Schumacher hopes homefield advantage paves way to Joliet victory
With runner-up finishes at Gainesville and Atlanta and a trio of semifinal finishes and No. 1 qualifying performances highlighting his 2011 scorecard, Tony Schumacher is confident that his U.S. Army team is on the verge of making it to the winner's circle.
And it sure won't hurt having a little homefield advantage this weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet.
“Once we start putting up the kind of numbers we want, we're going to start piling up the final rounds and wins,” Schumacher said. “We're just about there. I feel we're very close to knocking the door down.”
A resident of Lake Forest, Schumacher is a three-time winner at Route 66 Raceway, his last win coming there in 2008.
“It's going to be a home game for me,” he said. “That would be a great time to get our first victory of the year. My U.S. Army team will rebound just fine.”
In order to grab that first Top Fuel victory, Schumacher will need to outrun a host of talented drivers. Among those are Funny Car driver turned dragster pilot Del Worsham — who leads the points standings with 4 victories — defending world champ and race winner Larry Dixon, Antron Brown, red-hot Spencer Massey, Doug Kalitta, Brandon Bernstein and Morgan Lucas.
“The competition is very tight at the moment,” Schumacher. “It only takes one good race and you can suddenly be at or near the top of the pack.”
Funny Car:
Series points leader Mike Neff has won three races while serving as both driver and crew chief for the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. His teammate, Robert Hight, is a four-time winner this season while former drag racing instructor Jack Beckman has scored 2 victories.
Veteran drivers Cruz Pedregon and Ron Capps have been to final rounds this season but are still looking for their first wins.
Pro Stock:Jason Line is atop the series standings in Pro Stock with 3 victories in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP.Defending event winner Mike Edwards is always a threat at Route 66. Erica Enders, who posted a runner-up finish here in 2005, has been knocking on the door to winner's circle in her quest to become the first female Pro Stock winner in NHRA history.National record holder Rodger Brogdon, talented rookie Vincent Nobile, who won at Norwalk, Ohio, two weeks ago, four-time world champ Greg Anderson, who has never won at Chicago, and Allen Johnson, are all among the leaders in the 200-mph factory hot rod category.Pro Stock Motorcycle:Eddie Krawiec's 2 victories aboard his Screamin' Eagle Vance Hines Harley-Davidson lead the two-wheel category.A host of talented riders are among the pre-race favorites, including defending race winner LE Tonglet, Karen Stoffer, Andrew Hines, Matt Smith, Hector Arana Sr., Jerry Savoie, Michael Phillips, Jim Underdahl, Hector Arana Jr. and Steve Johnson.