Defending Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher collected his first win of the 2009 season with a hole shot victory over team mate Cory McClenathan.

 Schumacher's .059 reaction time versus Cory Mac's .098, led to a 3.881 second, 314.75 mph win.

Schumacher dispatched Del Cox, Jr., in the first round, Morgan Lucas in the second and in a very popular win, Larry Dixon in the semi-finals.

Schumacher extended his dominance over McClenathan, 4-2, including two wins over Cory Mac at Houston. The first Houston meeting came in 2005. As team mates, Schumacher is now 3-0 over McClenathan. Defending Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher collected his first win of the 2009 season with a hole shot victory over team mate Cory McClenathan.

 Schumacher's .059 reaction time versus Cory Mac's .098, led to a 3.881 second, 314.75 mph win.

Schumacher dispatched Del Cox, Jr., in the first round, Morgan Lucas in the second and in a very popular win, Larry Dixon in the semi-finals.

Schumacher extended his dominance over McClenathan, 4-2, including two wins over Cory Mac at Houston. The first Houston meeting came in 2005. As team mates, Schumacher is now 3-0 over McClenathan.

What Tony Schumacher couldn’t say in Pomona, Phoenix or Gainesville, his actions spoke for him in Houston.

The defending Top Fuel world champion and 57-time winner delivered a clear message. He’d won before Alan Johnson joined his team in the early part of the decade and now he showed that he can win after the talented tuner is gone.

“When AJ announced that he was going to leave, we started wondering ‘how are we going to do this,” Schumacher said. “We even talked about going Funny Car. I knew the team that was going over there and how tough they were going to be.”

Schumacher admitted it was Johnson who convinced him to stay in Top Fuel so they could battle it out.

“It was a big decision,” Schumacher admitted. “I knew the challenge and the times we got to race one another were going to be special. When we raced today it was big. It’s not going to get old. It’s going to get big.”

Today’s semi-final match-up between the titans was amazingly the first time in four events the two had matched up in championship competition. They had paired off in testing and later in qualifying, but on Sunday in Houston the racing community got a picture of what the pre-season hype was about.

When Schumacher beat Dixon in the semis, on a hole shot nonetheless, it was a moment to remember.

As Schumacher was towed back to the pits, the race fans responded.

“The race fans were on their feet and I thought to myself, ‘Remember this moment,” Schumacher added. “I just felt honored to be a part of that and when the win-light came on, that was special.”
Equally as special for him was winning with a team that up until this season hadn’t worked together and they replaced a crew that had nearly a decade of continuous service.

Schumacher was a bit indecisive on Sunday when asked if we surprised to have won this quickly with such a young team.

“Our guys weren’t picked out of a leftover pile. They were all handpicked for a certain job. They are excellent at what they do and mistakes aren’t made. Mike and Neil both worked with AJ last year. It’s just going to take some time for them to get it all together. We ran great in testing but I’m a little different driver than [crew chief] Mike [Green] had.”

Green was transferred over the Schumacher’s team after a successful tour with Cory McClenathan.

“I like it when the car is a little loose and a little tougher to drive; that to me is a good car,” Schumacher said. “He’s starting to like that and we’re starting to find a combination that we can work with. You can win on a hole shot like that without a great team. When that win light comes on it’s a total team effort.”