Don Schumacher has no specific timetable when he plans to hand over the reins of his multi-car NHRA operation to stepdaughter Megan Schumacher. 

And if one were to ask the 30-year-old with the MBA from Florida’s Lynn University to describe her typical day as Vice-President of Don Schumacher Racing, or who she interacts with most, or whether she thinks more about keeping DSR solvent and competitive or about how DSR can be a leader in growing the sport, she’ll say, “It depends.” 

That doesn’t mean she’s indecisive. It’s just the opposite. Her responsibilities are complex, fast-paced, and multi-dimensional. Somehow, she’s juggling everything with aplomb, especially considering she and husband Chad Osier, vice-president of Don Schumacher Motorsports Precision Manufacturing, are expecting their first child, a daughter, in October. 

As strange as this might sound, for Schumacher, reacting to all of her tasks in a prioritized manner is a bit like playing hockey. The behind-the-scenes action can move almost as lightning-quick as the on-track events, and the urgencies can change in a flash. Just like hockey players have to make mental switches between offense and defense, depending on whose stick the puck has just landed, Schumacher has a lively agenda just about every day. 

“That’s it exactly,” she said. 

So no such thing as a typical day exists for Schumacher. 

“That is for sure, and that's one of the things that I think is so fun about it is that you never know what every day will bring.” 

She works with a different mix of colleagues and business acquaintances each day. 

“I would say it depends on the day, but in general, I would say the majority of my time is spent with Don,” she said, but quickly added that she interacts a lot with DSR’s Senior Vice-President Mike Lewis and General Manager/Human Resources Manager Hali Warnick. “Then I also work closely with our PR – Allison McCormick and Kassandra Pawuk, who is managing our social media . . . and our marketing teams. So I would say my day-to-day revolves around our management staff, also our PR team. Any given week is obviously also our drivers, our sponsors-hunter. It just really depends on what's going on where we are.” 

As if that weren’t enough, Schumacher has the tricky task of maintaining a balance between keeping DSR focused and solvent on one hand and a natural desire (and corporate duty) to grow the sport. 

Both are significant, and figuring it out, she said, “is definitely a balancing act as to what needs our attention at any given moment. I think twofold. I think you're going to have to deal with everything as it comes, but I think, too, for the terms of looking towards the future. I think a lot of what you're living in the present-day gives you ideas and helps shape what that's going to look like. So it honestly just depends on, I would say, the time of year. So for us, for example, once we hit fall, we’re managing what's happening on track and then also managing, ‘OK - What's next year going to look like for our teams?’ You're doing them hand-in-hand. I can't say, ‘Oh, it's 60/40 or it's 50/50 once we hit October.’ It just depends on what's going on, but you just do it. It’s just second nature where you're like, ‘OK - We're going to focus on the future today, but then tomorrow it's going to be a race day so we're going to focus on the job at hand. We’ll deal with the future again on Monday.’” 

Some days are “retro” days, when the team’s and sport’s histories are on the front burner. And her mind has to shift in yet another direction. 

“That's exactly how it always happens, too, where we're just like, ‘OK – wait, wait, wait - Are we present day? Where are we?’” Schumacher said. 

Sometimes her day includes a trip to a corporate boardroom or meetings with current or potential marketing partners. 

Schumacher said she definitely has been involved in those kinds of discussions “and that has been quite a great experience for me. And what's great is so many of our partners have been such long-term partners that most of them have seen me grow up over the years. So to be able to have their, let’s say . . . patience, while you're learning the way. That's been very helpful. And then obviously, in the past, I would say 10 or so, years I have been much more hands-on in those meetings and those discussions from the beginning, and then through finalizing deals and relationships.” 

So she said she has no fear that the current sponsors aren’t simply friends of Don Schumacher, that they’ll drift away when he eases out of the foreground. 

“I definitely would say it is not [a concern],” she said. “I think that's one thing – I'm really lucky that I have been hands-on and involved from the start. So there aren't any surprises to any of our partners in that way. They're all very welcoming, and I don't see any issues ahead in any way.” 

But the day when she will handle those negotiations and initiate such conversations completely on her own has not come yet and might not come anytime soon. Don Schumacher has not hinted at all that he is ready to pass the baton. 

“He has such a passion for NHRA racing, for obviously DSR, and he loves it out here. It's one of his greatest happinesses. So he definitely does not have a time frame in terms of stepping away in any capacity at all,” Megan Schumacher said. “Our plan is just that we will continue to work hand-in-hand and he'll just continue to be a great teacher for me and leader for our teams. 

“I would say that we are a good balance to each other. I have been by his side learning the ropes of the businesses for so long that that has also given me the strength and confidence to have that gut-check instinct to be like, ‘OK, this type of situation arises. Let's hit the brakes for a second. Let's look at the big picture of this’ and then proceed, decide how we're going to move forward. And I think a lot of that is just sometimes you're taking a second, being like, ‘OK, this is what we need to do here’ and then moving forward. 

“One of the things that Don has also always instilled in me and also everyone here, is to put good people around you. So even though I don't have the ‘seat of my pants’ feel that Don has with being like, ‘OK - These crew chiefs would fit x-driver so well, because of this level of tuning,’ whatever that story may be. I will make sure that those people are in place, and this would be my recommendation. Not one person, in most cases, can do it all in that regard. So I will definitely make sure that when the time comes that the proper people are in place so that we don't have too many learning curves like that.” 

By mid-October, Megan Schumacher will be in the middle of her own Countdown. 

“My plan is after Indy, I'm going to just be working remotely for the remainder of the season. After Indy, I can no longer travel per doctor's orders, and then I plan to be back. The one thing that is nice about the timing is I will have a couple months to get my feet under me, get our newborn on some sort of schedule, whatever that's going to look like, before our season would even begin in February. So I'll definitely have some time to adjust to everything going on. But I plan to work throughout. Thankfully again, going back to the people, we know that besides our family, we’ll be able to put up great team around us. It'll definitely be something to learn and navigate our way through, but I have no doubt that we'll find a way through.”