JCM Charlotte II Pre-Race Report

Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Event 18 of 22 Countdown Event 2 of 6 zMAX Dragway Concord, N.C. Sept. 23-25, 2022

TONY SCHUMACHER Driver of the Scag Power Equipment Top Fuel Dragster

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 12th

Charlotte II Event Highlights:

• Two-time event champion (2008, 2014)

• Two-time runner-up (2012, 2013)

• 2011 No. 1 qualifier

2018 Charlotte II Recap:

Qualified sixth; Semifinal finish (defeated Antron Brown in E1, Clay Millican in E2; defeated by Steve Torrence in E3)

Note: Did Not Compete in 2019, 2021; 2020 canceled due to COVID

Last Event (Reading):

Qualified 11th; First round exit (defeated by Clay Millican in E1)

Career Statistics:

529 races; 86 event wins; 88 No. 1 qualifiers

2022 Statistics:

17 races; one win; one runner-up finish

Noteworthy:

• Schumacher will make his first Carolina Nationals appearance since 2018

• So far in 2022, Schumacher has one win (Seattle), and one runner-up finish (Brainerd, Minn.)

• The winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history is vying for his ninth series title

Fan Events:

Schumacher and the SCAG Power Equipment show car will visit Pointer’s Ace Hardware (775 Concord Parkway N, Concord) on Thursday, Sept. 22 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public

Quotable:

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Charlotte for the second time this year and racing it ‘normal’ two-wide. We’re in the Countdown, and the fact that Reading didn’t work out well for us really puts the pressure on. We’ve got five races to cowboy-up and get this thing moving. I think we’re heading in the right direction. We made drastic changes in Reading, and I think it’s going to show starting this weekend. The conditions are going to be great, and we’re going to go out and try and win this thing. We’re going to test after Dallas, we’re going to test after Vegas, and we are going to get our car back into winning form.”