Don Schumacher confirmed today that Mike Green will be the crew chief
on the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster driven by six-time NHRA champion
Tony Schumacher in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Schumacher also confirmed that Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler will be
co-crew chiefs on the FRAM Top Fuel dragster piloted by Cory
McClenathan. Assisting Green will be Neal Strausbaugh, Green's
"sidekick" for several years, including 2008 on the FRAM team.
Green joined Don Schumacher Racing in November 2007 for the 2008 NHRA
season as crew chief on the FRAM dragster, reuniting with McClenathan,
who drove the Joe Gibbs-owned dragster Green tuned in the late '90s.
The pair collaborated to win 12 races from the second half of 1997
through the first half of 1998. In 2008, Green tuned the FRAM dragster
to a third-place points finish for the year, including one victory in
three final rounds.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Green. "We have a great
organization here at Don Schumacher Racing, where we share information
among the teams. And with Phil and Todd working on Cory Mac's FRAM car,
I know both teams will benefit from each other's input. Our goal is to
win another championship for DSR, and maybe we can make it a one-two
finish at the end of the year."