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	Schumacher

It's time for our annual trip to Thunder Valley. To be sure, most racing enthusiasts know exactly where that is -- Bristol, Tenn.

I always look forward to competing in the O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway each year. Given the quality of the facility down there, we usually put on a good show for the fans with some topnotch racing.

The U.S. Army Top Fuel Drag Racing Team is coming off what I considered an average performance two weeks ago in Las Vegas. We did advance to the semifinals out there, but we all thought we had a shot at the win. That was a bit disappointing coming up two rounds short.

Ironically enough, we entered the Las Vegas race 52 points up on Morgan Lucas in the Top Fuel standings and left there 60 points up on Doug Kalitta. So, I guess the weekend was productive in the sense that we widened our points lead despite not collecting the victory.

I think it's time we return to the form that carried us to wins in Phoenix and Houston. This weekend, we need to redevelop some consistency, beginning with qualifying right through eliminations. We've actually struggled of late in qualifying, which can come back to bite you on race day.

I'd like to believe that we'll be a strong contender for the victory in Bristol on Sunday. If one was to factor in trends, that should definitely be the case. To date this year, I've won races on an every-other basis. So, it's my time again, right?

Seriously, we do know how to run well in Bristol. At last year's rain-delayed race, we captured our fourth victory of the season after beating Clay Millican in the finals. Along the way, we also managed to set the track record for elapsed time (4.477 seconds) and speed (331.36 mph). I'll certainly take a replay of that race.

It would be nice to defend our Bristol event title since we'll have a couple of special guests in our camp throughout the weekend -- CW4 Ron Jeliff and Sgt. Donald Rhoton, both Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans from the 844th Engineer Battalion. I look forward to shaking their hands. Like all of the soldiers fighting for our freedom, they're my heroes.

Before closing, I have to mention that prior to my stepping foot inside beautiful Bristol Dragway, I'll be participating for the second straight year in the Speedway Children's Charities NHRA Celebrity Golf Tournament.

This tournament does so much for the local children's agencies in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. In fact, more than $2.3 million has been raised by the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities from the NASCAR and NHRA tourneys over the last eight years. I'm happy I'm able to help out in whatever way I can.

With that, I better head for the driving range so I don't embarrass myself on Thursday. "The Sarge" extends his usual group salute. We'll come back at you in a couple of weeks just prior to the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Atlanta. Until then, please stay well.

Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher drives the U.S. Army-sponsored Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. He won the 2004 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world championship.