DSR Charlotte I Pre-Race Report

You are currently viewing DSR Charlotte I Pre-Race Report

NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Event 6 of 24 (Charlotte I)
zMAX Dragway
Concord, N.C.
April 26-28, 2019


Noteworthy:

  • Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car) enter the race weekend fresh off of final round appearances at the previous event (Houston)
  • Brown leads the Top Fuel class in most zMAX Dragway victories (five):
    • Spring: 2014, 2015
    • Fall: 2011, 2015, 2016
  • Leah Pritchett will pull double-duty for the second time in 2018 as she continues to defend her Factory Stock Showdown Series title while chasing her first Top Fuel championship
  • Pritchett secured her career-first Factory Stock Showdown pole at the 2018 event

(EXCERPT)

DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:

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

2018 Charlotte I Recap:
Qualified third; Semifinal finish (defeated John Smith, Matt Hagan in E1, Robert Hight, Ron Capps in E2; defeated by Cruz Pedregon, John Force in E3)

Last Event (Houston):
Qualified 11th; First round exit (defeated by Matt Hagan in E1)

2019 Season Statistics:
Seven round wins; ranked sixth in points

Career Statistics:
451 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 18 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)

Noteworthy:

  • Two-time zMAX Dragway No. 1 qualifier and runner-up:
    • Fall: 2015, 2016

Quotable:
“I’m looking forward to Charlotte. We were runner-up a few weeks ago at the Vegas Four-Wide Nationals. We came close. I’ve been to a four-wide final a few times now so hopefully we can put a win in the books this weekend. The four-wide format is an interesting challenge, but I enjoy it.

“My family lives in the Charlotte area and my mom hasn’t been doing well, so I’d love nothing more than to park our Make-A-Wish Hellcat in the winner’s circle this weekend and cheer her up a little.”


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