DSR Gainesville Pre-Race Report

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Gainesville Pre-Race Report
NHRA Gatornationals
Event 3 of 24 (Gainesville)
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 16-18, 2018

Noteworthy:

  • Tony Schumacher returns as the defending Top Fuel event champion and No. 1 qualifier
  • With five victories, Schumacher is the winningest Top Fuel driver in Gainesville Raceway history
  • Matt Hagan enters the 2018 event as the Funny Car points leader
  • Tommy Johnson Jr. enters Gainesville fresh off of a Funny Car final round appearance from the previous race in Phoenix
  • Leah Pritchett is competing in three events during the weekend: Top Fuel, Factory Stock Showdown, and the Papa John’s Charity Challenge
  • All DSR Top Fuel final in 2017 (Tony Schumacher vs. Antron Brown)
  • The late Terry Chandler will be honored with the 2018 Patricia Garlits Memorial Award ahead of the race weekend
  • Antron Brown made his NHRA debut at the 1998 event competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle
  • At age 15, Tommy Johnson Jr. became the youngest driver to enter a national event when he competed in the 1984 Gatornationals in the Super Gas category

DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.682-secs, Tony Schumacher (2017)
Top Fuel, speed: 329.26-mph, Tony Schumacher (2017)

DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:

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

2017 Gatornationals Recap:
Qualified fifth; Semifinal finish (Defeated Cruz Pedregon in E1, Jim Campbell in E2; defeated by John Force in E3)

Last event (Phoenix):
Qualified sixth; Runner-up (Defeated Robert Hight in E1, Richard Townsend in E2, Shawn Langdon in E3; defeated by Courtney Force in E4)

2018 Season Statistics:
Three round wins; Ranked fifth in points

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

Noteworthy:
At age 15, Tommy Johnson Jr. became the youngest driver to enter a national event when he competed in the 1984 Gatornationals in the Super Gas category

Quotable:
“Gainesville is a special place for me because it was the first national event I ever raced in. Looking forward to going back there this year coming off of a runner-up in Phoenix. Hope to carry the momentum. Our car is starting to run better and better and hopefully we can reduce some of the parts damage we had in Phoenix, improve the performance, and go one round further.”

(Excerpt | Full Article)

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/Sandvik Coromant 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 has won 319 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.

Media Contact:
Allison McCormick
Public Relations Manager
Don Schumacher Racing
McCormickA@ShoeRacing.com
(305) 764-5377