NHRA Arizona Nationals Pre-Race Report

NHRA Arizona Nationals

Event 2 of 21

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park

Chandler, Ariz.

March 24-26, 2023

Top Fuel:

TONY SCHUMACHER

Driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel Dragster

NHRA Arizona Nationals Event Highlights:

• Five-time event winner (2000, 2002, 2005, 2013, 2015)

• Six-time No. 1 qualifier (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2018)

• Raced to a runner-up finish in 2012

2022 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap:

Qualified No. 12; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Justin Ashley in E1; defeated by Clay Millican in E2)

Last Event (Gainesville):

Qualified 10th; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Josh Hart in E1; defeated by Steve Torrence in E2)

Career Statistics:

535 races; 86 wins; 88 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Leads the Top Fuel class in number of wins at Phoenix (five)

• Leads the class in number of No. 1 qualifiers at Phoenix (six)

• 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

Quotable:

“Phoenix will be a bittersweet race. Going there for the last time is going to be tough. We were the first team to ever run 330.23-mph and that is where we did it. Some great memories for sure and would love to make one more amazing one this weekend with our SCAG team.”

Funny Car:

TIM WILKERSON

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

NHRA Arizona Nationals Event Highlights:

• 2016 event champion

• 2008 No. 1 qualifier

2022 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap:

Qualified fourth; Semifinal finish (defeated Bobby Bode in E1, Cruz Pedregon in E2; defeated by Matt Hagan in E3)

Last Event (Gainesville):

Qualified 12th; First round exit (defeated by Matt Hagan in E1)

Career Statistics:

572 races; 22 wins; 20 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Clocked his career-best E.T. (3.844 seconds) during the 2017 event

Quotable:

“It's real sad to see us lose a race track, especially this particular one. Hopefully we can find another facility that was as neat as that one. It’s a great area with a strong drag racing fan base. We won there in 2016, beat John Force in the finals, and it was the last race I ran with a car that I had for actually 10 seasons, so that’s one of those memories that will always stand out to me about the Phoenix track.”