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BRAINERD, Minn. -- As the 2006 NHRA drag racing season winds down to a precious few races, U.S. Army drivers, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, all agree that focus will help determine whether a world championship will still be on the table come the middle of November.
With the NHRA tour hitting Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) here this weekend for the Lucas Oil Nationals, Schumacher currently holds the third spot in the Top Fuel standings, while Sampey and Brown are second and fourth, respectively, in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points chase.
Top Fuel
Schumacher has clearly been a hard charger of late. Over the last four races, he's climbed four positions in the standings while cutting the deficit to leader, Doug Kalitta, by a whopping 186 points.
"That's a clear example of focus right there," said the Chicago native, who is 44 points behind second-place, Melanie Troxel, and 126 points removed from Kalitta. "This U.S. Army team never wavered or gave up even in the worst of times earlier this year. We kept our eye on the ball throughout and now we're back in contention."
Schumacher has gone to four straight final rounds, while winning two races, during his recent hot stretch. He would like nothing better than to hold serve in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
"If we're going to continue putting pressure on the teams in front of us, we have to keep performing on that kind of level," he added. "I really can't wait to get up to Brainerd."
Last year at BIR, Schumacher posted the fastest speed in NHRA history - 337.58 mph. He also set the track record for elapsed time - 4.446-seconds.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Sampey and Brown are involved in arguably the best title chase among the four NHRA professional classes.
Heading for race number 16 on the national event schedule, only 61 points separates leader Andrew Hines from Brown in fourth-place.
"It's wide open right now," said Sampey, who is 28 points behind Hines in second. "It's going to be an interesting rest of the season, I can tell you that."
After capturing three wins early on, Sampey is now prepared for an all-out assault over the coming four months as she tries to capture her fourth world championship.
"It starts in Brainerd," she added. "I have to win there for the first time in my career - no excuses."
Brown also views the world title as up for grabs at this point. He's coming off a final round appearance in Sonoma, Calif. two weeks ago.
"It's right there for the taking," he said. "But, we'll all have to be quite diligent in how we approach our jobs down the stretch. There's no room for error."
The good news is that Brown is headed for a track where he's had a great deal of success. He won the 2000, 2001 and 2003 events at BIR.
"We've done well up there, for sure," he said. "But, it's a new year and you can't take anything for granted. We've got to keep working hard and pointed in the right direction."
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY CAREER STATS:
*SCHUMACHER - TWO POLES (2000, 2005); TWO WINS (2000, 2004); ONE RUNNER-UP (2003)
*SAMPEY - ONE POLE (2002); NO WINS; TWO RUNNER-UPS (1998, 2004)
*BROWN - TWO POLES (2001, 2004); THREE WINS (2000, 2001, 2003); NO RUNNER-UPS
Maintaining Focus Key Factor for U.S. Army Team
BRAINERD, Minn. -- As the 2006 NHRA drag racing season winds down to a precious few races, U.S. Army drivers, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, all agree that focus will help determine whether a world championship will still be on the table come the middle of November.
With the NHRA tour hitting Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) here this weekend for the Lucas Oil Nationals, Schumacher currently holds the third spot in the Top Fuel standings, while Sampey and Brown are second and fourth, respectively, in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points chase.
Top Fuel
Schumacher has clearly been a hard charger of late. Over the last four races, he's climbed four positions in the standings while cutting the deficit to leader, Doug Kalitta, by a whopping 186 points.
"That's a clear example of focus right there," said the Chicago native, who is 44 points behind second-place, Melanie Troxel, and 126 points removed from Kalitta. "This U.S. Army team never wavered or gave up even in the worst of times earlier this year. We kept our eye on the ball throughout and now we're back in contention."
Schumacher has gone to four straight final rounds, while winning two races, during his recent hot stretch. He would like nothing better than to hold serve in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
"If we're going to continue putting pressure on the teams in front of us, we have to keep performing on that kind of level," he added. "I really can't wait to get up to Brainerd."
Last year at BIR, Schumacher posted the fastest speed in NHRA history - 337.58 mph. He also set the track record for elapsed time - 4.446-seconds.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Sampey and Brown are involved in arguably the best title chase among the four NHRA professional classes.
Heading for race number 16 on the national event schedule, only 61 points separates leader Andrew Hines from Brown in fourth-place.
"It's wide open right now," said Sampey, who is 28 points behind Hines in second. "It's going to be an interesting rest of the season, I can tell you that."
After capturing three wins early on, Sampey is now prepared for an all-out assault over the coming four months as she tries to capture her fourth world championship.
"It starts in Brainerd," she added. "I have to win there for the first time in my career - no excuses."
Brown also views the world title as up for grabs at this point. He's coming off a final round appearance in Sonoma, Calif. two weeks ago.
"It's right there for the taking," he said. "But, we'll all have to be quite diligent in how we approach our jobs down the stretch. There's no room for error."
The good news is that Brown is headed for a track where he's had a great deal of success. He won the 2000, 2001 and 2003 events at BIR.
"We've done well up there, for sure," he said. "But, it's a new year and you can't take anything for granted. We've got to keep working hard and pointed in the right direction."
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY CAREER STATS:
*SCHUMACHER - TWO POLES (2000, 2005); TWO WINS (2000, 2004); ONE RUNNER-UP (2003)
*SAMPEY - ONE POLE (2002); NO WINS; TWO RUNNER-UPS (1998, 2004)
*BROWN - TWO POLES (2001, 2004); THREE WINS (2000, 2001, 2003); NO RUNNER-UPS
