U.S. Army Racing: Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Pomona Race Report - Tony Schumacher & Antron Brown

Date: Feb. 14, 2016
Event: 56th Annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals (Round 1 of 24)
Series: Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Location: Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California
Winner: Steve Torrence of Torrence Racing
U.S. Army Racing Finish: Antron Brown qualified 7th, 
lost to Doug Kalitta in the second round.


  
Tony Schumacher qualified 3rd, lost to Terry McMillen in the first round.

 
The final results weren't what the U.S. Army duo of Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher and Antron Brown were looking for, but some stellar moments along the way were enough to leave them hopeful for yet another Top Fuel championship run despite their early exits from Sunday's elimination rounds of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season-opening 56th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

 
Schumacher, the eight-time world champion, came to town fresh off a head-turning run of 3.683 seconds in testing his U.S. Army Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) in Phoenix, and he promptly laid down the fastest qualifying lap on opening day Friday here at Pomona, followed by a solid, heat-of-the-day qualifying run Saturday in preparation for today's elimination rounds.

 
But the third-seeded Schumacher's opening-round run against No. 14 Terry McMillen was hampered when he lost a cylinder at the start of his 1,000-foot trip down the dragstrip and McMillen was able to steal the upset victory. Schumacher crossed the line in 3.893 seconds at 299.06 mph while McMillen lit the win light in 3.837 seconds at 314.31.

 
"We've got some parts and pieces that are really, really great, but they're not exact, yet," said the disappointed but still enthusiastic Schumacher. "Sometimes there's just no reason for them to do that, so you've just got to suck it up and go to the next race. We've got a really great racecar. You can't judge it by that one run. You hate to start off the season that way, but it is what it is."

 
Brown, the defending Top Fuel world champion and driver of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Dragster for DSR who qualified No. 7 this weekend, enjoyed a strong and methodical first-round victory over DSR teammate and No. 10 qualifier Shawn Langdon, who swept both Pomona events last season. Brown got down the track in 3.768 seconds at 320.97 mph while a tire-hazing Langdon crossed the finish line in 5.478 seconds at 132.78 mph. That earned Brown a second-round meeting against No. 2 qualifier Doug Kalitta.

 
Brown took a slim but early advantage over Kalitta before dropping a cylinder 200 feet from the finish and was clipped at the line by just five-thousandths of a second. Brown came in at 3.803 seconds at 317.72 mph to Kalitta's 3.785 seconds at 323.97 mph.

 
"It was a good drag race," said Brown, whose 2015 world title was the second of his career. "We were pushing hard but they just got the best us. We learned a lot and we gained a lot with some of the new stuff we've been bringing to the table. This weekend, here, the bad part of that run there was that we were out in front of him down the whole racetrack before we dropped a hole at 800 feet. That would've been enough to get him because we were ahead of him by almost two-hundredths at half-track. So, our package was strong enough to run a high 78 or 79 (3.78 or 3.79), good enough to get the win. But we're just going to bring it all together and build from there at our next race at Phoenix. We'll get our game faces on and hit it hard. You know, this class is ridiculously competitive right now, but this is the way we want it."

 
Kalitta, the second-round victor over Brown, advanced to the Top Fuel final today for the 82nd time in his career, where he was beaten by No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence. It was Torrence's eighth Top Fuel event title and his 12th overall.

 
After one round of the 24-event NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for 2016, the top-10 drivers the Top Fuel standings are:

1. Steve Torrence (126 points)
2. Doug Kalitta (94 points, -32)
3. Richie Crampton (77 points, -49)
4. J.R. Todd (72 points, -54)
5. Clay Millican (57 points, -69)
6. Morgan Lucas (52 points, -74)
7. Antron Brown (48 points, -78)
8. Terry McMillen (46 points, -80)
9. Tony Schumacher (42 points, -84)
10. Brittany Force (37 points, -89)

 
Next up is the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix two weeks hence, Feb. 26-28. New broadcast partner FS1 will carry Sunday's elimination rounds live in a three-hour show beginning at 5 p.m. EST.