By Mike Haag, Raceday San Antonio
BAYTOWN, Texas – When it comes to special racing moments NHRA Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher has had many of them at Houston Raceway Park.
Schumacher, who is an eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion and the winningest driver in NHRA history with 85 wins, is a three-time winner at the legendary track just outside of Houston.
If Schumacher closes out the NHRA SpringNationals with a victory on Sunday, he could finish with the most Top Fuel wins in the history of Houston Raceway Park and that would be another great memory for him to look back on one day.
“Houston’s a powerful track, so I’m looking forward to this weekend,” Schumacher said. “It’s the last year and it’s going to be a sold-out show, so that’s going to be exciting. It’s a beautiful place and we’ve had some great success there and I just love racing there.”
The last time he raced at Houston Raceway Park in 2020, Schumacher scored a dramatic victory over Steve Torrence in the final round that was the second-quickest side-by-side run in NHRA history. Schumacher’s run of 3.669-seconds at 330.63 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Okuma/Sandvik Coromant Toyota dragster just edged past Torrence’s 3.687, 330.07 mph run.
“I’m never going to forget,” said Schumacher who also won races here in 2005 and 2009 . “You know there’s a handful of races that you can put your trophy on a shelf and you look at it and say that it was just outstanding.”
Schumacher, who now resides in Austin, Texas, will compete this weekend in his 11,000-horsepower Manyard Family/ Scag Power Equipment dragster.
After running a limited schedule in 2020, Schumacher sat out during the 2021 season but he’s back competing again this year for his father’s race team, Don Schumacher Racing. After four races he is 112 points behind class leader Torrence and is seventh in the standings.
“We got a car that even though we’re in seventh in the points is way better than it even looks,” Schumacher said. “You know we’re out there making fantastic early parts of the run and then mowing through the clutch. As we reel that in a little bit, it’s going to be good.”
Schumacher said he and his crew chief Todd Okuhara have been going through an adjustment period as they learn each other’s styles.
“We’re exactly where we thought we would be,” Schumacher said. “I’ve never worked with (crew chief) Todd Okuhara before. They’re new guys for me, I drive a little different. They’re kind of catching up to where I am and I’m catching up to where they are.”
At the most recent race in Las Vegas, Schumacher advanced to the final quad where he competed against standouts like Torrence, the four-time defending world champ, Las Vegas winner Brittany Force and his former teammate Antron Brown. Schumacher hopes the momentum from that race will carry over to the Houston event.
“The race is going to be great,” Schumacher said. “We want the perfect moment to the perfect race and what we hope for is that Vegas kind of finale where you look into the finals and the semifinals and it’s four bad to the bone cars”
Schumacher added, “I’m going to walk away from that race with great memories and hope to God that this track stays open. I hope they find a way to come up with a new plan because it has just been a great track for us.”
There will be one round of NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 22 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, April 23 at 1 and 4:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, April 24. For ticketks call 281-383-7223 or visit www.HoustonRaceway.com.
