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U.S. Army NHRA driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher swiped the number one starting spot here Saturday for tomorrow's Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Despite having only one final qualifying pass due to rain showers, Schumacher kept the pole in Top Fuel.
After jetting to the top of the order on Friday, Schumacher came back with a track record pass of 4.440-seconds at 327.27 mph to further solidify his standing.
"Believe it or not, we were a little disappointed with that run since we wanted to set the national record for elapsed time (which is already Schumacher's at 4.437-seconds)," he offered. "We could use those extra 20 points right now. We'll just have to try it again on Sunday."
Schumacher can actually approach the first round of eliminations with a clear mind since he will have a bye into the second round given that only 15 Top Fuel cars qualified for the race.
"That's pretty big right there," he added. "We'll get 20 points and then if we're able to get that record, that's another 20 points. We just need to keep banking as many points as we can with each race. Hopefully, at the end, we'll end up with the world title."
With his 11th pole of the season, Schumacher tied the single season Top Fuel pole mark that he set last year.
Schumacher stays No. 1
U.S. Army NHRA driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher swiped the number one starting spot here Saturday for tomorrow's Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Despite having only one final qualifying pass due to rain showers, Schumacher kept the pole in Top Fuel.
After jetting to the top of the order on Friday, Schumacher came back with a track record pass of 4.440-seconds at 327.27 mph to further solidify his standing.
"Believe it or not, we were a little disappointed with that run since we wanted to set the national record for elapsed time (which is already Schumacher's at 4.437-seconds)," he offered. "We could use those extra 20 points right now. We'll just have to try it again on Sunday."
Schumacher can actually approach the first round of eliminations with a clear mind since he will have a bye into the second round given that only 15 Top Fuel cars qualified for the race.
"That's pretty big right there," he added. "We'll get 20 points and then if we're able to get that record, that's another 20 points. We just need to keep banking as many points as we can with each race. Hopefully, at the end, we'll end up with the world title."
With his 11th pole of the season, Schumacher tied the single season Top Fuel pole mark that he set last year.
