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NHRA: Schumacher to Debut New Exide Dragster in Houston

31 March 1999

Park Ridge, Illinois -- Tony Schumacher will be wheeling a brand new Exide Batteries Top Fuel Dragster at the NHRA O'Reilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil April 8 - 11 at Houston Raceway Park. The Murf McKinney-built dragster was tested successfully on March 22 and 23 at Gainesville Raceway and replaces the 1998 Exide dragster which broke through the 330 MPH barrier a month ago.

Crew chief Dan Olson modified the team's1998 McKinney dragster to suit his engine and drivetrain combination and ordered the new car built to his exacting specifications.

"It's mostly a matter of weight and balance," explained Olson. "The new car will be a few pounds lighter and the weight distribution is improved. There's nothing wrong with the old car and we'll take it with us as a backup."

The "old car" ran 4.540 at 330.23 in Phoenix on February 28 and set track speed records of 324.75 MPH at Pomona Raceway and 325.77 MPH at Gainesville Raceway, a clean sweep thus far in 1999.

"Weight is critical but we actually added some support in the roll cage and we're working on a fitted seat to make Tony more comfortable," added Olson. "Mechanically it should respond just like the old car."

The Exide team has been fine-tuning its equipment following a disappointing first round loss at the Mac Tools Gatornationals.

"Houston was good to us last year," recalled Schumacher. "We beat Joe Amato, Kenny Bernstein and Cory MacClenathan, but Gary Scelzi beat us in the final. I can't think of a better place for our first victory."

"The new car feels really good and we should be able to run a little quicker because it's a few pounds lighter. A dozen cars are out there running in the 4.50s and we have to run quicker if we want to win races," said Tony.

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