JCM Racing Pre-Race Report: Seattle

Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals

Event 11 of 21

Pacific Raceways

Kent, Wash.

July 21-23, 2023

Note:

The JCM Racing organization will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Tuesday, July 25. The Maynard and Lehman families made their debut as NHRA team owners at the 2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals and were successful in capturing Wally trophy No. 1 for JCM Racing at their first event when Tony Schumacher powered to his 86th Top Fuel victory.

Top Fuel:

JUSTIN ASHLEY

Driver of the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster powered by Okuma

2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified seventh; Semifinal finish (defeated Austin Prock in E1, Steve Torrence in E2; defeated by Tony Schumacher in E3)

Last Event (Denver):

Qualified 11th; First round exit (defeated by Steve Torrence in E1)

2023 Statistics:

10 races; four wins, one runner-up finish, one No. 1 qualifier

Career Statistics:

65 races; nine wins, three No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• As a member of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, Ashley is vying to win Toyota’s 200th NHRA trophy (current Toyota NHRA win count: 199)

• Okuma will be recognized as an associate partner on Ashley’s machine this weekend. Many strategic engine and clutch components utilized on JCM Racing cars are made with Okuma CNC machines

• Leads the Top Fuel category with best reaction time average

Fan events:

• Thursday, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m., NHRA Northwest Nationals Fanfest autograph session – Dave & Buster’s Auburn-King (1101 Outlet Collection Way, Auburn, Wash.)

• Saturday, 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Team Toyota autograph session – Toyota midway display

Quotable:

“This season has been a rollercoaster for sure. It has been a little bit of feast or famine. But the ups and downs are to be expected with a Top Fuel field that’s so competitive. The most important thing is that we remain singularly focused on becoming the best team that we can be. All things considered, we’ve had a lot of success and that’s a tremendous testament to the teamwork, dedication and commitment from each one of our guys.”

TONY SCHUMACHER

Driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel Dragster

NHRA Northwest Nationals Event Highlights:

• Five-time event champion (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2022)

• Three-time runner-up (2005, 2009, 2011)

• Four-time No. 1 qualifier (2004, 2008, 2014, 2016)

2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified No. 3; Event champion (defeated Scott Palmer in E1, Shawn Langdon in E2, Justin Ashley in E3, Brittany Force in E4)

Last Event (Denver):

Qualified 12th; First round exit (defeated by Clay Millican in E1)

2023 Statistics:

10 races; one runner-up finish

Career Statistics:

544 races; 86 wins, 88 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Joe and Cathi Maynard, along with their partners Eric and Kim Lehman, made their debut as NHRA team owners at the 2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals, and with Schumacher’s Seattle win, they were successful in capturing Wally trophy No. 1 for JCM Racing at their first event.

• Schumacher leads the Top Fuel class in number of No. 1 qualifiers (four) at Pacific Raceways

Quotable:

“Look forward to getting back to Seattle. We’re the defending champions. Didn’t have the perfect car in Denver last weekend, but the engineering and the testing we did in Indy right before our Denver race was designed specifically for sea-level racing, so I’m eager to see what we can do when we get to Seattle. The conditions look beautiful, I look forward to getting there and trying to back up our 2022 win.”

Funny Car:

TIM WILKERSON

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

NHRA Northwest Nationals Event Highlights:

• Three-time event champion: 2009, 2010, 2011

• 2011 No. 1 qualifier

2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified ninth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Cruz Pederegon in E1; defeated by John Force in E2)

Last Event (Denver):

Qualified eighth; First round exit (defeated by J.R. Todd in E1)

2023 Statistics:

10 races; one win, one runner-up finish

Career Statistics:

580 races; 23 wins, 20 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Rottler Manufacturing will be recognized as an associate partner on the SCAG/LRS Ford Mustang during this weekend's event in honor of their 100-year anniversary

Quotable:

“Really looking forward to having a better showing at these last two races of the Western Swing after Denver. We had a great car last weekend but ended up pulling the tires loose first round, so we need to overcome that heading into Seattle. I usually have a pretty good car in Seattle and Sonoma, so hopefully that trend will continue this year. We’ve been trying out some new clutch discs, which seem to be giving me a little bit of a problem, but we’ll work through it. This race marks the mid-point of our season, and I feel good about where our performance is headed as we approach the second-half of the year.”