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SOMONA, Calif.(July 30) -- U.S. Army NHRA drivers, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher and Antron Brown, both lost final round encounters here Sunday in the Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
Schumacher dropped a close race to rookie J.R. Todd in the Top Fuel final, while Brown was taken out by Chip Ellis in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final.
In other action, U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot, Angelle Sampey, lost in the quarterfinals to Tom Bradford.
Top Fuel
In advancing to his fourth straight final round, Schumacher couldn't quite get past Todd in Wine Country.
After disposing of Steve Chrisman, Bob Vandergriff, Jr. and Doug Kalitta in the opening three rounds, Schumacher posted a 4.679-second pass at 316.01 mph, but Todd's 4.619-second run at 309.27 mph was a bit better.
"I actually had to 'pedal' the car when I experienced some tire shake," said the Chicago native. "But, all in all, it was a good day from a point perspective. That's always a positive."
Schumacher moved into third-place in the standings with eight races to go in the 2006 season. He's but 44 points out of second and 126 points behind Kalitta in first.
"Just like our soldiers do, we also have a mission to complete - to win another world championship," he added. "There are eight races to go. That's plenty of time to finish the climb to the top."
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Brown, who hails from New Jersey, let a victory slip from his fingers after fouling out with a red light start in the finals against Ellis, who had his engine break well before the finish line.
"Man, this is a tough one to take," he said shaking his head. "It (the win) was right there for me to grab and I didn't get it done at the starting line. I feel bad for Steve Tartaglia (his crew chief) and the entire U.S. Army team. They did their job with absolute perfection."
Brown, who took out Matt Guidera, Steve Johnson and Bradford before losing to Ellis, dropped to fourth in the standings, but only trails leader, Andrew Hines, by 61 points.
Despite dropping out in the quarters to Bradford, Sampey maintained her hold on second-place in the standings. She's 33 points behind Hines.
"We had some mechanical issue bite us against Bradford," said the Louisiana native. "It's a bit disappointing because we had a real quick Suzuki today and I felt confident we could go deep into the day. We'll just have to forget about this one and move on to the next race. That's all you can do."
Schumacher, Sampey and Brown will now enjoy a weekend off before heading to the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway, August 10-13.
Schumacher, Brown Lose in Final Round
Sampey Beaten in Quarterfinals
SOMONA, Calif.(July 30) -- U.S. Army NHRA drivers, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher and Antron Brown, both lost final round encounters here Sunday in the Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
Schumacher dropped a close race to rookie J.R. Todd in the Top Fuel final, while Brown was taken out by Chip Ellis in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final.
In other action, U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot, Angelle Sampey, lost in the quarterfinals to Tom Bradford.
Top Fuel
In advancing to his fourth straight final round, Schumacher couldn't quite get past Todd in Wine Country.
After disposing of Steve Chrisman, Bob Vandergriff, Jr. and Doug Kalitta in the opening three rounds, Schumacher posted a 4.679-second pass at 316.01 mph, but Todd's 4.619-second run at 309.27 mph was a bit better.
"I actually had to 'pedal' the car when I experienced some tire shake," said the Chicago native. "But, all in all, it was a good day from a point perspective. That's always a positive."
Schumacher moved into third-place in the standings with eight races to go in the 2006 season. He's but 44 points out of second and 126 points behind Kalitta in first.
"Just like our soldiers do, we also have a mission to complete - to win another world championship," he added. "There are eight races to go. That's plenty of time to finish the climb to the top."
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Brown, who hails from New Jersey, let a victory slip from his fingers after fouling out with a red light start in the finals against Ellis, who had his engine break well before the finish line.
"Man, this is a tough one to take," he said shaking his head. "It (the win) was right there for me to grab and I didn't get it done at the starting line. I feel bad for Steve Tartaglia (his crew chief) and the entire U.S. Army team. They did their job with absolute perfection."
Brown, who took out Matt Guidera, Steve Johnson and Bradford before losing to Ellis, dropped to fourth in the standings, but only trails leader, Andrew Hines, by 61 points.
Despite dropping out in the quarters to Bradford, Sampey maintained her hold on second-place in the standings. She's 33 points behind Hines.
"We had some mechanical issue bite us against Bradford," said the Louisiana native. "It's a bit disappointing because we had a real quick Suzuki today and I felt confident we could go deep into the day. We'll just have to forget about this one and move on to the next race. That's all you can do."
Schumacher, Sampey and Brown will now enjoy a weekend off before heading to the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway, August 10-13.
