Bristol Pre-Race Report
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Event 11 of 24 (Bristol)
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tennessee

June 15-17, 2018

Noteworthy:

• Ron Capps returns as the defending Funny Car event champion
• All DSR Funny Car final in 2017 (Capps vs. Jack Beckman)
• Leah Pritchett returns as the Top Fuel event runner-up
• Tony Schumacher is the winningest driver in Bristol Dragway history with five TF wins: 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
• Capps is tied with John Force for most FC wins (four) at Bristol Dragway: 2001, 2006, 2012, 2017
• Schumacher leads the TF class in number of No. 1 qualifiers (four) at Bristol: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2015
• Pritchett will pull double-duty, competing in both Top Fuel and the Factory Stock Showdown for the third time in 2018
• DSR’s newest driver, Mark Pawuk, will make his Factory Stock Showdown debut, driving the Empaco Equiment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
• Antron Brown will compete against ‘Papa’ John Schnatter in the Papa John’s Charity Challenge to benefit the Infinite Hero Foundation on Saturday
• A donation check in the amount of $20K will be presented to IHF, bringing this year’s running total to $100K
• The U.S. Army Top Fuel driver trio of Brown, Pritchett and Schumacher will help recognize the U.S. Army’s 243rd birthday during trackside ceremonies on Saturday
• As a resident of Christiansburg, Va., Matt Hagan considers Bristol Dragway to be a home track

  DSR-Owned Track Records:
  Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.745-seconds, Tony Schumacher (2015)
  Funny Car, E.T.: 3.884-secs, Ron Capps (2016)

DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:

TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T

NHRA Bristol Event Highlights:
Two-time event champion (2014, 2016)

2017 Bristol Recap:
Qualified eighth; Semifinal finish (defeated Jonnie Lindberg in E1, Tim Wilkerson in E2; defeated by Jack Beckman in E3)

Last event (Richmond):
Qualified tenth; First round exit (defeated by John Force in E1)

2018 Season Statistics:
Ten round wins; Ranked seventh in points

Career Statistics:
432 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 15 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)

Quotable:
“We’re really looking forward to Bristol. I think we will start to turn a corner there. Last weekend was frustrating, but we feel confident in the new car and we’re starting to figure it out. The Make-A-Wish team has been very successful on Father’s Day in years past, and we hope to have more of that success this weekend.”

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown and the Mopar/Papa John’s Pizza/Pennzoil/FireAde/U.S. Army dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in Terry and Doug Chandler’s Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Chandlers’ Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.

DSR also campaigns two Sportsman teams. The two-car Factory Stock Showdown duo is piloted by Pritchett and veteran Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk. Both drivers compete in Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks.

DSR has won 321 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.

Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.