DSR Chicago Post-Race Recap

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JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Event 9 of 24 (Chicago)
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Illinois
June 1-3, 2018

DSR Chicago Elimination Highlights:

  • DSR put Leah Pritchett and Ron Capps in the Top Fuel and Funny Car final rounds at team owner Don Schumacher’s hometown event near Chicago
  • Pritchett reached her second final round appearance in the last three races
  • Capps raced to his first runner-up finish of the 2018 NHRA season
  • Pritchett moved to third in the Top Fuel points standings
  • Jack Beckman remains ranked second in Funny Car points after a quarterfinal finish

(Excerpt)

Driver Information:
Funny Car

TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 10 (4.011 E.T. at 323.35 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 5.874 E.T. at 97.84 MPH defeated by Shawn Langdon 4.475 E.T. at 250.00 MPH

Race Recap:
Steady improvement during qualifying provided Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. with encouragement heading into a first-round eliminations fight with Shawn Langdon. Gunning for his second career win at Joliet, Johnson left first with a .076 reaction time to Langdon’s slower .097. That promising start ended with a boom under the hood near the 300-foot mark that cracked Johnson’s Funny Car body nearly in half, with the vehicle slowing to a stop and Johnson emerging quickly and safely.

Quotable:
“A little frustrating, the track surface was giving everyone fits first round. The cars won’t stay hooked up. We went out there and it spun the tires. I couldn’t see Shawn (Langdon) at that point, but it’s race day so you try and get back in it and do everything you can to get it down to the finish line. I just touched the throttle and it blew up. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll regroup and go on to the next one.”

NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Points Standings:

Funny Car
1 Courtney Force – 728
2 Jack Beckman – 647
3 Robert Hight – 624
4 Matt Hagan – 601
5 J.R. Todd – 539
6 Ron Capps – 535
7 Tommy Johnson Jr. – 522
8 Cruz Pedregon – 433
9 Shawn Langdon – 429
10 John Force – 383

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.