CAPPS READY TO DEFEND AT GATORS DSR intent on rebounding from disappointing visit to Phoenix Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler have a couple important reasons to be eager to get to the next race. The NAPA team won the season-opener then was No. 1 qualifier two weeks ago near Phoenix and will arrive in Gainesville, Fla., atop the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings for the March 18-20 Gatornationals. A year ago, Capps and the NAPA team defeated John Hale in the championship round to earn his 45 th Funny Car title and become the second winningest driver in the category. Two weeks ago on Feb. 27, Tobler and assistant Eric Lane tuned the NAPA Dodge to a track-record time of 3.925 seconds on its last qualifying run to earn the pole for the NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Motorsports Park never Phoenix. But that was the last highlight of the weekend for Don Schumacher Racing which failed to advance at least one team to a semifinal round since 2007, a span of over 216 events according to research by NHRA National Dragster reporter Brad Littlefield. Work to correct issues that plagued the seven-car team near Phoenix began the moment each returned to their pit and continued through on-
track testing the following day for the Sandvik Coromant/Red Fuel and Matco dragsters, and the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Funny Car. After a two-day drive back to DSR headquarters in Brownsburg, Ind., little time elapsed before work resumed to prepare for the third event of the 24-race Mello Yello season. But after winning 27 NHRA titles in 2015 to run the DSR total to 267 NAPA s Winternationals win became No. 268 - memories of Phoenix would vanish until another winning streak begins. The most stunning losses on Sunday at Wild Horse were by Capps and DSR s two-time and reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown and the Matco/U.S. Army team despite qualifying No. 2 for eliminations. However, Capps and Brown lost to eventual event winners; Tim Wilkerson in Funny Car and Leah Pritchett in Top Fuel. Oh, I don t know, we were a little more aggressive than what the track temperature and conditions would hold, Capps said It was the first time in 14 runs this year that the NAPA Dodge was not running at full power at the finish line. Perhaps more surprising was a redlight, false start by Brown who is noted for being one of the quickest to leave the starting line and rarely gets disqualified for leaving early. The last time a race day ended with a redlight for Brown was in 2012 at Topeka, and this is only the fifth time he has been disqualified for a premature departure in 845 races. That s all on me right there, I was just pushing too hard and just wanted to win bad, he said. Starting off the year you just want to do so many things; I know better. From all the experience we have from the other years, I m glad it happened now. It s a good learning deal, I just have to go out there and relax, and do what we do.
Design by DSR art director Aaron Holland
NEVER NEVER BLAND All in the family at DSR for Allie, Cody By ALLIE BLAND For the past four years, my husband has been sleeping around. Around the country, that is. My husband, Cody, started his career in drag racing in 2012 after finishing school at the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) where he studied motorsports technology. However, I am the one who led him down the straight and narrow path. Of drag racing. Cody grew up in a dirt-track racing family whose business was building wings for dirt Sprint Cars. They also owned and raced on dirt tracks that led him to follow his racing passion to UNOH to strive toward a career in motorsports. In September 2010, I invited my dirt-track boyfriend to join my dad and me at the NHRA U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis. Being the rough-and-tough, dirt-in-his-ears young man he was he didn t think he needed to wear any ear plugs while watching a Top Fuel dragster warm up in the pits. My dad and I laughed at him. I knew better. My dad instilled a love for drag racing in me when I was a teenager. I remember watching Kenny Bernstein warm up his car and whack throttle that made my eyes water for about an hour. I thought I was going to die, but I ve been back every year since. So, now let s talk about me (I m more fun than Cody, anyway). I studied public relations at Franklin College, a small liberal arts school just south of Indianapolis. My career goal since going to my first U.S. Nationals has been to work with a drag racing team. That opportunity came when I joined Don Schumacher Racing in November. I was able to go with DSR to the NHRA Winternationals last month in Pomona to help in the DSR merchandise trailer. The weather was beautiful and the fans were excited. I was thrilled to see the NAPA team kick off the season with a win. I also experienced In-N-Out Burger for the first time. For a southern-indiana girl, the burger was well worth the wait, my friends. I will be assisting the PR team in Las Vegas at the NHRA Nationals in April. I m looking forward to interviewing drivers, tweeting run times and, hopefully, taking pictures of our teams hoisting Wallys in the winner s circle. Take note that I was employed at DSR before Cody by a couple months. He s working on the U.S. Army Top Fuel team building engines. He s excited for his fifth season of drag racing. I m looking forward to what 2016 brings to DSR and to me. I m excited to use my PR degree in a field I m so passionate about. I ve already been lucky enough to travel to the other side of the country and will be attending more races as a PR person with DSR as the year goes on. So, I guess I ll be doing some sleeping around this year too. With my husband. (This is the first column in Shoe s News by Allie who will take you behind the scenes at DSR. You can share ideas for her at blanda@shoeracing.com.)
DSR, Mopar drivers go left and right at Bondurant Driving School DSR s Tony Schumacher, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr. were joined by fellow Dodge drivers Jeg Coughlin and Erica Enders on Feb. 25 for an afternoon of driving Vipers, a Challenger SRT 392, and Challenger and Charger Hellcats at the Bondurant School of Driving at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park at the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix. The event marked Dodge SRT becoming the official vehicle of the country s best driving school that was founded by Bob Bondurant, who still directs the facility. Bondurant and FCA US LLC, through its Dodge and SRT brands, have entered into a world-class partnership to introduce the Bondurant Racing School (bondurant.com) as The Official High Performance Driving School of Dodge/SRT. Among media participating were Elana Scherr of the Hot Rod Network (hotrod.com/features), Amanda Busick of FS1/NHRA, Bobby Bennett of CompetitionPlus.com and Robbie Baker of NBC 12 Sports (12news.com). Ron Capps helps noted motorsports journalist Wally Cahill review the 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat during a live report on 3TV (KTVK) during Sunday morning of the NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix. At right, 3TV weather person Kim Quintero presents posters to Don Schumacher that feature his earliest Funny Cars.
Morning Sickness joins Capps Ron Capps, left, looks forward to Phoenix visits so he can hang out with Holmberg's Morning Sickness show crew from 98KUPD, Arizona's top-rated radio program. At far right is John Holmberg along with sidekick Brady Bogen. DSR EXPANSION CONTINUES
Viewership numbers continue to climb for Fox on NHRA GLENDORA, Calif. (March 9, 2016) NHRA s revamped race coverage on FOX Sports earned more than 300,000 additional viewers through the first two Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events of the season, which included the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. on Feb. 14 and the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Phoenix on Feb. 28. We re extremely happy with the numbers from our first two events on FOX Sports 1, said Peter Clifford, NHRA president. Our fans response has been incredible and we look forward to continuing to provide a great product on FOX the rest of the season. Our audience is trending younger and we are keeping our viewers tuned in for longer periods of time during each telecast. It is a terrific start with our new television partner. According to Nielsen Media Research, FOX Sports 1 s airings of the two NHRA events realized a 15 percent increase over the same two events last year. The 2016 coverage had a total of 2.6 million viewers for the finals telecasts, qualifying shows and re-airs on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. The power of our partnership with FOX Sports is the number of hours of programming and increased opportunities it gives our fans to watch NHRA, said Ken Adelson, NHRA vice president of broadcasting and executive producer. This is exactly what we were hoping to see. Circle K NHRA Winternationals coverage reached more than 1.4 million viewers, including the two qualifying shows, Sunday finals show, and re-airs the following week. The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals reached more than 1.2 million viewers overall, with a 300-percent increase on Saturday night qualifying from the previous year. Seeing the early ratings for NHRA races on FS1 is tremendously encouraging, said Patrick Crakes, FOX Sports senior vice president of programming, research and content strategy. We worked closely with them to put together a very aggressive television package for 2016 and beyond, and to get off the line with some momentum is exciting for everyone involved. AutoImagery.com photos of the race For DSR photos, Contact AutoImagery.com
DSR drivers 2016: career statistics, standings (post Phoenix) DSR TOP FUEL DRAGSTERS ANTRON BROWN: Matco Tools/U.S. Army *2015 WORLD CHAMPION Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 2, lost in second round to Leah Pritchett 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 6, lost in semifinals to Spencer Massey Career at Gainesville: Wins 1 (2013); Runner-ups 3 (2014, 2010, 2006); Poles 2 (2010, 2001) 2016 6 th 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2-2 2015 1 st 24 7 3 6 3 5 7 0 51-17 CAREER 336 54 (38 TF/16 PSB) 43 69 89 78 44 3 570-279 Best Time, Speed: 3.680 sec.-national record, first 3.6 (2015, Brainerd); 331.12 mph (2015, Brainerd) TONY SCHUMACHER: U.S. Army Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 3, lost in second round to Clay Millican 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 4, lost to Spencer Massey in final round Career at Gainesville: Wins 4 (2010, 2007-08, 2004); Runner-ups 4 (2015, 2011-12, 2000); Poles 2 (2011, 2006) 2016 9 th 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1-2 2015 2 nd 24 3 4 4 7 6 3 0 39-21 CAREER 434 80 58 68 115 105 79 8 743-346 Best Time, Speed: 3.719 sec. (2015, Topeka); 330.55 mph (2014, Las Vegas 2) SHAWN LANGDON: Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 12, lost in first round to Brittany Force 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 1, lost in semifinals to Tony Schumacher Career at Gainesville: Wins 1 (2013); Runner-ups 0; Poles 2 (2014, 2015) 2016 12 th 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0-2 2015 6 th 24 (first 18 with AJR) 2 1 4 8 9 2 27-22 CAREER 166 11 14 32 51 55 18 3 200-152 Langdon s Best Time, Speed: 3.662 Sec. (quickest ever, 2015, Brainerd); 334.15 mph (both with AJR) 2015/TEAM --- 24 2 0 4 7 12 1 0 22-22 Team s best Time, Speed: 3.715 sec. (2015, Pomona 2); 332.75 mph (2015, Brainerd, Minn.) DSR FUNNY CARS RON CAPPS: NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 1, lost in second round to Tim Wilkerson 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 9, defeated John Hale in final round Career at Gainesville: Wins 3 (2015, 2006-2007); Runner-ups 1 (2000); Poles 0 2016 1 st 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 5-1 2015 4 th 24 2 3 6 5 8 1 0 34-22 CAREER 460 46 (45 FC/1 TF) 45 82 94 176 18 18 577-397 Best Time, Speed: 3.885 sec., (2015, Pomona 2); 327.19 mph (2015, St. Louis) JACK BECKMAN: Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T BY THE NUMBERS FOR GAINESVILLE Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 6, lost in second round to John Force 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 5, lost in second round to Tim Wilkerson Career at Gainesville: Wins 0; Runner-ups 0; Poles 0 2016 7 th 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2-2 2015 2 nd 24 7 2 4 5 5 5 1 46-16 CAREER 230 22 22 41 65 73 16 7 299-201 Best Time, Speed: 3.884 sec.-national record (2015, Pomona 2); 328.38 (2015, Pomona 2)
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.: Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 6, lost in second round to John Force 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 5, lost in second round to Tim Wilkerson Career at Gainesville: Wins 0; Runner-ups 0; Poles 0 2016 10 th 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1-2 2015 3 rd 24 2 6 4 7 5 3 0 42-22 CAREER 375 12 (10 FC/2 TF) 21 49 90 160 13 44 299-320 Best Time, Speed: 3.891 sec. (2015, Pomona 2); 326.08 mph (2015, Pomona 2) MATT HAGAN: Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T Last event (Feb. 26-28 at Phoenix): Qualified No. 10, lost in first round to Tommy Johnson Jr. 2015 at Gainesville: Qualified No. 6, lost in first round to Alexis DeJoria Career at Gainesville: Wins 0; Runner-ups 0; Poles 2 (2010-11) 2016 11 th 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0-2 2015 5 th 24 4 2 2 10 6 4 0 36-20 CAREER 170 18 18 23 54 53 21 4 225-148 Best Time, Speed: 3.879 sec.-quickest ever (2015, Brainerd); 331.45 mph-national record (2015, Pomona 2) 2016 NHRA MELLO YELLO STANDINGS (through Phoenix) (Official after Phoenix; 2 of 24 events; DSR drivers in CAPS) TOP FUEL FUNNY CAR Driver (wins) PTS Driver (wins) PTS 1. Doug Kalitta 171 1. RON CAPPS (1) 183 2. Steve Torrence (1) 163 2. John Force 168 3. Brittany Force 133 3. Robert Hight 158 4. Clay Millican 131 4. Del Worsham 154 5. Leah Pritchett (1) 129 5. Tim Wilkerson (1) 147 6. ANTRON BROWN 110 6. Courtney Force 141 7. Richie Crampton 109 7. JACK BECKMAN 121 8. J.R. Todd 105 8. Alexis DeJoria 87 9. TONY SCHUMACHER 98 9. Chad Head 86 10. Terry McMillen 97 10. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. 85 12. SHAWN LANGDON 64 11. MATT HAGAN 64
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series (NOTE: order of events only correct for 2016) REGULAR SEASON 2013 WINNNERS 2014 WINNERS 2015 WINNERS 2016 WINNERS 1. 2/12-14 Pom 1 TF Langdon FC C.Force TF albalooshi FC J.Force TF Langdon FC MATT TF Torrence FC RON 2. 2/26-28 Phoenix TF TONY FC RON TF ANTRON FC DeJoria TF TONY FC MATT TF Pritchett FC Wilkerson 3. 3/18-20 G ville TF ANTRON* FC GRAY TF Kalitta FC Hight TF SPENCER FC RON TF FC *DSR s 200th 4. 4/22-24 LV 1 TF TONY FC C.PedregonTF TONY FC DeJoria TF Crampton FC J.Force TF FC 5. 4/1-3 CLT TF SPENCER FC MATT TF ANTRON FC Hight TF ANTRON FC JACK* TF FC *DSR s 100th FC 6. 4/29-5/1 Houston TF Vandergriff FC C.Pedregon TF ANTRON FC Hight TF Kalitta FC RON TF FC 7. 5/13-15 Atlanta TF ANTRON FC GRAY TF SPENCER FC Hight TF ANTRON FC Wilkerson TF FC 8. 5/20-22 Topeka TF Langdon FC GRAY TF SPENCER FC C.Force TF Crampton FC JACK* *DSR s 250th TF FC 9. 6/3-5 Epping TF SPENCER FC C.Force TF TONY FC RON TF TONY FC J.Force TF FC 10. 6/10-12 E town TF Langdon FC MATT TF Crampton FC C.Pedregon TF ANTRON* FC MATT TF FC *AB s 50th 11. 6/17-19 Bristol TF S.Torrence FC J.Force TF Langdon FC TOMMY TF Crampton FC MATT TF FC 12. 6/24-26 Norwalk TF alballoshi FC GRAY TF ANTRON FC J. Force TF Kalitta FC JACK TF FC 13. 7/8-10 Chicago TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC MATT TF TONY FC TOMMY TF FC 14. 7/2-24 Denver TF SPENCER FC C.Pedregon TF Todd FC Hight TF Torrence FC JACK TF FC 15. 7/29-30 Sonoma TF Langdon FC RON TF albalooshi FC C.Force TF ANTRON* FC JACK* TF FC *DSR S 50th Dble-up 16. 8/5-7 Seattle TF Lucas FC MATT TF Kalitta FC J.Force TF Todd FC TOMMY TF FC 17. 8/19-21 Brainerd TF SPENCER FC RON TF Lucas FC RON (Indy) TF Crampton FC Hight TF FC 18. 9/2-5 Indy TF Langdon FC Hight TF Crampton FC DeJoria TF Lucas FC JACK TF FC Indy Traxxas Traxxas FC/JACK Traxxas TF/Antron Traxxas/FC JACK COUNTDOWN 2013 DSR WINNERS 2014 WINNERS 2015 WINNERS 19. 9/16-18 CLT 2 TF Lucas FC Hight TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC Worsham TF FC 20. 9/25-27 St. Louis TF ANTRON FC J.Force TF ANTRON FC C.Force TF ANTRON FC Worsham TF FC 21. 9/31-10/2 Reading TF Langdon FC J.Force TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC JACK TF FC 22. 10/14-16 Dallas TF Kalitta FC C.Pedregon TF TONY FC C. Force TF Crampton FC Worsham TF FC 23. 10/28-30 LV 2 TF ANTRON FC J.Force TF SPENCER FC Worsham TF Kalitta FC Hight TF FC 24. 11/11-13 Pom 2 TF Langdon FC MATT TF Lucas FC MATT TF SHAWN FC Worsham TF FC DSR TOTALS: TF = 11 FC = 12 TF = 14 FC = 7 TF = 12 FC = 15 TF = 0 FC = 1 DSR 2016 SEASON TOTALS 1 - Funny Car event titles (Ron 1) DSR 2015 SEASON TOTALS 1 World champion (Antron s 2nd in Top Fuel) 12 - Top Fuel event titles (Antron 7, Tony 3, Shawn 1, Spencer 1) 15 - Funny Car event titles (Jack 7, Matt 4, Ron 2, Tommy 2) DSR 2014 SEASON TOTALS 2 - World championships (Tony s 8 th in Top Fuel, Matt s 2 nd in Funny Car) 14 - Top Fuel event titles (Antron 6, Tony 5, Spencer 3) 7 - Funny Car event titles (Matt 4, Ron 2, Tommy 1, Jack 0) DSR ALL-TIME TOTALS 14 - World championships (Tony 8, Matt 2, Antron 2, Jack Beckman 1, Gary Scelzi 1) 268 - NHRA Mello Yello event titles (Top Fuel 135, Funny Car 112, Pro Stock 3, Pro Stock Motorcycle 18) And don t forget to follow us: Facebook.com/shoeracing = Twitter (@shoeracing) = ShoeRacing.com ABOUT DON SCHUMACHER RACING Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered near Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the 2012 and 2015 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster driven by Antron Brown and the Red Fuel/Sandvik Coromant dragster driven by 2013 world champion Shawn Langdon; and in Funny Car, two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots 2016 Dodge Charger R/T, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. DSR has won 268 NHRA national event titles and 14 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing Jeff Wolf wolfj@shoeracing.com Leah Vaughn vaughnl@shoeracing.com