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POMONA, Calif. - Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, who pilots the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, swiped his first pole of the season here Saturday during final qualifying for tomorrow's Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway.
Schumacher, who was booted from the top position by Rod Fuller after qualifying session number three, regained the pole in the final qualifying round after an impressive 4.472-second quarter-mile blast at 331.36 mph.
"We're happy, for sure," said Schumacher, who banked his 36th career pole. "Now, we have to go out and do our deal on Sunday. We have a quality field here this weekend so if you make one slight mistake you're going home early."
The Chicago native will take on 16th-place qualifier, Joe Hartley, in the opening round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. PT.
"He (Hartley) got down the track pretty much every run, so you have to figure that's going to happen against us," added Schumacher. "We have to make sure we've got all of our bases covered to advance to the next round."
The U.S. Army team will be looking to take its late season success from 2006 into the '07 season opener. Using a record-setting pass in the final round, Schumacher captured the '06 season finale in Pomona and in the process his third straight NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world title.
"We clearly want to start the new season with a win," he said. "Like I've stated before, with this new Countdown to the Championship, you don't want to fall into a hole early on in the year."
"The Sarge" Secures Number One Spot
POMONA, Calif. - Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, who pilots the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, swiped his first pole of the season here Saturday during final qualifying for tomorrow's Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway.
Schumacher, who was booted from the top position by Rod Fuller after qualifying session number three, regained the pole in the final qualifying round after an impressive 4.472-second quarter-mile blast at 331.36 mph.
"We're happy, for sure," said Schumacher, who banked his 36th career pole. "Now, we have to go out and do our deal on Sunday. We have a quality field here this weekend so if you make one slight mistake you're going home early."
The Chicago native will take on 16th-place qualifier, Joe Hartley, in the opening round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. PT.
"He (Hartley) got down the track pretty much every run, so you have to figure that's going to happen against us," added Schumacher. "We have to make sure we've got all of our bases covered to advance to the next round."
The U.S. Army team will be looking to take its late season success from 2006 into the '07 season opener. Using a record-setting pass in the final round, Schumacher captured the '06 season finale in Pomona and in the process his third straight NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world title.
"We clearly want to start the new season with a win," he said. "Like I've stated before, with this new Countdown to the Championship, you don't want to fall into a hole early on in the year."
