Tony Schumacher has become accustomed to winning the crucial rounds. On Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, when matched against the No. 3 points earner Cory McClenathan, Schumacher lost by .008 of a second.

Adding the pain is the fact that McClenathan is Schumacher’s teammate.

Tony Schumacher has become accustomed to winning the crucial rounds. On Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, when matched against the No. 3 points earner Cory McClenathan, Schumacher lost by .008 of a second.

Adding the pain is the fact that McClenathan is Schumacher’s teammate.

“Man, that was a tough way to go out,” said the defending world champion. “You have to tip your hat to Cory and his team. They did what they had to do.”

Even before he watched McClenathan cross the finish line, Schumacher had to deal with an uncharacteristic slow move off the starting line.

“I’m actually pretty upset with myself,” he added. “I probably did too much thinking out there. That’s not how you should perform when you’re going for a championship.”

Following his second round departure, Schumacher’s lead in the Top Fuel standings suddenly came under serious attack by both Larry Dixon and McClenathan.

“We just have to deal with it,” said Schumacher, who will enter Pomona with a one point lead over. “We’ll have another opportunity in a couple of weeks to take care of business.”

Schumacher will have to wait until November 12-15 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., for that opportunity.

“We’ve had some big moments out there in recent years,” said Schumacher. “We’ll be looking to add another chapter to that book in two weeks.”

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