Menard’s NHRA Heartland Nationals
presented by Minties
Event 8 of 24 (Topeka)
Heartland Motorsports Park
Topeka, Kan.
May 18-20, 2018
Noteworthy:
- Don Schumacher Racing ‘doubled up’ winning in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at the 2017 event:
Top Fuel – Antron Brown
Funny Car – Ron Capps - Matt Hagan raced to a runner-up finish in 2017 and won the 2016 event, both from the No. 1 qualifying spot
- Brown has been a final round contender the past two years
- Tony Schumacher and Hagan claimed the 2017 No. 1 qualifying spots while resetting the track Top Fuel and Funny Car E.T. records
- Leah Pritchett enters the race weekend fresh off of her first event win of 2018 (Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.)
- A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, Tommy Johnson Jr. considers Heartland Motorsports Park to be his hometown track
- Brown will wheel a special Matco’s ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery to benefit the Fisher House Foundation
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.660-seconds, Tony Schumacher (2017)
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.802-seconds, Matt Hagan (2017)
Funny Car, speed: 338.85-mph, Matt Hagan (2017)
(Excerpt)
DSR Driver Information/Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
NHRA Topeka Event Highlights:
Two-time runner-up (1999, 2005)
2017 Topeka Recap:
Qualified fifth; First round exit (defeated by Del Worsham in E1)
Last event (Atlanta):
Qualified third; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Jim Campbell in E1; defeated by Matt Hagan in E2)
2018 Season Statistics:
Nine round wins; Ranked fourth in points
Career Statistics:
429 races; 17 wins (two Top Fuel); 15 No. 1 qualifiers (one Top Fuel)
Notable:
A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, considers Heartland Motorsports Park to be his hometown track
Quotable:
“Topeka has always been one of my favorite tracks. It’s close to where I grew up, so I always see a lot of family and friends there. It’s also where I became a part of the ‘four-second’ club years ago, so it’s always held a lot of special memories. It’s a great race track, and I’m looking forward to seeing if we can get the performance of these cars back on track with the new track prep. Going to be some warm temperatures, so difficult to navigate, but we learned a lot in Atlanta, and hopefully that will help us.
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 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 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.