NHRA Four-Wide Nationals (Las Vegas I)
Pre-Race Report
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Event 4 of 24 (Las Vegas I)
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
April 6-8, 2018
(EXCERPT)
Noteworthy:
- Don Schumacher Racing ‘doubled up’ winning in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at the 2017 event, marking the organization’s 300th victory
- Funny Car winner- Tommy Johnson Jr., DSR win No. 299
- Top Fuel winner- Antron Brown, DSR win No. 300
- Inaugural Las Vegas Four-Wide event
- Johnson celebrates a birthday on Friday, April 6
- DSR-Owned Track Records:
- Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.673-seconds, Schumacher (Las Vegas II, 2017)
- Funny Car, E.T.: 3.854-secs, Beckman (Las Vegas II, 2017)
- Funny Car, speed: 335.57-mph, Beckman (Las Vegas II, 2017)
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
NHRA Las Vegas I Event Highlights:
Two-time event winner (2001, 2017)
2017 Las Vegas I Recap:
Qualified sixth; Event champion (Defeated Jim Campbell in E1, Robert Hight in E2, John Force in E3, Jonnie Lindberg in E4)
Last event (Gainesville):
Qualified fifth; Quarterfinal finish (Defeated Cruz Pedregon in E1; defeated by Shawn Langdon in E2)
2018 Season Statistics:
Four round wins; Ranked sixth in points
Career Statistics:
425 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 15 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Notable:
Returns as the defending event champion
Celebrates a birthday on Friday, April 6
Quotable:
“It’s neat to be part of a first event like this, and it’s going to be really cool. This will be a unique one. I’ve heard from a lot of fans on the West Coast at the first two races who are excited to see four-wide racing for the first time.
“It definitely takes a lot more thinking as a driver, because there’s a lot more going on. You have to have your act together and be aware of what’s going on. Me, personally, I like it. It adds a new level of difficulty, but if you can overcome that and excel at it, it gives you an advantage. There’s certain things you have to add to your routine just because of this event. It’s just another level of having to remind yourself. You can easily fall back into habits that can really bite you.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Vegas after winning there last season. It has always been one of my favorite tracks, and I’ve always done really well there. It’ll be a bit different this time around, running ‘four wide’ instead of the normal two, but I don’t mind four-wide racing at all. I feel sometimes it gives certain people an advantage so I enjoy that. We’ll see if we can’t go back and repeat and kick the wins off this season. We’ll just do it four at a time instead of two.”
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 320 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.