Tony
Schumacher was hesitant to mention safety – or a perceived lack thereof, when he
referred to 45-degree temperatures that greeted the Friday evening VMP Top Fuel
qualifying session.
“Running down a drag strip when you can’t see past
your visor is probably not the safest thing for a sanctioning body that was
designed for safety,” Schumacher said. “Whatever…some cars made it down the
track so I can’t complain.
“I couldn’t be nervous…I couldn’t see past my
windshield,” Schumacher said. “I held my breath as long as I could before I
staged. I had the girl from Impact doing my visor.”
Schumacher was
pressed into action earlier than expected when several teams pulled out of the
lanes, including teammate Melanie Troxel.