JCM Racing Post Race Recap: Charlotte

Tony Schumacher Drops Tough First-Round Match at NHRA Carolina Nationals

With Leatherwood Distillery and Waltrip Brewing Company co-branding on his JCM Racing dragster, eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher went into the NHRA Carolina Nationals eager to pick up his third Charlotte fall race victory. Those hopes were dashed early, though, when Schumacher ended up on the wrong side of a tough race in the first round of eliminations Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway. Still, Schumacher held on to his No. 7 spot in the points standings with four races remaining in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship.

Schumacher went right to the top half of the field in the opening qualifying session on Friday, with his 3.782 E.T. at 327.11 mph putting him No. 7. He moved up to fifth in the second session with a 3.714-second pass at 325.92 mph to wrap up day one of qualifying. Schumacher ran into traction issues in both of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, though he remained No. 5 on the final qualifying order thanks to his Friday night effort.

In Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Schumacher met up with veteran driver Doug Foley. Schumacher grabbed a few thousands of a second advantage out of the gate, but his 3.834-second run at 320.28 mph wasn’t quick enough to hold off Foley’s winning 3.78 E.T.

“That's a race that catches you off guard,” Schumacher said. “In no way do I want to think we were underestimating Doug Foley in any way, but it was hot out and we didn't want to beat ourselves. They did just a hell of a job, and that one's gonna hurt. It's early on (in the Countdown). We needed those wins. We wanted to run early in the round to make sure we had the race track. We made a fairly soft run to ensure that it got down there and we got beat and it was painful. Now, we'll go to St. Louis, try to recoup ourselves, and get up in the top five by the end of the year.”

Schumacher, the winningest driver in the Top Fuel category, will continue the Countdown the Championship at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, Sept. 27-29, at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis where he returns as a five-time finalist.

Qualified: No. 5 (3.714 E.T. at 325.92 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:

E1: 3.834 E.T. at 320.28 MPH defeated by Doug Foley 3.780 E.T. at 325.92 MPH

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):

1 Antron Brown 2292

2 Justin Ashley 2239

3 Shawn Langdon 2230

4 Doug Kalitta 2225

5 Clay Millican 2174

6 Steve Torrence 2162

7 Tony Schumacher 2119

8 Tony Stewart 2118

9 Brittany Force 2114

10 Billy Torrence 2082

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Ida Zetterström Misses Out on First NHRA Pedalfest Opportunity

Competing on the zMAX Dragway track for the first time, NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate Ida Zetterström was in pursuit of adding more round wins to her growing list of accomplishments on American soil. After earning a spot on the NHRA Carolina Nationals eliminations ladder, the Swedish-born racer faced Brittany Force on Sunday, but her day was cut short after her car unexpectedly shut off shortly after losing traction in the first round.

The Jon Schaffer-tuned JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge team opened qualifying with a solid run of 3.797 seconds at 317.94 mph in unseasonably hot and humid conditions. The run provisionally placed Zetterström 12th in the qualifying order. Looking to crack into the top half of the field in Friday night’s cooler conditions, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion rolled up to the starting line for the second qualifying session but lost traction right at the hit. Traction issues continued during the third session and she went into Q4 sitting on the ‘bump’ spot in 16th with 18 cars competing for a chance to race on Sunday. With one session remaining, Zetterström closed out qualifying with a good-looking pass of 3.807 seconds and secured the No. 16 seed to start race day.

On Sunday, Zetterström lined up next to Force, the No. 1 qualifier, and carried the early lead while her opponent went up in smoke in the opposite lane. Zetterström’s machine then lost traction shortly after. The NHRA newbie attempted to pedal her car but quickly realized it had suddenly shut off and all she could do was hang on and coast to the finish line while Force pedaled her car to the win.

“I had a good feeling about Sunday,” said Zetterström following her fourth NHRA event. “Obviously, this was our worst qualifying performance so far, ending up in 16th so we faced the No. 1 qualifier in the first round. We made it down the track on Saturday night in really hot and tricky conditions when not a lot of cars were making it down, and we ran the quickest pass of the left lane, so we did have some good data to go off of. It was another hot one again today. I did feel like we had a good chance going into first round and we were actually ahead for a good part of the race but as I spun the tires, my car shut off, so I never really had the opportunity to pedal it.

“When the car shuts off, you lose your opportunity to be able to get back on the throttle,” she continued. “I was trying to squeeze the throttle and get the car to hook back up again but there was nothing there. I heard Brittany pedal her car and I could hear she was behind me, which is definitely heartbreaking when you’re in the car and you know that your opponent is behind you and they have the opportunity to squeeze back on the throttle and I couldn't. We saw that in the miles-per-hour. I think I clocked in at 147, so I had definitely been off the throttle for a long time there. That’s one of the toughest situations you can be in as a driver because its unbelievably frustrating knowing you are ahead but there’s nothing you can do about it. All you can do is hope that they don’t catch you. We haven’t had a lot of tire spin on race days. During qualifying, if you smoke the tires, you usually just lift but we haven’t had that happen much in eliminations, so this would have been an opportunity for me to have my first NHRA pedalfest, but we’ll have to save that for another time.”

Zetterström and the JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge will only have to wait a few days before hitting the dragstrip once again as the NHRA competes next at Gateway Motorsports Park, next weekend, September 27-29.

Qualified: No. 16 (3.797 E.T. at 317.94 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:

E1: 4.896 E.T. at 147.13 MPH defeated by Brittany Force 4.789 E.T. at 203.58 MPH