1,000-FT. RACING FAVORS SCHUMACHER
Tue, 2008-07-29 16:28
If the competition had a minimum chance of beating Top Fuel point
leader Tony Schumacher in a quarter-mile, the
introduction of 1,000
foot drag racing dropped those odds significantly. Schumacher admits
the rev-limiter doesn’t come into play any more.
“NHRA didn’t put a rev limiter on just to slow my car down but it did,” Schumacher said. “We ran 337 in Brainerd a few years back. NHRA mandated a rev limiter, and we’ve been one of the only ones hitting it. I mean everyone taps it now and then … we level it. So people come forward ‘it’s not fair’ … wait a minute it wasn’t fair that I was getting penalized for having the fastest car. We did it for safety, to keep the car from going 340 on tracks that we know we shouldn’t be doing that on. We know that’s what we did it for.”
The rev-limiter might have had designs on slowing down the dragsters, but for Schumacher, he said the rev-limiter was more of a performance equalizer than anything. If the competition had a minimum chance of beating Top Fuel point leader Tony Schumacher in a quarter-mile, the introduction of 1,000 foot drag racing dropped those odds significantly. Schumacher admits the rev-limiter doesn’t come into play any more.
“NHRA didn’t put a rev limiter on just to slow my car down but it did,” Schumacher said. “We ran 337 in Brainerd a few years back. NHRA mandated a rev limiter, and we’ve been one of the only ones hitting it. I mean everyone taps it now and then … we level it. So people come forward ‘it’s not fair’ … wait a minute it wasn’t fair that I was getting penalized for having the fastest car. We did it for safety, to keep the car from going 340 on tracks that we know we shouldn’t be doing that on. We know that’s what we did it for.”
The rev-limiter might have had designs on slowing down the dragsters, but for Schumacher, he said the rev-limiter was more of a performance equalizer than anything.
“I don’t think anyone likes any team to win everything,” Schumacher admitted. “We know people pull for the underdog. I also don’t think you can take a team and say ‘Okay, we’re going to make you run to a quarter-mile and you go to the 1000 foot. That ought to make it fair.’ That’s what we’re doing by putting the rev limiter on.”
“I got passed a lot at the end. It would be a close race that I’d get beat, I’m dropping three cylinders, Where we’re just murdering parts. Take all of that away. Before we ever won a race at 1000 foot, I said ‘If we lose every race because of it. It’s still the right thing to do.’ I say this because there are few oil downs, we’re still in the entertainment business. If we can go live TV this is what we’ve been waiting for, for sixty years.”
“I just don’t think anyone should get penalized and Alan felt that way. We felt that way, we felt like we got the short end of having a rev limiter. It was put on there for safety but it was slowing us down. I don’t know how many people know but there weren’t many cars down there. We were murdering it; we come back with three cylinders blown out. That cannot be healthy. When you drop three cylinders at 1000 foot that’s a bad feeling. You’re hauling butt and bust three holes out. You’re expecting it to blow up.”
If all this unrestricted Schumacher talk isn’t concern enough for the Top Fuel class, the fact he can afford to sit out the entire month of August and not lose any ground provides an idea of just how dominant the three-time champion has been this season.
He could take a month off, but he won’t allow the competition that luxury.
Tony Schumacher could take the entire month of August off if he wanted to. But, then again, he couldn’t let the competition off that easy.
As far as Schumacher’s concerned, there’s no cause to let up.
“We got a lot of races left to win and people are saying ‘You’ve clinched it … you’ve locked up number one … you really don’t need to show up until after Indy,” Schumacher explained. “The fact is we don’t show up for that, we show up because we want to win every race. I do hope someone else wins some of the races. We show up for a reason and we have an outstanding drive, outstanding commitment and we put extra energy and effort into every run.”
While Schumacher’s 2008 success might appear an isolated incident, he’s quick to point out his U.S. Army team isn’t the only one working hard in the class.
“We’re not the only team doing it,” Schumacher said. “There are a lot of teams out there that are doing everything they can to win but we are just on. We’re catching breaks when we need them or we’re running strong when we have to but I’ll tell you we’re not a tenth of a second ahead of the field like we used to be; we’re just winning a lot of races. It’s more fun this way.”
When it comes to Schumacher’s tuner, Alan Johnson, the Army driver is quick to point out there’s no hype to Johnson – it’s all fact.
“You hear an awful lot about Alan Johnson but let me tell you it’s true,” Schumacher said. “I like when it’s tight and it’s crunch time and there are tight margins. As a driver, you need to be able to do that; you need to feel like you’re a part of it sometimes. Not just being consistent, but consistently good and pulling off some of those close wins. It’s been a lot of fun; last couple of races have been exciting.”
Schumacher’s latest victory in Sonoma marked the 112th national event victory for Don Schumacher Racing. He becomes only the sixth driver to sweep the famed Western Swing.
Tony Schumacher became the sixth driver to sweep the Western Swing.
“NHRA didn’t put a rev limiter on just to slow my car down but it did,” Schumacher said. “We ran 337 in Brainerd a few years back. NHRA mandated a rev limiter, and we’ve been one of the only ones hitting it. I mean everyone taps it now and then … we level it. So people come forward ‘it’s not fair’ … wait a minute it wasn’t fair that I was getting penalized for having the fastest car. We did it for safety, to keep the car from going 340 on tracks that we know we shouldn’t be doing that on. We know that’s what we did it for.”
The rev-limiter might have had designs on slowing down the dragsters, but for Schumacher, he said the rev-limiter was more of a performance equalizer than anything. If the competition had a minimum chance of beating Top Fuel point leader Tony Schumacher in a quarter-mile, the introduction of 1,000 foot drag racing dropped those odds significantly. Schumacher admits the rev-limiter doesn’t come into play any more.
Tony Schumacher became the sixth driver to sweep the Western Swing. (Bob Pellegrini)
“NHRA didn’t put a rev limiter on just to slow my car down but it did,” Schumacher said. “We ran 337 in Brainerd a few years back. NHRA mandated a rev limiter, and we’ve been one of the only ones hitting it. I mean everyone taps it now and then … we level it. So people come forward ‘it’s not fair’ … wait a minute it wasn’t fair that I was getting penalized for having the fastest car. We did it for safety, to keep the car from going 340 on tracks that we know we shouldn’t be doing that on. We know that’s what we did it for.”
The rev-limiter might have had designs on slowing down the dragsters, but for Schumacher, he said the rev-limiter was more of a performance equalizer than anything.
“I don’t think anyone likes any team to win everything,” Schumacher admitted. “We know people pull for the underdog. I also don’t think you can take a team and say ‘Okay, we’re going to make you run to a quarter-mile and you go to the 1000 foot. That ought to make it fair.’ That’s what we’re doing by putting the rev limiter on.”
“I got passed a lot at the end. It would be a close race that I’d get beat, I’m dropping three cylinders, Where we’re just murdering parts. Take all of that away. Before we ever won a race at 1000 foot, I said ‘If we lose every race because of it. It’s still the right thing to do.’ I say this because there are few oil downs, we’re still in the entertainment business. If we can go live TV this is what we’ve been waiting for, for sixty years.”
“I just don’t think anyone should get penalized and Alan felt that way. We felt that way, we felt like we got the short end of having a rev limiter. It was put on there for safety but it was slowing us down. I don’t know how many people know but there weren’t many cars down there. We were murdering it; we come back with three cylinders blown out. That cannot be healthy. When you drop three cylinders at 1000 foot that’s a bad feeling. You’re hauling butt and bust three holes out. You’re expecting it to blow up.”
If all this unrestricted Schumacher talk isn’t concern enough for the Top Fuel class, the fact he can afford to sit out the entire month of August and not lose any ground provides an idea of just how dominant the three-time champion has been this season.
He could take a month off, but he won’t allow the competition that luxury.
Tony Schumacher could take the entire month of August off if he wanted to. But, then again, he couldn’t let the competition off that easy.
As far as Schumacher’s concerned, there’s no cause to let up.
“We got a lot of races left to win and people are saying ‘You’ve clinched it … you’ve locked up number one … you really don’t need to show up until after Indy,” Schumacher explained. “The fact is we don’t show up for that, we show up because we want to win every race. I do hope someone else wins some of the races. We show up for a reason and we have an outstanding drive, outstanding commitment and we put extra energy and effort into every run.”
While Schumacher’s 2008 success might appear an isolated incident, he’s quick to point out his U.S. Army team isn’t the only one working hard in the class.
“We’re not the only team doing it,” Schumacher said. “There are a lot of teams out there that are doing everything they can to win but we are just on. We’re catching breaks when we need them or we’re running strong when we have to but I’ll tell you we’re not a tenth of a second ahead of the field like we used to be; we’re just winning a lot of races. It’s more fun this way.”
When it comes to Schumacher’s tuner, Alan Johnson, the Army driver is quick to point out there’s no hype to Johnson – it’s all fact.
“You hear an awful lot about Alan Johnson but let me tell you it’s true,” Schumacher said. “I like when it’s tight and it’s crunch time and there are tight margins. As a driver, you need to be able to do that; you need to feel like you’re a part of it sometimes. Not just being consistent, but consistently good and pulling off some of those close wins. It’s been a lot of fun; last couple of races have been exciting.”
Schumacher’s latest victory in Sonoma marked the 112th national event victory for Don Schumacher Racing. He becomes only the sixth driver to sweep the famed Western Swing.
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