NHRA NEWS: Q & A WITH US. ARMY TEAMMATES TONY
SCHUMACHER AND ANGELLE SAMPEY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: NHRA Communications Dept., (626) 914-4761
NHRA Q & A: U.S. ARMY TEAMMATES TOP FUEL DRIVER TONY SCHUMACHER
AND PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE RIDER ANGELLE SAMPEY ARE PROVEN WINNERS AT
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY
MOHNTON, Pa. - U.S. Army teammates Tony Schumacher and
Angelle Sampey have had great success at Maple Grove Raceway. Top Fuel
driver Schumacher has won the upcoming Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals three
times, all in the past three years (2003-2005). He is looking to
continue that winning formula going for a track-record four wins in a
row. Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Sampey has won the event six times to
tie her with Funny Car driver John Force with the most wins at the
track. In advance of the $1.5 million Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, Sept.
14-17, Schumacher and Sampey answered some questions about their success
at Maple Grove, the points championship, and their relationship with the
U.S. Army. Photos of Schumacher and Sampey are available at
media.nhra.com <http://media.nhra.com/> .
Q: You have had great success at Maple Grove Raceway, what do you
attribute that to?
SCHUMACHER: "To be honest, I don't know why some tracks are better for
some drivers and crew chiefs than others. The only factors that I can
point towards are possibly comfort and confidence. When you have success
at a particular facility, it usually breeds success."
SAMPEY: "I agree with Tony on all fronts. Maple Grove just happens to be
one track that I do well at. Of course, there are some tracks I wish
weren't on the schedule. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if all of the Pro
Stock Motorcycle races were in Reading. I'd be a happy camper."
Q: Tony, you are going for four wins in a row at Maple Grove, just like
at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Do you feel good about your
chances and do you have that in the back of your mind as you come to the
event?
SCHUMACHER: "We're certainly optimistic going into Maple Grove given our
win in Indy. With that said, no matter where the next race happened
to be, that would simply be the next important race. We're in the middle
of a heated championship chase right now and every round is extremely
important. We're hopeful that the positive numbers we've put up in
Reading in the past will be there again next weekend."
Q: Angelle, eight of the last 10 years you have been to the final round,
only missing in 1997 and 1999. You could be going for your fifth win in
a row, but you lost to Michael Phillips in 2003. Do you wish you could
have that race back?
SAMPEY: "You always want to get any race that you lost back. I'd love
to replay that final round in Indy from last weekend. Any time you have
an opportunity to win a race, you have to close the deal regardless of
the venue. At this point in time with where I'm at in the standings (98
points back in third), I have to win in Reading to keep pace with (U.S.
Army teammate) Antron (Brown) and (leader) Andrew Hines."
Q: Angelle, you are tied with John Force with six wins at Maple Grove,
who is going to get No. 7 first?
SAMPEY: "I certainly hope it's me," she said with a laugh. "Seriously,
I'm not thinking of things like that, to be honest. I just need a win
real bad to remain in championship contention."
Q: The area is steeped in military history. Since both of you represent
the U.S. Army, do you think about that and do you visit a lot of troops
when you come here?
SCHUMACHER: "The area is definitely full of military history. Specific
to the U.S. Army, we're constantly in contact with our troops be it in
the Reading area or otherwise. Personally, I can't have enough contact
with those men and women. They're the ones who are allowing us to do
what we do every day. I like the freedom that they provide us."
SAMPEY: "I'm always thinking about our troops no matter where we're
racing. It's nice to have them at the races. In Reading, the U.S. Army
team is actually going to be hosting a group of students from West
Point. I'm looking forward to that."
Q: Both of you hold track records in your respective categories (Tony -
time and speed, Angelle - time), yet nothing has changed in any category
since 2004. Any ideas why?
SCHUMACHER: "It's hard to say. Weather plays so much of a factor when
we get to Reading. Of course, now, all of the fuel teams have to deal
with the rev limiter rules. That's a huge deal right there."
SAMPEY: "I'm pretty confident, if the weather is right, my e.t. track
record will fall this year. We've had some sub-seven second runs
already this year, one which just happened in Indy."
Q: Reading will be the last event in August 2007 for the Countdown to
the Championship before being pared down to eight. Any thoughts?
SCHUMACHER: "Well, I'll certainly be hoping that we're locked into the
top eight by that time. Then, we can use the Reading race as a stepping
stone to bigger and better things later."
SAMPEY: "We'll have less races before cut down day (11 for Pro Stock
Motorcycle, 17 for Top Fuel) than Tony will have, so every race,
including Reading, will be critical. Next year will be a little more
pressure-packed than previous years, that's for sure."
Q: The race for the championship is extremely close right now in Top
Fuel. Only 54 points separate you and Doug Kalitta, with Brandon
Bernstein in third only 96 points away. What should we look for from
Tony Schumacher in the final five events?
SCHUMACHER: "Hopefully, many more wins - like, maybe, five? One can
figure out pretty quickly what's necessary for us to win our third
straight NHRA POWERade title - we have to make up at least a round a
race on Doug, while staying a round up on Brandon as well. If you throw
in some good qualifying performances, then that should do the trick for
us. It's going to be exciting and fun the next couple of months. I'm
looking forward to the challenge."
-30-
Brian Hacker
NHRA, Media Relations Manager
O - 626-250-2424
C - 626-428-0280
