NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 3 of 20
Firebird Motorsports Park
Chandler, Ariz.
April 5 – 7, 2024
TONY SCHUMACHER
Driver of the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel Dragster
NHRA Arizona Nationals Event Highlights:
Five-time event winner (2000, 2002, 2005, 2013, 2015)
2012 event runner-up
Six-time No. 1 qualifier (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2018)
2023 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap:
Qualified tenth; First round exit (defeated by Justin Ashley in E1)
Last Event (Pomona 1):
Qualified second; Advanced to the final round, which will be contested during Q3 of the Arizona Nationals due to a weather-related reschedule (Schumacher defeated Terry Totten in E1, Shawn Langdon in E2, Billy Torrence in E3; will face Justin Ashley in the finals)
Career Statistics:
556 races; 86 wins, 88 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Has the opportunity to ‘triple up’ on wins this weekend in Phoenix. In addition to vying for a sixth Firebird Motorsports Park trophy, Schumacher will compete in the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals final round during Q3 of the Arizona Nationals; Schumacher faces his former JCM Racing teammate Justin Ashley in the finals
By advancing beyond the quarterfinals in Pomona, Calif., Schumacher also clinched a spot in the weekend’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge, which is slated to be contested during Q1 and Q2
Leads the Top Fuel class in number of wins at Phoenix (five)
Tied with Doug Kalitta for number of No. 1 Top Fuel qualifiers (six) at Phoenix
Became the first NHRA driver to eclipse the 330-mph barrier (330.23-mph) during the 1999 Phoenix event
Reset both ends of his career-best numbers during the 2018 event:
E.T.: 3.649-seconds
Speed: 336.57 MPH
Fan Events:
Thursday, April 4, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., Leatherwood Distillery bottle signing event with JCM Racing teammate Ida Zetterström; Puro Cigar Bar (111 W. Boston St, Unit 200, Chandler)
Friday, April 5, 2:00 – 2:30 p.m., Mission #2Fast2Tasty driver autograph session at Mission Foods midway display
Quotable:
“I left from Pomona and went to Hawaii to see my friend get married. It was a beautiful wedding and a relaxing moment but in the back of my mind, I’m the most jacked I’ve been in a long, long time. The car is running right, the team is in a great mood. We earned our way into the finals. I’ve done this before, finishing a race during a race weekend. I’ve finished the Charlotte race in Dallas, and last year I raced the Epping finals in Bristol. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s so exciting when it does. Phoenix is a track that has been good to me in the past so hopefully we’ll have some more of that Firebird success this weekend. Our whole Leatherwood team is really stoked. There is so much potential at this race and we’re pumped up and ready to go.”
