Seemingly every stop on NHRA’s national-event circuit invokes good memories for Top Fuel star Tony Schumacher.
That’s definitely the case for the Texas Motorplex in Dallas, the next stop on tour for the FallNationals, Oct. 9-13.
Schumacher, fresh off winning the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, heads to the Motorplex with six wins there to his credit (1999, 2004, 2005, 2009-10 and 2014). That’s a win total surpassed only by 16-time NHRA Funny Car champ John Force, who has seven victories at the Motorplex.
“I’m going to Dallas,” Schumacher said following his St. Louis victory on Sept. 29. “I’m going to park my bus there. I’m going to be there for two weeks straight. I love that place. To me, it was where I won my first race against Scott Kalitta in 1999. It was one of the places that set us up for our first world championship. Tons of friends.”
When rain seemed to be in the forecast in St. Louis on race day, Schumacher wasn’t worried.
“When it looked like it was getting a little, I go, ‘No, no, it’s okay if it rains out here. We go to Dallas, and we run them both,’” Schumacher said. “And I’ve won the Charlotte back-to-back with Dallas; became the champ at that race or close. I don’t mind it. I love going there. [Track owner] Billy Meyer, his daughter, the whole family … man. Just a cool place to go to. And we’ll be there for weeks.
Literally we go in there and we do weeks of preparation for that place.”
Schumacher is atop NHRA’s Top Fuel victory list with 88 Wallys. This season, Schumacher, behind the wheel of the JCM dragster, has an 18-15 elimination-round record. He has wins this season in Bristol, Tenn., and St. Louis.
This is the first time Schumacher has had at least two wins in a season since 2016, the year he was victorious in Denver and Indianapolis.
Schumacher has an NHRA-record eight Top Fuel world championships and is 103 points behind points leader Antron Brown with only Dallas, Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 14-17), remaining in the 2024 season.
“Is there time to win a championship?’ I don’t know. Is there time to win a few more races and be great and do what we’re expected to do by our sponsors? I think definitely,” Schumacher said.