Texas NHRA FallNationals
Event 20 of 22
Countdown Event 4 of 6
Texas Motorplex
Ennis, Texas
Oct. 14-16, 2022
Tony Schumacher Continues Trend of Running Strong on Race Day
Qualified: No. 13 (3.801 E.T. at 326.58 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.715 E.T. at 326.16 MPH defeated by Antron Brown 3.684 E.T. at 330.54 MPH
ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 16, 2022) – It was simply a matter of ending up on the bad side of a good drag race that led to an early exit for Tony Schumacher and the Maynard Family Racing team during Sunday’s elimination rounds at the Texas NHRA FallNationals.Qualified: No. 13 (3.801 E.T. at 326.58 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.715 E.T. at 326.16 MPH defeated by Antron Brown 3.684 E.T. at 330.54 MPH
With six Texas Motorplex triumphs, Schumacher is the winningest Top Fuel driver in the history of the facility, and the 2020 ‘Texas Motorplex Legend’ award recipient was hoping to add to his total as he sought to race to the winner’s circle for the second time this season.
Piloting the SCAG Power Equipment livery for the last time in 2022, Schumacher entered the final qualifying session on Saturday evening sitting in the No. 13 spot after clocking a 3.836 E.T. as his best run of the weekend’s first three qualifying rounds. Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler turned up the wick in Q4, tuning Schumacher’s machine to a 3.801 E.T., and while it was a solid pass, it wasn’t enough to improve their position on a ladder which was mostly set from Friday night’s Q2 session during prime racing conditions.
By starting from 13th, Schumacher found himself with a tough first-round matchup versus No. 4 qualifier and championship-contender, Antron Brown. In what looked like a race that would typically be found in a semifinal or final elimination round, the multi-time world champions lined up on Sunday, hungry to snag their first win light of the day. Schumacher and Brown had identical reaction times, and both drivers powered to their quickest runs of the weekend, but it was Brown who came out on top with his 3.684, besting Schumacher’s 3.715 E.T.
“What got us beat today wasn’t that really good run. What beat us was our poor qualifying performance, and we can’t keep doing that,” Schumacher explained. “We can’t keep ending up in the No. 14 spot and expect to beat the No. 3 guy. They’re going to run good, they’re going to perform well.
“We can’t get too down on ourselves, we made a great run that session. We were fourth-quickest that round, but we put ourselves in a position to race a car that was extremely good. We’ve got to get back into the form where we are top two or three every time so we get a chance to go out first round and run an easier car. This is a race track where I’ve won six times, and I expect to do well here, and so it was a letdown to bow out so early today, but I feel better knowing we’re moving in the right direction.”
Schumacher departs Ennis, Texas ranked 12th in the Top Fuel point standings with two races remaining in 2022. The Maynard Family Racing team competes next at the NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas, Oct. 28 – 30.
NHRA Camping World Series Top Fuel Point Standings (unofficial):
| 1 | Justin Ashley | 2422 | |
| 2 | Brittany Force | 2340 | |
| 3 | Antron Brown | 2338 | |
| 4 | Steve Torrence | 2326 | |
| 5 | Mike Salinas | 2304 | |
| 6 | Josh Hart | 2275 | |
| 7 | Austin Prock | 2262 | |
| 8 | Doug Kalitta | 2251 | |
| 9 | Shawn Langdon | 2234 | |
| 10 | Clay Millican | 2218 | |
| 11 | Leah Pruett | 2179 | |
| 12 | Tony Schumacher | 2149 |
About Maynard Family Racing:
Established in 2022, the Maynard Family Racing organization (JCM) is a single-car NHRA Top Fuel team owned by Joe and Cathi Maynard, along with their partners Eric and Kim Lehman, all of Clarksville, Tenn. The Maynards first became involved in NHRA Drag Racing in 2021 as an associate sponsor of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) before expanding their involvement to an ownership level during the 2022 NHRA season. It was announced in July 2022 that the Maynards and Lehmans had partnered with Don Schumacher to assume a majority ownership stake of the multi-time championship-winning team.Headlining the Maynard Family Racing team is eight-time world champion and 86-time NHRA national event winner Tony Schumacher, the most decorated Top Fuel driver in the history of the sport. The team competes on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Scag Power Equipment and Okuma.
For more information, visit @Maynard_Racing on Twitter, @MaynardFamRacing on Facebook, and @MaynardFamilyRacing on Instagram.
