Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Event 9 of 24 (Chicago)
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
May 31 – June 2, 2019
Noteworthy:
- With back-to-back victories at the past two events, Ron Capps enters the race weekend seeking his third consecutive win
- Capps has raced to the Chicago final round the past three years in a row, winning in 2017 and finishing as the runner-up in 2016 and 2018
- Capps will continue to campaign the lucky ‘NAPA Brakes’ livery in Joliet. NAPA Brakes was intended to be a one-time look for Capps but has extended to its third race due to Capps’ recent on-track successes
- Leah Pritchett made a run to the Chicago Top Fuel final in 2018, finishing as the event runner-up
- Matt Hagan nabbed the 2018 Funny Car pole
- Antron Brown has both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle Route 66 Raceway Wally trophies
- Hometown track for Chicago native and 2019 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee, Don Schumacher
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Chicago Event Highlights:
- 2015 event champion
- Three-time runner-up (2003, 2014, 2017)
- Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2006, 2014)
2018 Chicago Recap:
Qualified tenth; First round exit (defeated by Shawn Langdon in E1)
Last Event (Richmond):
Qualified second; Semifinal finish (defeated Terry Haddock in E1, Jack Beckman in E2; defeated by Ron Capps in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
11 round wins; ranked fourth in points
Career Statistics:
454 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 18 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Quotable:
“Chicago is one of those tracks where we seem to turn a corner for the season, and this season we’ve already been running well. So maybe this year, we’ve started turning that corner a little sooner than normal. I’ve won Chicago in the past and been runner-up there a few times, so I’m looking forward to getting back there. We’re coming up on the summer months and our team seems to excel in the heat, so hopefully, we can kick off this four-in-a-row with a win.”
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.