Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis
Event 4 of 18
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
July 18-19, 2020
Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis Update:
Due to persistent rain showers, Sunday’s final elimination round at the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis has been postponed until the NHRA U.S. Nationals, September 4-6. A date has not yet been announced for the rescheduled final round.
Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan both advanced to the Funny Car final round, and will battle it out for the trophy during the to-be-announced rescheduled date and time.
DSR Elimination Highlights:
- By advancing to the final round, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan ensure DSR will win a Funny Car trophy when the final round is contested during the NHRA U.S. Nationals
- Sunday marked the eighth consecutive event where DSR campaigned a Funny Car in the final round, and had the finals run on schedule, would have ensured a seventh consecutive Funny Car Wally trophy and win No. 349 for DSR
- Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Hagan maintained their stronghold on the Funny Car category, and occupy the first three spots in the point standings
- Hagan ran low E.T. of every round on race day
- Leah Pruett advanced to the semifinals in Top Fuel and moved into the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard
(EXCERPT)
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 2 (4.017 E.T. at 300.86 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.123 E.T. at 278.06 MPH defeated Bob Bode 4.275 E.T. at 235.31 MPH
E2: 3.979 E.T. at 317.57 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon 5.902 E.T. at 118.04 MPH
E3: 4.027 E.T. at 309.56 MPH defeated by Jack Beckman 3.969 E.T. at 321.65 MPH
Race Recap:
Fresh off a runner-up finish from the pole at last weekend’s Indianapolis event, Tommy Johnson Jr. looked prime for another long race day of going rounds. He started Sunday morning from the No. 2 position on the ladder, and his strong showing in qualifying moved him temporarily into the Funny Car point lead ahead of teammate Jack Beckman.
Johnson began his elimination run by defeating Bob Bode in the first round and powering the MD Anderson Dodge to the second-quickest pass of round two to trailer Cruz Pedregon. The semifinal round featured a DSR ‘giving car’ match-up with Johnson set to square off against Beckman. Johnson was out of the gate first and made a solid pass, but his 4.027 couldn’t keep up with Beckman’s 3.969 E.T. By taking the round win, Beckman moved back into the Funny Car point lead with Johnson, the 2020 Phoenix winner, now occupying second place.
Quotable:
“It was another good weekend for this MD Anderson Dodge team and we’re just keeping our momentum going. Another solid qualifying effort and some more round wins. We just didn’t have enough in the semis against (Jack) Beckman, but I’m very happy with how our team is performing. (Matt) Hagan’s car is running great and it’s shaping up as a three-way DSR Funny Car battle for the championship and I’m glad we’re a part of it. It’s fun. We’re getting quite a bit of data for racing here and in hot, humid conditions, and that will continue to benefit us during these summer months. We get a few weekends off and the team needs that before we get to go after that Wally trophy here at Indy in three weeks.”
NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta – 364
2. Leah Pruett – 269
3. Billy Torrence – 242
4. Steve Torrence – 232
5. Justin Ashley – 231/251*
6. Antron Brown – 230
7. Shawn Langdon – 183
7. Clay Millican – 183
9. Terry McMillen – 177
10. Brittany Force – 153
Funny Car
1. Jack Beckman – 372/392*
2. Tommy Johnson Jr. – 355
3. Matt Hagan – 329/349*
4. Tim Wilkerson – 239
5. Bob Tasca III – 230
6. Ron Capps – 196
6. J.R. Todd – 196
8. Alexis DeJoria – 186
9. John Force – 173
10. Cruz Pedregon – 149
*Denotes potential point total based on winning the to-be-contested Indy 2 final round.
About Don Schumacher Racing:
Established in 1998 as a single-car Top Fuel team, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) has grown to become the winningest organization in NHRA Drag Racing history. Including team owner Don Schumacher’s five NHRA Funny Car titles from the 1970s, DSR’s current win count stands at 347, and DSR is looking forward to reaching the ‘350 milestone’ early in the 2020 season. DSR owns 17 world championships in three different NHRA categories.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR currently fields eight professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the Nordic Boats/Revchem Composites/Hawkeye Industries dragster driven by Cory McClenathan, the Mopar/Pennzoil/Okuma dragster driven by Leah Pruett, and the Global Electronic Technology machine driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher. 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 two-time series title-holder Matt Hagan, and in 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 MD Anderson Dodge.
DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pruett, 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.