JCM Racing Pre-Race Report: Las Vegas 1

NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

Event 4 of 21

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas

April 14 – 16, 2023

Top Fuel:

TONY SCHUMACHER

Driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel Dragster

Las Vegas 1 Event Highlights:

• Four-time LV1 event winner (2004, 2009, 2013, 2014)

• Two-time runner-up (2017, 2018)

• Four-time No. 1 qualifier (2006 – 2008, 2018)

Note: The Las Vegas 1 four-wide format was first introduced in 2018

2022 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Recap:

Qualified ninth; Semifinal finish (defeated Mike Salinas, BYE in E1, Antron Brown, Austin Prock, Clay Millican in E2; defeated by Brittany Force, Steve Torrence in E3)

Last Event (Pomona 1):

Qualified eighth; First round exit (defeated by Shawn Langdon in E1)

Career Statistics:

537 races; 86 wins; 88 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Advanced to the final quad at the 2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide event

• While Schumacher is the most successful driver in NHRA Top Fuel history, he has yet to hoist a four-wide Wally trophy. He’s come close; finishing as the runner-up in 2012 and 2017 in Charlotte, in addition to advancing to the final quad in Vegas in 2018 and 2022

• Schumacher leads the Top Fuel class in number of victories (eight) at LVMS

• Schumacher leads the class in number of No. 1 qualifiers (11) at LVMS

Quotable:

“I’ve won at Vegas a lot, but have never won a four-wide trophy from either there or Charlotte. I will say, the last time that Zippy (Mike Neff) and I raced together at the Vegas four-wide event, we were literally in the lead in the finals when the car shut off. So, we’re continuing with our theme of ‘we have some unfinished business’ this weekend.

“This year, we’ve gotten better with each race, and now we finally have a car that all of us, including I’m pretty sure many of our opponents, can see the true potential. We made it down the track all four times in Pomona. Now we have a tune-up that we just need to nip at. We have four qualifying runs this weekend, which is important. Some of the tracks where you only get three, you’re always one run down and for a new team like ours, you need those four runs. So, everything is looking fantastic for this weekend. Weather is looking excellent, Vegas is always a great track.

“Pomona, man, that was a hell of a race; lost by 15-thousandths of a second, got us a good car. Zippy and I, we left there saying, ‘we made it down the track four times, we’re in a really good spot.’ We finally found the pieces that all fit together, and now we’ve just got to start adjusting them to go quicker with each run. We’re in a good, good spot going into this race. But, we’re not ignorant; we know we’ve got some really strong opponents, but we’re one of them now.”

Funny Car:

TIM WILKERSON

Driver of the SCAG Power Equipment/Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang

Las Vegas 1 Event Highlights:

• 2008 event champion

• 2019 No. 1 qualifier

Note: The Las Vegas 1 four-wide format was first introduced in 2018

2022 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Recap:

Qualified eighth; First quad exit (defeated by Ron Capps, J.R. Todd in E1)

Last Event (Pomona 1):

Qualified sixth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Chad Green in E1; defeated by Terry Haddock in E2)

Career Statistics:

573 races; 22 wins; 20 No. 1 qualifiers

Quotable:

“Looking forward to heading to Vegas for the four-wides. We usually do pretty well at those deals. Our SCAG/LRS Mustang is running better each weekend, and I think we’re starting to turn a corner. We have a large group of SCAG dealers coming out, and I’m pretty excited because I don’t think any of them have seen a four-wide race before, so it’ll be fun.”