They might not admit it, but every Top Fuel driver wishes he didn't have to contend with Tony Schumacher.
 
In a couple of years or so, they'll have their wish.
 
"We're all going to quit one of these days," Schumacher said. But he raised eyebrows earlier this week when he hinted at a teleconference that he is getting to the point where he could walk away with seven NHRA Top Fuel championships and be content, eager to try new projects.
 
And Thursday afternoon at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, before posting a provisional No. 7 qualfying spot in the first day of the season-opening Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals, he restated his position.
 
"I'm 40, won seven championships, have other things I need to accomplish in life," Schumacher said. "We have an amazing company back in Chicago. Don't know that I don't want to go do some TV stuff. I like public speaking. I get to do it here, but at some point I want to watch my kids grow up. It'll be a couple of years, but at some point you've got to start looking at it. I've bought it up for the last four years."

They might not admit it, but every Top Fuel driver wishes he didn't have to contend with Tony Schumacher.
 
In a couple of years or so, they'll have their wish.
 
"We're all going to quit one of these days," Schumacher said. But he raised eyebrows earlier this week when he hinted at a teleconference that he is getting to the point where he could walk away with seven NHRA Top Fuel championships and be content, eager to try new projects.
 
And Thursday afternoon at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, before posting a provisional No. 7 qualfying spot in the first day of the season-opening Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals, he restated his position.
 
"I'm 40, won seven championships, have other things I need to accomplish in life," Schumacher said. "We have an amazing company back in Chicago. Don't know that I don't want to go do some TV stuff. I like public speaking. I get to do it here, but at some point I want to watch my kids grow up. It'll be a couple of years, but at some point you've got to start looking at it. I've bought it up for the last four years."
 
According to Schumacher, the TV folks -- ESPN's in particular -- have no clue about this new frontier for him. "Haven't brought it to their attention," he said, "but it's an idea -- a good idea."
 
He said he isn't interested in a reality series. He has turned down offers for that already. "Not a reality series -- maybe a talk show," Schumacher said. "Working on it this weekend, actually. Been working with some people. It'd be fun. I have the sarcasm -- I've just got to watch what I say. It'd have to be cable."
 
Anyone who has seen Schumacher in action knows his gift of gab is one of his outstanding and most endearing assets.
 
"I've been through so many situations it's hard to find a situation I can't talk about," he said. "I like doing speeches. I've been through a lot of situations. I have a positive attitude. So that's probably the direction I need to focus on."
 
Proof of that came at Fort Hood recently, when Schumacher and his team, along with NHRA President Tom Compton, presented his 2009 Top Fuel championship trophy to the soldiers and families and the entire community at the base and in the city of Killeen, Texas. The crowd applauded politely when NASA astronauts preceded Schumacher with their presentation of U.S. flag that was displayed at the International Space Station. When Schumacher opened his mouth, they started cheering and whooping.
 
Reminded of his rousing reception that cold Texas day, Schumacher grinned. "It's fun to be able to outdo an astronaut every now and then," he said, sipping soup and eating a bowlful of blueberries for lunch.
 
Writing a book -- or writing anything -- is not on his mind.
 
"I'm pretty good at writing -- terrible at spelling," he said. "I tell a pretty good story, but it's never been in the forefront for me. I like to speak."
 
He said his experience in drag racing "is something I'll be able to talk about forever," but he said he's looking beyond the sport.
 
"Oh yeah," Schumacher said. "Schumacher Electric is its own company. It's a family business. Somebody has to be there every day. My dad is fishing a lot and enjoying himself. We have great people running it, but I need to decide if that's something I'm thinking about doing. I've been there, looking at a lot of new things -- looking at the electric cars, looking at the Army side of battery chargers. Don't really know. Just going in to find out. It's a tough call."
 
He said he has been studying electric cars a bit but not to expect him to invest much time promoting them.
 
"I don't think it's going to go anywhere. I don't think that will be the wave of the future. I don't think you can go far enough with them. That's my opinion," he said. "People are blinded: 'Oh, it's electric! We don't need gas.' We still use gas to make electricity. At some point you finally just decide to make a motor that gets 50 miles to the gallon and you solve a lot of problems." He said the future will involve water technology, which, he predicted, might be more expensive initially but cost-effective later.
 
Schumacher said brainstorming about new materials for nitro-burning race cars -- a topic his father entertained, especially following Darrell Russell's fatal 2004 accident -- is "not my goal for the future. I have no interest in that. I'm not an engineer. It's not my thing."
 
 Just the same, he said, "That's the best part about being with the Army: we got guys out there who know how to make a Blackhawk helicopter and an Apache helicopter land in unperfect conditions. So we have a lot of technology we're trying out."
 
He said public speaking was not his forte, "not at the beginning." However, he said, "I've lived some great moments. It's fun to share them. I've been part of some big moments and great teams. It's hard not to have something to say."