NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Event 4 of 24 (Las Vegas I)
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
April 5-7, 2019
DSR Las Vegas I Elimination Highlights:
- Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to a runner-up finish during his 450th professional event
- Johnson and Jack Beckman advanced to the Funny Car final elimination quad
- All four DSR Dodge Hellcats set off the win lights in round one
- Longtime Jack Beckman/DSR supporters Rodger and Karen Comstock generously donated $15,000 to the Infinite Hero Foundation on behalf of MTS and Descansando Properties during Sunday’s DSR pre-race ceremonies (accompanying photo beneath driver standings)
Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 10 (3.952 E.T. at 319.45 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.234 E.T. at 229.27 MPH defeated Bob Tasca III 4.332 E.T. at 268.65 MPH, Terry Haddock 4.302 E.T. at 289.88 MPH
E2: 3.994 E.T. at 315.93 MPH defeated John Force 4.025 E.T. at 321.81 MPH, Ron Capps 4.037 E.T. at 315.05 MPH
E3: 3.975 E.T. at 313.29 MPH defeated Jack Beckman 4.370 E.T. at 213.16 MPH, Tim Wilkerson 4.401 E.T. at 205.35 MPH; defeated by J.R. Todd 3.970 E.T. at 319.07 MPH
Race Recap:
Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to a runner-up finish on Sunday at his 450th professional event. For the second year in a row, Johnson and the John Collins-led Make-A-Wish Foundation Funny Car team raced for the Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Wally trophy by advancing to the final eliminations quad.
After registering a winning E.T. in round one, Johnson faced tough competition in his round two matchup. The stacked quad featured Jack Beckman and Ron Capps behind the wheel of their DSR Dodges, and Funny Car juggernaut John Force. Johnson was quick off the starting line clocking the best reaction time of the group, and powered his Hellcat to the quickest lap of the round, lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.994 E.T.
The final eliminations quad pitted Johnson against fellow ‘giving car’ pilot Jack Beckman, reigning world champion J.R. Todd, and No. 1 qualifier Tim Wilkerson. Johnson laid down another solid pass and maintained pace with Todd until just before the finish line when Todd pulled ahead and captured the win. Johnson’s performance was recorded as a runner-up finish and the two-time LVMS winner jumped up to third in the Funny Car rankings.
Quotable:
“It was an interesting day for sure. For all four cars to lose traction in the first round, but get the win and set low E.T. in the second round was really good. We were confident going into the final round. We knew we had a good race car. We just came up a tick short. We got our car back and we’re really close to getting a win. It was a good points day and we moved up to third. I feel we got the bad luck out of the way and I’m looking forward to the next few races with Houston and Charlotte in April. We have a really good car with this Make-A-Wish Dodge.”
NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta – 319
2. Mike Salinas – 286
3. Steve Torrence – 256
4. Leah Pritchett – 244
5. Richie Crampton – 233
6. Clay Millican – 231
6. Billy Torrence – 231
8. Brittany Force – 224
9. Terry McMillen – 198
10. Antron Brown – 184
Funny Car
1. Robert Hight – 363
2. Jack Beckman – 297
3. Tommy Johnson Jr. – 283
4. J.R. Todd – 280
5. Matt Hagan – 271
6. John Force – 258
7. Tim Wilkerson – 246
8. Ron Capps – 205
9. Bob Tasca III – 198
10. Cruz Pedregon – 179
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.