AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
Event 20 of 24 (St. Louis)
NHRA Countdown, Event 2 of 6
Gateway Motorsports Park
Madison, Illinois
September 21-23, 2018
DSR St. Louis Saturday Highlights:
- The DSR Top Fuel contingent will start race day from the top half of the field
- Jack Beckman, Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. will begin their St. Louis Funny Car title chase from top half starting positions
- Capps and Johnson earn bonus points for making ‘top three’ passes on Saturday
- Capps earned bonus points during all four qualifying rounds
- Leah Pritchett made the first official seven-second Factory Stock Showdown Series pass (7.936) to claim the No. 2 starting position
- Mark Pawuk made the second official sub-eight second FSXX run, resetting the class
- E.T. record to earn the No. 1 qualifying spot (7.929)
- Pawuk and Pritchett earned round one FSXX victories
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information:
Funny Car
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 4 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 13 Del Worsham
The Results:
Q1: 4.033 E.T. at 313.07 MPH
Q2: 3.918 E.T. at 326.40 MPH
Q3: 3.956 E.T. at 324.44 MPH
Q4: 3.896 E.T. at 327.11 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: One
Quotable:
On his wild Q4 pass:
“I tell you what, that might be about as close as I ever got to lifting. It picked the front end up and I knew it was trucking, and I thought ‘oh man, just please stay over here.’ It went a little left, I turned the wheel, when it sat it down it shot me right back in the groove. Great job by the guys. That was awesome. (Crew chief) John (Collins) said if it makes it, it won’t run a 91, and he was right.”
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 SRT Hellcat, 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 also campaigns two Sportsman teams. The two-car Factory Stock Showdown duo is piloted by Pritchett and veteran Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk. Both drivers compete in Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks.
DSR has won 330 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.