Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil
Event No. 5
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
August 8-9, 2020
DSR Qualifying Highlights:
- Tommy Johnson Jr. piloted the MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat across the finish line in 3.976-seconds at 318.54-mph to pace the Funny Car field on Saturday during the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil
- Johnson’s No. 1 qualifier was the 20th of his career, and second of the 2020 season
- Joining Johnson at the top of the Funny Car timesheet are the No. 2 and No. 3 qualifiers Matt Hagan and Ron Capps
By qualifying his Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat second, Hagan will square off with teammate Jack Beckman in round one of eliminations, setting up an ‘unofficial preview’ of the Indy 2 final round. The two Mopar-powered teammates were set to battle it out at the last event before the race was postponed due to rain. The Indy 2 final is rescheduled for the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indy. - The dragster trio of Antron Brown, Cory McClenathan, and Leah Pruett all qualified in the quick-half of the Top Fuel field, with Pruett leading the way. She will start race day from the No. 3 spot behind the wheel of the Dodge SRT Hellcat Redeye dragster
- Tommy Johnson Jr. Leads the Funny Car Field at Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (August 8, 2020) – Tommy Johnson Jr. piloted the MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat across the finish line in 3.976-seconds at 318.54-mph to pace the Funny Car field on Saturday during the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil. It was the 20th time in his career that the Avon, Ind. resident captured the pole, and the second time he has secured the No. 1 spot since the NHRA season resumed last month after a four-month hiatus due to COVID-19.
Johnson, a two-time event finalist in 2020, will face No. 16 qualifier Alexis DeJoria in round one of eliminations on Sunday morning at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, and he is looking to build on the strong momentum he has enjoyed throughout the first four races of the season.
“We have a really solid race car here at Indy,” said Johnson, who raced to victory at the Phoenix event in February before finishing as the runner-up from the pole at Indy 1, and finishing as a semifinalist at Indy 2. “Three races here and we’ve been No. 1, 2 and No. 1 again. That gives you a ton of confidence going into race day knowing you have such a good car. Now if we can just turn these No. 1 qualifying positions into a win. We’ve gone rounds at these first two Indy races, the only thing left on the plate is a win.”
Johnson, who sits No. 2 in points behind teammate Jack Beckman, will be competing for career win No. 21, and DSR’s seventh consecutive Funny Car trophy. If he advances to the final, it will be the ninth consecutive event that drag racing’s winningest organization has campaigned a Dodge Funny Car in the final round.
The Competition: No. 16 Alexis DeJoria
The Results:
Q1: 3.976 E.T. at 318.54 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Q2: 4.141 E.T. at 244.12 MPH
Bonus Points: Three
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 348, 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 seven 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, and the Mopar/Pennzoil/Okuma dragster driven by Leah Pruett. 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.