommy qualify third.
Spencer Massey and his crew await their chance at Las Vegas. Fanfest on the Bridge Don Schumacher Racing drivers shared Thursday night with friends at NHRA Fanfest on the 'Brooklyn Bridge' at New York New York Hotel & Casino before the first day of the NHRA Mello Yello event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. DSR s Mr. and Mrs. Clutch Specialists Michael and Marla O Guin had a good reason for missing the last NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Las Vegas. They were on their honeymoon in Mexico after getting married on March 22. On March 16, the newest clutch assistant at Don Schumacher Racing left Gainesville, Fla., as Marla Weidenaar and when she arrives at the Four-Wide Nationals she will walk through the gates as Marla O Guin. Marla is in her first year on the crew of DSR s Valvoline MaxLife Funny Car team, and Michael is the primary clutch technician for DSR s Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster. They met in 2010 when she broke into the industry, became great friends before dating and got engaged on Dec. 22, 2012. Michael and Marla O'Guin
SPOTLIGHT ON DSR RIP REYNOLDS: Make-A-Wish team High school high-jump record, baseball and softball skills prepare Colorado native for life in pro drag racing As the assistant crew chief and team manager for the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car at Don Schumacher Racing, Rip Reynolds understands that racing is all about jumping through hoops and making the critical play. The Colorado native wasn t thinking about a career in motorsports when he was his high school s record-holder in the high jump and later as a young adult playing in the top two divisions of amateur softball. But the 50-something Rip learned early about competing under pressure in track and field, and later in softball that combined with a near lifelong passion for drag racing and led to what has been a 14-year career in professional drag racing. Rip has been with the same crew for four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series seasons working this year with driver Tommy Johnson Jr. and the past three with Johnny Gray. Rip Reynolds Rip, whose twin sister, Cheri, prevents him revealing his (their) birth year, has been a popular figure in the pits since his first full-time job in the sport in 2000 with Funny Car driver Chuck Etchells and later that year with DSR and driver Melanie Troxel s Top Fuel dragster. For the next six years he worked on DSR s Matco Tools Funny Car driven by Whit Bazemore and then a two-year stint with David Powers Motorsports Top Fueler. He returned to the DSR fold in June 2009 to join Jack Beckman s team and the following year was devoted to the Yas Marina Circuit Top Fuel team managed by DSR. Rip s first foray into drag racing was during high school when he would join friends at a local dragstrip. I helped friends run a 1956 Chevy pick-up, he said. It was something to do on the weekends and a place to where we could drink beer. Of course, that was when we were old enough. Before being introduced to the straight-line sport, Rip set the a school record in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 9 inches that ranked as the fifth best in the country. After graduating a year early from Brighton (Colo.) High School in 1976, he worked at various jobs. In 1989, he moved to California where he operated a mobile automotive/truck repair business and later was an assistant baseball coach at Mt. San Jacinto College in Riverside County. He spent much of the 1990s living in Arizona and working with Greg Carillo, an old Colorado friend and one of the most successful and creative JoAnne and Rip marketers in NHRA Sportsman drag racing. Reynolds The jump to the pro circuit also led to meeting JoAnne, his wife of 13 years. They met in 2000 when she worked for Kenny Bernstein s hospitality operation.
DSR driver statistics, standings (Through 2014 Las Vegas 1; fourth of 24 events) TOP FUEL ANTRON BROWN: Matco Tools 2014 2nd 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 9-3 CAREER 290 42 26 TF/16 PSB 39 60 82 65 35 3 485-245 Best Time, Speed: 3.701*/** sec. (10-8-12, Reading, Pa.); 328.78 mph (10-8-12, Reading) * Quickest ever/** NHRA record TONY SCHUMACHER: U.S. Army 2014 4th 4 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 6-3 CAREER 388 73 53 59 103 92 72 8 670-307 Best Time, Speed: 3.736 sec. (10-6-12, Reading, Pa.); 330.30 mph (4-15-12, Charlotte 1) SPENCER MASSEY: Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher 2014 5th 4 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 5-4 CAREER 98 14 14 24 21 23 7 2 167-83 Best Time, Speed: 3.728 sec. (5-31-12, Englishtown, N.J.); 332.18 mph FUNNY CAR RON CAPPS: NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T 2014 4th 4 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 5-4 CAREER 415 41 40 FC/1 TF 41 70 84 161 15 18 511-356 Best Time, Speed: 3.964* sec., (5-31-12, Englishtown, N.J.); 320.89 mph (5-31-12, Englishtown) * Quickest ever in NHRA TOMMY JOHNSON JR.: Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T 2014 7th 4 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 3-4 CAREER 330 9 (7 FC/2 TF) 13 40 71 152 9 42 228-286 Best Time, Speed: 4.021 sec. (2014, Pomona 1); 322.73 mph (2014, Pomona 1) MATT HAGAN: Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T 2014 8th 4 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 3-4 CAREER 123 10 15 16 37 41 15 4 153-110 Best Time, Speed: 3.986 sec. (7-26-2013, Sonoma, Calif.); 322.27 mph (9-17-11, Charlotte 2) JACK BECKMAN: Valvoline MaxLife Dodge Charger R/T 2014 9th 4 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 3-4 CAREER 184 15 19 35 54 55 10 6 240-163 Best Time, Speed: 3.986 sec. (10-7-12, Reading, Pa.); 320.58 (10-5-12, Reading) NHRA MELLO YELLO STANDINGS (Through Las Vegas, fourth of 24 events; DSR drivers in CAPS) TOP FUEL FUNNY CAR driver (wins), points driver (wins), points 1. Doug Kalitta (1), 412 1. Robert Hight (1), 367 2. ANTRON BROWN (1), 339 2. John Force (1), 358 3. Steve Torrence (0), 314 3. Alexis DeJoria (2), 299 4. TONY SCHUMACHER (1), 262 4. RON CAPPS (0), 241 5. SPENCER MASSEY (0), 236 5. Del Worsham (0), 224 6. Khalid albalooshi (1), 229 6. Courtney Force (0), 207 7. Shawn Langdon (0), 223 7. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (0), 205 8. Brittany Force (0), 191 8. MATT HAGAN (0), 204 9. Richie Crampton (0), 157 9. JACK BECKMAN (0), 202 10. Bob Vandergriff (0), 150 10. Bob Tasca III (0), 194
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. 21-23 Phoenix TF T. Schumacher FC Ron Capps TF ANTRON FC DeJoria March 14-16 Gainesville, Fla TF Antron Brown FC Johnny Gray TF Kalitta FC Hight March 28-30 Las Vegas TF T. Schumacher TF TONY FC DeJoria April 11-13 Charlotte, N.C. TF S. Massey FC Matt Hagan TF FC April 25-27 Houston TF FC May 16-18 Atlanta TF Antron Brown FC Johnny Gray TF FC May 23-25 Topeka, Kan. FC Johnny Gray TF FC May 29-Jun 1 Englishtown, N.J. FC Matt Hagan TF FC June 13-15 Bristol, Tenn. TF FC June 19-22 Epping, N.H. TF Spencer Massey TF FC June 26-29 Chicago TF T. Schumacher FC Matt Hagan TF FC July 3-6 Norwalk, Ohio FC Johnny Gray TF FC July 18-20 Denver TF Spencer Massey TF FC July 25-27 Sonoma, Calif. FC Ron Capps TF FC Aug. 1-3 Seattle FC Matt Hagan TF FC Aug. 14-17 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. 12-14 Charlotte, N.C. TF FC Sept. 18-21 Dallas TF FC Sept. 26-28 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. 13-16 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 221 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing. CONTACT: Don Schumacher Racing ShoeRacing.com - (317) 858-0356 Jeff Wolf wolfj@shoeracing.com (702) 524-1368, cell Leah Vaughn vaughnl@shoeracing.com (618) 516-1988, cell