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CLERMONT, Ind. -- Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, who handles the controls of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, will come out of the number one starting position here Monday in the 53rd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park.
Schumacher's Friday night pass of 4.477-seconds was never challenged during the remaining four qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Over in the U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle camp, Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey completed qualifying in the ninth and 12th spots, respectively.
Top Fuel
Schumacher will head into race day looking for his sixth Mac Tools U.S. Nationals victory.
"We're certainly going to try real hard to get another win here in Indy," he offered. "I'm hoping that we can feed off of our past success."
The Chicago native will take on 16th-place qualifier, Clay Millican, in the opening round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. ET. In four previous race day meetings with Millican, Schumacher has three wins to his credit.
"We're definitely going to expect a battle with Clay," he added. "That team is very capable of taking out anyone."
Schumacher will also be attempting to kick off the NHRA's Countdown to Four in proper fashion.
"We arrived in Indy holding second-place in the points and without a doubt the goal is to leave here sitting on top of the standings," he said.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Despite a couple of quick runs on Saturday, Brown was only able to hold on to the ninth position in the order. He will face eighth-place qualifier, Peggy Llewellyn, in the first round on Labor Day.
"Even though we didn't move up, I'm encouraged about how we performed today," he said. "My bike is getting better and better with each lap."
Winless thus far this season, Brown would love to breakthrough at the NHRA's most prestigious race.
"There's no doubt about that," he said. "I feel we're awfully close to getting a trophy."
After recording her worst qualifying effort of the season, Sampey will be seeking her second victory of the year tomorrow.
The three-time world champion will tangle with fifth-place qualifier, Chris Rivas, in round one.
"We had some decent runs today, but clearly we'll need to quicken the pace if we're going to win the race," she said. "It's going to be tough tomorrow with the expected hot conditions, but I'm confident my U.S. Army team can get the job done."
Sampey, with 41 career wins, needs five more victories to become the winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in NHRA history.
Schumacher to Start from Number One Spot
Brown Qualifies Ninth, Sampey 12th
CLERMONT, Ind. -- Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, who handles the controls of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, will come out of the number one starting position here Monday in the 53rd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park.
Schumacher's Friday night pass of 4.477-seconds was never challenged during the remaining four qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Over in the U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle camp, Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey completed qualifying in the ninth and 12th spots, respectively.
Top Fuel
Schumacher will head into race day looking for his sixth Mac Tools U.S. Nationals victory.
"We're certainly going to try real hard to get another win here in Indy," he offered. "I'm hoping that we can feed off of our past success."
The Chicago native will take on 16th-place qualifier, Clay Millican, in the opening round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. ET. In four previous race day meetings with Millican, Schumacher has three wins to his credit.
"We're definitely going to expect a battle with Clay," he added. "That team is very capable of taking out anyone."
Schumacher will also be attempting to kick off the NHRA's Countdown to Four in proper fashion.
"We arrived in Indy holding second-place in the points and without a doubt the goal is to leave here sitting on top of the standings," he said.
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Despite a couple of quick runs on Saturday, Brown was only able to hold on to the ninth position in the order. He will face eighth-place qualifier, Peggy Llewellyn, in the first round on Labor Day.
"Even though we didn't move up, I'm encouraged about how we performed today," he said. "My bike is getting better and better with each lap."
Winless thus far this season, Brown would love to breakthrough at the NHRA's most prestigious race.
"There's no doubt about that," he said. "I feel we're awfully close to getting a trophy."
After recording her worst qualifying effort of the season, Sampey will be seeking her second victory of the year tomorrow.
The three-time world champion will tangle with fifth-place qualifier, Chris Rivas, in round one.
"We had some decent runs today, but clearly we'll need to quicken the pace if we're going to win the race," she said. "It's going to be tough tomorrow with the expected hot conditions, but I'm confident my U.S. Army team can get the job done."
Sampey, with 41 career wins, needs five more victories to become the winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in NHRA history.
