Schumacher races to 8th win at Indy
Tempers Flare At The U.S. Nationals
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Schumacher raced to his eighth victory at O'Reilly Raceway Park on Monday at the U.S. Nationals, tying Don Garlits for the most Top Fuel wins at the historic track.
Schumacher, who has been to the last eight final rounds at this event and 10 overall since he began his career at this race in 1996, powered to his fourth victory of the season and 60th of his career.
He had a time of 3.861 seconds at 314.17 mph in his dragster to hold off rival Larry Dixon, who trailed with a 4.208 at 228.58 in his dragster.
"This win is special not just because we tied Don Garlits, but because we won Indy again," said Schumacher, who earned $100,000 for the win. "To win this race for the eighth time and put the 60th trophy on my shelf is awesome. To have this much dominance at any track is incredible, but to be able to do it here at Indy is unbelievable. I don't know why this is my lucky track."
Schumacher spoke with Garlits before the race .
"He said, 'I'm pulling for you,'" Schumacher said. "Some people don't like to have their records broken, so it's neat to have him come up and tell me that."
Ashley Force Hood, Jeg Coughlin, and Hector Arana also were winners of the final regular season event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The Countdown to 1, NHRA's six-race championship playoffs, begins Sept. 18 at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C.
Force Hood, who also earned $100,000 for her victory, became the third female to win the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and the first ever in Funny Car when she beat teammate Robert Hight in the final round for her second win of the season. Force Hood joined Shirley Muldowney, who won this race in Top Fuel in 1982, and two-time Indy Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Angelle Sampey in the record books when she crossed the finish line in 4.170 at 294.75 in her Ford Mustang.
"We had a good spring, but we struggled in the summer," Force Hood said. "When we came here, we said, 'Let's get back on track.' Where's a better place to start than Indy?"
By reaching the finals, Hight climbed from 12th in the Funny Car points to 10th, taking the last spot in the Countdown.
Defending world champ Coughlin finished the Pro Stock regular season with his seventh victory to take the No. 1 position for the playoffs. Coughlin earned his third U.S. Nationals win and 48th of his career with a time of 6.689 at 206.48 in a Chevy Cobalt to hold off Greg Stanfield, who posted a 6.691 at 206.35 in a Pontiac GXP.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Arana earned his third victory of the season and first ever at Indy by powering his Buell to a 7.026 at 189.10 to defeat Michael Phillips in the final, who posted a 7.086 at 185.84 on a Suzuki. Karen Stoffer secured the final playoff position when she won her first round match and Steve Johnson lost.
Tony Pedregon also secured the No. 1 playoff spot in Funny Car with his first round win over Del Worsham. Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) had already claimed the top playoff spots in their categories.
Each of the regular-season champions receive a 20-point bonus to start the playoffs.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
