Tony Schumacher has insisted all year long that he and his U.S. Army Dragster team “know we’ve got a good car, and sooner or later things are going to start going our way on Sundays.”

It happened sooner rather than later, in Sunday’s Top Fuel finish to the Fitzgerald USA Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Tennessee’s Bristol Dragway.

It broke a 33-race winless streak for Schumacher that dates back to the March 2017 Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. He had come close, with runner-up finishes this year at Pomona and Las Vegas.

Schumacher’s triumph marked the 70th nitro double for Don Schumacher Racing. Ron Capps won the Funny Car final over Bob Tasca to give DSR its 300th nitro-class victory (323 in all, counting Schumacher’s No. 301 and the ones in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle).

“I say my prayer before every run,” Schumacher said after earning his class-best 84th trophy, “and today I didn’t pray for a miracle. I prayed for just enough: ‘Give me just enough.’”

His winning 3.946-second elapsed time at 313.58 mph was plenty against first-time finalist Mike Salinas, whose Scrappers Racing Dragster smoked the tires and wound up with a 5.251, 152.18 clocking.

“The new [track] prep through us a curveball. But we said from the get-go it’s going to throw everyone a curveball,” Schumacher said. “But we have great people. We have seven crew chiefs, more than that, working as a team. We’ll figure it out.”

They did Sunday, as Schumacher advanced past Terry McMillen, Pat Dakin, and Steve Torrence. That set up his 150th final-round appearance and his first meeting this season and only second ever against Salinas.

“He’s the first guy I ever raced, and I lost,” Salinas said, referring to the first round of the 2017 Norwalk, Ohio, 24 races ago.

In just his 25th race, the San Jose, Calif., businessman became the 159th driver to race in a Top Fuel final round by defeating Leah Pritchett, Clay Millican, and Scott Palmer.

Schumacher paid Salinas a high compliment: “I was definitely prepared to do my best with that run, because he had run very, very close to us. And I know it’s an Alan Johnson-tuned car. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him. It’s a great team over there [with crew chief Doug Kuch], and he’s a good leaver. So I didn’t expect it to be an easy round, by any means.”

Salinas broke into the top 10 in the standings, while Scott Palmer moved up to ninth, leaving Richie Crampton in 11th place.

The U.S. Army-sponsored driver capped the service’s 243rd birthday-weekend celebration by sharing the winners circle with Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock). According to NHRA/FOX-TV statistician Lewis Bloom, this represents only the second time this particular trio has won at the same event – despite the fact they have a combined 203 victories.   

The victory was Schumacher’s sixth at Thunder Valley. He also won here in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012. He was runner-up in 2001 and 2016.

With more victories here than any other racer, Schumacher still has not joined his father with a Legends of Thunder Valley distinction.

“I’m in no hurry for that,” he said. “Someday, if people think over the course of time I’ve done enough as a driver to put my name on something . . . Until then, I’m just going to have a good time.”   

“We’ve had incredible success on Fathers Day, incredible success on big-moment days,” he said. Jokingly, he said his dad, Don Schumacher, told him after the victory, “Been awhile. No, no, he didn’t say anything of the sort. He just came up and said thank you. But in my mind, I heard, ‘Been awhile,’ because it’s been awhile.”

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competitors won’t have to wait long to race again. Next on the schedule is this coming weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, which will conclude a stretch of four consecutive races.

Steve Torrence remains the points leader, 110 ahead of No. 2 Clay Millican and 136 ahead of Schumacher.