DSR Brainerd Post-Race Recap

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NHRA Nationals
Event 17 of 24 (Brainerd)
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 16-18, 2019

DSR Brainerd Elimination Highlights:

  • Don Schumacher Racing doubles-up in Brainerd
    • Leah Pritchett – Top Fuel (eighth career win; first of 2019)
    • Ron Capps – Funny Car (64th career win; third of 2019)
  • The final round featured an all-DSR Funny Car battle (Capps vs. Tommy Johnson Jr.)
  • Pritchett clinched a Countdown to the Championship playoff berth, ensuring all DSR drivers will contend for a 2019 title
  • Johnson’s run to the final allowed him to advance to second in the Funny Car standings
  • Capps and Jack Beckman maintain ‘top five’ rankings
  • DSR extends overall win tally to 341 triumphs

(EXCERPT)

Driver Information:
Funny Car:

TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

Qualified: No. 5 (3.926 E.T. at 318.54 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.944 E.T. at 320.20 MPH defeated Tim Wilkerson 4.519 E.T. at 191.87 MPH
E2: 3.910 E.T. at 323.50 MPH defeated Robert Hight 6.034 E.T. at 115.21 MPH
E3: 3.930 E.T. at 324.59 MPH defeated Matt Hagan 3.932 E.T. at 326.08 MPH
E4: 3.947 E.T. at 319.98 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 3.946 E.T. at 324.28 MPH

Race Recap:
Johnson continued proving he is going to be a factor in the 2019 Funny Car championship chase Sunday with his runner-up finish, which moved him up to second in the standings. Johnson raced the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from the fifth position on the ladder and was victorious over Tim Wilkerson in the first round and followed that by defeating Robert Hight in the quarterfinals with his best run of the day at 3.910 seconds.

In the semifinal, he squared off with No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan and used a tremendous light, a 0.031 reaction time, and lap of 3.930 seconds to keep his run for a second Brainerd triumph alive as he reached his 50th career Funny Car final and seventh in Brainerd. In the final, Capps had the starting line advantage, and Johnson couldn’t recover despite making a run of 3.947 compared to the winner’s pass of 3.946, and for the fourth time in the last five years, Johnson finished as the runner-up in Brainerd.

Quotable:
“We had a big points day for the team and have a really good running Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. I just made a rookie mistake there in the final. A mistake that I shouldn’t have made, but all in all it was a good day. To be able to win the rounds we did and get to another final just builds confidence for this team. We have a lot of momentum going into Indy, and I’m ready.”

NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
1. Steve Torrence – 1650*
2. Brittany Force – 1015*
3. Doug Kalitta – 1013*
4. Clay Millican – 1009*
5. Antron Brown – 998*
6. Mike Salinas – 986*
7. Leah Pritchett – 903*
8. Austin Prock – 826
9. Richie Crampton – 785
10. Terry McMillen- 708

Funny Car
1. Robert Hight – 1397*
2. Tommy Johnson Jr – 1218*
3. John Force – 1199*
4. Ron Capps – 1171*
5. Jack Beckman – 1098*
6. Matt Hagan – 1047*
7. Bob Tasca III – 1038*
8. J.R. Todd – 981*
9. Shawn Langdon – 914*
10. Tim Wilkerson – 824

About Don Schumacher Racing:
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) is the winningest team in NHRA Drag Racing history, having claimed more than 325 NHRA national event titles and 17 world championships since opening its doors in 1998.

Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields seven professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the MOPAR/Pennzoil/Sparkling Ice dragster driven by Leah Pritchett and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher’s machine. In Funny Car, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driven by 2016 world champion Ron Capps, the Mopar Express Lane/Pennzoil/Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat piloted by Matt Hagan, and in Terry and Doug Chandler’s ‘giving cars,’ 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and Tommy Johnson Jr. behind the wheel of the Make-A-Wish Dodge.

DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pritchett, the 2018 Factory Stock Showdown Series champion, and former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk.

Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
READ FULL DSR ARTICLE HERE