Will the Breakup Of The Strongest Team In Top Fuel Mean The End Of The Army’s Dominance?

 

Not all of the action here at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals has taken place on the track.  Far from it, in fact.  Back in the pits there was chaos as the rumor mill went into overdrive with talk of Alan Johnson’s departure from Don Schumacher Racing.  When the rumors became fact, and both Schumacher and Johnson confirmed that he would indeed be leaving at the end of the season for what appears to be an amazing personal opportunity, drag racing’s “silly season” officially began.
 
Johnson’s departure from DSR will have wide-ranging implications for a broad spectrum of fuel racers, because he’s leaving to put together his own two-car team with a Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car.  Considering that this is going to be an extremely well-funded operation, Johnson is going to need drivers, mechanics, helpers and who knows what else.  The pits are already abuzz with talk of who might end up where next year, and while we won’t be able to provide solid answers to a lot of those questions, the whole scenario is extremely interesting.

Will the Breakup Of The Strongest Team In Top Fuel Mean The End Of The Army’s Dominance?

 

Not all of the action here at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals has taken place on the track.  Far from it, in fact.  Back in the pits there was chaos as the rumor mill went into overdrive with talk of Alan Johnson’s departure from Don Schumacher Racing.  When the rumors became fact, and both Schumacher and Johnson confirmed that he would indeed be leaving at the end of the season for what appears to be an amazing personal opportunity, drag racing’s “silly season” officially began.
 
Johnson’s departure from DSR will have wide-ranging implications for a broad spectrum of fuel racers, because he’s leaving to put together his own two-car team with a Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car.  Considering that this is going to be an extremely well-funded operation, Johnson is going to need drivers, mechanics, helpers and who knows what else.  The pits are already abuzz with talk of who might end up where next year, and while we won’t be able to provide solid answers to a lot of those questions, the whole scenario is extremely interesting.
 
Johnson told CompetitionPlus.com in an exclusive interview that he’ll devote his considerable tuning talents (an understatement of major proportions) to his Funny Car, while overseeing what goes on with the dragster.  That means, of course, that there’ll be an opening for a crew chief with the dragster, just as there will be a similar job opportunity at DSR to head up the Tony Schumacher-driven U.S. Army car.

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You can already see where this is likely going.  At the level DSR competes at and that Johnson will certainly emulate, there may be crew openings for as many as 20 people.  The question then becomes, where will Johnson and Schumacher find those able bodies?  The answer is probably from among those currently employed in drag racing, and that means, of course, that some teams will likely lose valuable personnel.  The simplistic bottom line is that if you’re an experienced mechanic it’s time to get your resume polished up so you can surreptitiously slip it into Johnson’s back pocket as he adjusts the injector on Schumacher’s car on the starting line.  You might hand Mr. Schumacher a second copy as well.  He’ll be standing directly behind the car as it stages, and will be easy to find.
 
Naturally, considering that there’s likely to be openings on other teams as well, maybe now’s the time to consider a blanket mailing of resumes to every professional race team owner you can think of.  Drivers better not hesitate at all, as Johnson says he’ll “probably make those decisions within a month.” 
 
The weekend edition of USA Today included an article on Johnson that both he and Schumacher separately said they were “disappointed”.  Johnson, choosing his words carefully, said he had talked to the journalist who wrote the piece, but our sources report that the conversation in question was not particularly cordial.  He said emphatically that he hadn’t been quoted accurately in the article.  Coming on the eve of his departure announcement, he was understandably unhappy, but Johnson is an extremely sharp individual, and his first priority is getting the Army car back into the Indy winners circle.  He’ll worry about things he has little control over at some future point.
 
Schumacher told CompetitionPlus.com that “there were things put in (the article) that really aren’t fact.  Alan and I, from the day I’ve been back out here 10 years ago, have never, to my knowledge and his knowledge, have never had a cross word or negative conversation between the two of us.  The other thing is that the money Alan makes is strictly between he and I, and somebody just guessing at a number creates nothing but problems.”
 
Johnson has been interacting with representatives of Al-Anabi Racing of the small Middle Eastern nation of Qatar (where the American military has a major presence) for the last couple of months.  Johnson’s partner in the operation is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, who has impressed upon Johnson his desire to make drag racing a truly international endeavor.  Al-Anabi Racing is reportedly nearing completion of a state-of-the-art drag strip in Qatar that is likely to become a multi-purpose facility at some point in the near future.

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Al-Anabi Racing is already involved in competition here in the United States with Awesome Motorsports, since re-named Awesome Al Anabi.  The operation fields Pro Mod cars in IHRA and NHRA.
 
Johnson told us, “You should know that the people at Al-Anabi Racing are very interested in bringing NHRA drag racing to an international audience.  They’re really exited about drag racing, and they want this to be an international sport.  They’re enjoying this.”
 
One of the rumors that seemed to gain traction on Saturday was that Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Matt Smith could become Johnson’s Top Fuel driver, but when we asked him about this he said, with only slight hesitation, “I don’t think so.”  In response to a later question on the same subject he said “There’s no connection there.”
 
When we asked Johnson if he was moving on because of the financial opportunity he was quick to say, “That wasn’t the primary reason.  I’ve always wanted to have my own team again.  That’s widely known.  That’s no secret, and I’ve only waited until the right opportunity came along, that I thought was the right fit for me, one that was financially viable, to race the way I want to race.  This just happens to fit all those things.”
 
Schumacher said, “From the day Alan came to work for me he said the only reason he would leave would be to form his own team again.  That’s what he’s always wanted to do, and now he has that opportunity.  I received the notification from Alan early this week that he was going to leave.  Alan and I talked about it on Monday after Sonoma that this was on the table.  The agreement I had with Alan had an automatic renewal date, but after that conversation we cancelled that agreement.”
 
The team will be based in Indianapolis, and there are no plans to seek a corporate backer.  Johnson emphasized that “This will be a partnership between Al-Anabi Racing and Alan Johnson Racing to field a Funny Car and a dragster.”  Considering the partners involved it was no surprise when Johnson stated the cars would travel to the Middle East to make exhibition runs, probably once each year, and not during the NHRA season.  However, when those runs take place there will be Americans behind the wheel, not natives of Qatar or neighboring nations.

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Schumacher took the news that Johnson was leaving “like a businessman,” Johnson said.  “He understands.  I’ve been up front with him all the time.  He knows that my primary goal all the time was to form my own team again.  Going into this whole thing, no one thought I’d be here for five years to begin with.  Now it’s been five-and-a-half years, and he knew this day was coming.  He’s okay with it.  Certainly he’d rather I stay here a while longer, but he understands my goals, and while they may not be exactly the same as his, he understands.”
 
Johnson says “It’ll be more likely that I’ll run the Funny Car, and find somebody else to do the dragster.”
 
He actually suggested a question for us.  “You could ask me what Don Schumacher is paying me.  That seems to be something that everyone seems to need to know.”  We declined to ask, suggesting in return that we’d be happy to spread the word if he cared to reveal his salary and bonus situation.  He declined to provide that information.
 
The rumor quickly spread that Johnson’s partners would be paying him $5.5M per year, per car, for five years to run the operation, so we asked him about it.  “Our deal is that we’ll have enough money to do this right,” he said.  “Obviously, everyone knows that it takes between $3.5M and $4M per year to run these cars correctly.  We have that much money, so we’re going to be fine.”  In truth a budget of that magnitude will be as much as twice what most teams are operating with.
 
In terms of getting the operation up and running before the end of this season, Johnson said, with a smile, “I know a guy who makes a lot of these engine parts, and I might be able to con him into getting some of that stuff done early.  Obviously we’ve got to get personnel together and cars.  Some things you can get in a week, others take months, so it’s going to be tough.
 
“We’re not going to hire a bunch of people who are out of work (meaning mechanics who aren’t currently employed, making the assumption that the most competent people are already working with teams), and other people aren’t going to be available until the end of the year.  So, there will have to be some people who aren’t currently employed who will have to do a lot of the leg work, because I can’t do it all myself.  I’m going to have to get some people to help orchestrate the whole thing.”

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Johnson has told Schumacher he won’t raid the Army team of its mechanics, but also says that if some of them want to go with him “that will be their choice if they decide that’s something they want to do.  I’ll certainly look at it, and we’ll make a decision there.  They may want to stay here.  This is a pretty good operation.  Not much is going to change other than that I’m gone.  But it’s still a first class operation with everything that it takes to win races.  I’m the only guy that’ll be leaving.  If they want to come with me I’ll certainly consider it.”
 
Johnson believes that someone can come into the DSR operation and run it successfully, at least “for a while,” as he puts it.  “As I’ve said earlier this year, the key to winning races is making the right decisions on Sunday, and sometimes that’s easy, and sometimes it’s not.  That’s the experience of years and years of racing on Sunday, and keeping good records and knowing what you’re doing.  Trying to make the right calls is important.  That’s the important part.”
 
Johnson says he will leave copies of all of his run records with the team, but admits that such a conversation has yet to take place with Schumacher.
 
Brad Hadman will build the cars, and we do mean multiples.  Johnson will order three Funny Car chassis and three dragsters to prepare for all possible contingencies.  “I’d like to maybe test in December,” Johnson said, “but logistically that may not be that easy, plus there’s not a lot of good race tracks available in the middle of winter.  For sure we’ll be ready by January.” 
 
Although no body type has been announced by Johnson, his past ties with Toyota, plus that brand’s strong international marketing, would seem to make it the ideal choice for this operation.  If Ford, Dodge or Chevrolet have any presence whatsoever in Qatar it would have to be minimal, whereas Toyota is a player in that nation and region.  This, of course, is mere speculation on our parts, and should be considered such and nothing more.
 
Schumacher is wasting no time.  “I’ve already started to seek a replacement,” he told us.  When we asked him whether that meant bringing in someone new, or moving someone over from one of his existing teams he stared at us stone faced for a full minute and then said, “Is that a good enough answer?”
 
He’s a realist, and says, “I hope everyone stays with the U.S. Army team.  Alan and I agreed he would not hire those people away from me, but if they quit and choose to go to work with him, that’s their decision.  Winning the last four (POWERade) championships is because of that team.  Alan has certainly been a key part of that, but every person over there is a key part of those wins.  Every crew person, Tony as the driver, and Alan as the crew chief, and the U.S. Army for supplying us with the necessary support to take us to that level.”

 

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The next 60 to 90 days will be filled with rumors, guesswork and downright untruths as to what’s taking place behind the scenes with Johnson’s new race teams.  If he can quietly hire the people he wants without their current employers catching wind of their pending departures, things will go smoothly.  On the other hand, team owners are rarely forgiving, and if they suspect an employee is about to fly like the wind at the end of the season, bonus monies could go unpaid.  In truth, in the very recent past there have been instances when team owners kept employees working until the last second and then cut them loose without their final paychecks.  True professionals don’t operate that way, but it has been known to happen.
 
There’s a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes jealousy about the successes that Alan Johnson has achieved.  Some chalk those up to the deep pockets of his team owner, but the reality is not just a matter of funding.  Johnson didn’t win seven NHRA championships and 75 national events simply because of money.  He won them because he’s a master at melding together hard-working, dedicated mechanics with exceptionally talented drivers.  And most of all, he knows how to race on Sunday.
 

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