MOPAR Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil
Event 5 of 24 (Houston)
Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, Texas
April 12-14, 2019
Noteworthy:
- Leah Pritchett reset the Houston Raceway Park E.T. record to capture the Top Fuel pole in 2018
- Antron Brown won his first Top Fuel title at the 2008 Houston event
- Matt Hagan won his first Funny Car Wally at the 2010 event
- Jack Beckman will wheel a special one-race-only MD Anderson tribute livery in honor of the late Terry Chandler
- Note: the MD Anderson Funny Car livery will be unveiled on the starting line during Q1
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.680 seconds, Leah Pritchett (2018)
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
NHRA Houston Event Highlights:
- 2002 event runner-up
2018 Houston Recap:
Qualified seventh; First round exit (defeated by J.R. Todd in E1)
Last Event (Las Vegas I):
Qualified tenth; Event runner-up (defeated Bob Tasca III, Terry Haddock in E1, John Force, Ron Capps in E2, Jack Beckman, Tim Wilkerson in E3; defeated by J.R. Todd in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
Seven round wins; ranked third in points
Career Statistics:
450 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 18 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Quotable:
“Looking forward to Houston this week especially since it’s a Pennzoil and MOPAR race. The way our car is running, we’ve seem to put all of our early-season problems behind us and now we’re coming off of a runner-up from the past race. Pretty confident a win is coming shortly. Our team is doing so well, and hopefully Houston is where we can get it done and collect the first of many Wally trophies this season.”
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.