SCHUMACHER NEEDS CONSISTENCY OF '99 TO STAY IN THE HUNT FOR TOP FUEL TITLE

JOLIET, Ill. - When Tony Schumacher made his NHRA debut in 1996, he had no idea he was going to turn heads the way he did.

Now, after a few seasons of competition, the driver of the U.S. Army dragster is considered one of the top young talents among all the competitors that do battle on the quarter-mile drag strip in 6,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters.

Schumacher will have high hopes and expectations when he returns home for the fifth annual Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals, May 30-June 2, at Route 66 Raceway. The $1.9 million race is the 10^th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Being the son of Funny Car pioneer Don Schumacher attracted plenty of attention before the second-generation driver even rolled to the starting line. But the shockwave Schumacher sent through the Top Fuel field was widespread, considering that he did it by advancing to the final round at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the most prestigious event on the NHRA circuit.

After that performance it was to little surprise that in his first full season of NHRA competition in 1997 Schumacher scored two more runner-up finishes. Then, despite racing on a limited basis in '98 (13 events), Schumacher managed to finish a career best 15^th in the final standings and notch another runner-up finish, this time at Houston in the fall.

By the 1999 season-opener, the rest of the Top Fuel contingent had taken notice of the younger Schumacher. The Long Grove, Ill., resident then stole the headlines two races into the season, at Phoenix, when he became the first NHRA driver to eclipse the 330 mph mark. The tone had been set for the rest of the year.

Consistency paid off for the now 32-year-old, who after eight runner-up finishes over a brief career, scored his first event win (Dallas). Couple that win with the fact that Schumacher had advanced to the quarterfinals or better in 19 of 22 events, and had qualified for every event, and he had amassed enough points to secure the 1999 Top Fuel championship in his second full season of competition.

After a disappointing season in 2001, Schumacher quieted any doubters by scoring the victory at Phoenix, his first win since the 2000 U.S. Nationals. It seemed things were falling back into place.

With points leader Larry Dixon jumping out to such an impressive start with five wins and three runner-up finishes in the first nine races, Schumacher will need that same kind of consistency that kept him in the championship race in '99 if he's to track down Dixon.

After solid performances in the first five events, things took a turn for the worst when the Army team visited Bristol, Tenn., and left after a first round loss. With hope for improvement at Atlanta the following week, and the No. 2 qualifying spot, the results were the same as before- another first round defeat.

"We were all really down (following Atlanta)," said Schumacher. "We truly had high hopes of going a bunch of rounds. It's a shame we went out (in the first round) given how we had earlier in the weekend. We had one bad hot rod in qualifying. However, we didn't get the job done when it counted most."

Dixon has nearly matched his win total from last year when he was the runner-up in the standings to Kenny Bernstein. At this torrid pace the championship race could be over sooner than expected and then it becomes a race for second place.

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again, that the standings will all fall into place," said Schumacher. "We know what we are capable of. We just have to go out and perform. All is not lost by any stretch of the imagination. We can easily get back on course real quick. Of course, that will require a lot of grit and determination and I know this U.S. Army team has both of those qualities."

PARITY THE THEME IN TOUGH NHRA PRO STOCK WARS AS TEAMS PREPARE FOR EVENT AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY

JOLIET, Ill. - In the first nine races of the season, there have been nine different Pro Stock drivers who walked away with the event trophy.

Now that is a competitive category. Troy Coughlin drives one of two entries from the Jeg's Mail Order Chevy Cavalier camp. He is the most recent Pro Stock driver to join the winner's circle party, scoring an emotional victory Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka.

"I think that it is great to have such parity in Pro Stock," Coughlin said. "The fans know that anyone who qualifies in the quick 16 can be a winner on race day. That is what makes Pro Stock so cutthroat. There is absolutely no room for error. If you make one mistake, you're done."

The category looks to remain just as tough and perhaps produce the 10th different Pro Stock winner at the fifth annual Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals, May 30-June 2, at Route 66 Raceway. Kenny Bernstein, Del Worsham, Mike Edwards and Antron Brown are the defending winners of the $1.9 million race. It is the 10^th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

This is the first time in NHRA history that there has not been a repeat winner in the door slammer category for such a long stretch. The previous record for different drivers winning each race was set in 1990 when five drivers (Jerry Eckman, Bob Glidden, Warren Johnson, Kenny Delco and Larry Morgan) started the season with one victory each. Since then, there has been a repeat winner within the first four events of the season.

To add confusion to the points race, Jim Yates leads the points chase, but has yet to win a race. He is, however, one of the more consistent drivers in the circuit. Yates is one of only three drivers to qualify in each of the first nine events of the season.

There has typically been at least 35-40 cars trying to grab one of the 16 spots for the money race on Sundays.
Johnson, the 2001 Pro Stock champion, has also qualified for nine races. Defending the title this season may be a little tougher than years past.

"The only time you need the points lead is after the last race of the season," Johnson said. "We're just going to keep working on what we do best and hopefully it will turn out in our favor. I think we have turned the corner a little bit on consistency more than anything else. We are not necessarily the fastest car out there. But round-for-round, we're hanging right in there and that's what it takes."

Besides Yates and Johnson, Ron Krisher is the only other driver to compete in every national event this season.
The 2000 Pro Stock champion, Jeg Coughlin, has yet to make an appearance in winner's circle. In the first race of the season, Coughlin did not even qualify. But by the third race of the season, he was in the finals. He lost to Darrell Alderman at Gainesville to earn a runner-up spot. He posted another runner-up effort recently at Englishtown, N.J., losing to Greg Anderson.

        "Pro Stock is door handle to door handle racing each time down the track," Coughlin said. "The races are regularly won or lost by thousandths of a second. Having so many race winners in each of the events this season shows just how tight this ultra-competitive category is."

BERNSTEIN VS. DIXON II: ANOTHER AMAZING TOP FUEL BATTLE BREWING IN 2002

JOLIET, Ill. - The 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series hasn't even reached it's midpoint and the chase for the coveted Top Fuel championship is looking like it could be even more thrilling that last season's heart-stopping affair.

Sure, Larry Dixon has streaked out to an amazing start, posting eight final round finishes (five victories) in nine starts, but Kenny Bernstein, the defending series champion and only driver to hold championship trophies in drag racing's top two categories, is showing signs that his Budweiser King dragster has been cured of the ailments it suffered in earlier races this season.

With victories at Houston and Englishtown, N.J., and runner-up finishes at Pomona, Calif. and Gainesville, Fla., Bernstein is hanging close to Dixon, who has looked unbeatable at times this season.  But an experienced veteran like Bernstein knows that if he's to catch the young driver who's inspired to win his first NHRA championship, he'll have to have a "Run to Remember" over the last 14 races that has absolutely nothing to do with his well-publicized retirement tour.

Indeed, the stakes will be high for the two Top Fuel gunslingers at the fifth annual Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals, May 30-June 2, at Route 66 Raceway. Bernstein, Del Worsham, Mike Edwards and Antron Brown are the defending winners of the $1.9 million race, the 10^th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Last season Bernstein had a memorable outing at Route 66, posting a thrilling victory over Gary Scelzi in record-setting fashion. With cool conditions, Bernstein clocked the national record elapsed time, posting a 4.477 second pass and thrilling all fans. More importantly for Bernstein, he earned 20 bonus points which proved very critical in his finally tally as NHRA officials counted points in November.

Bernstein would like to repeat that performance and keep the momentum going. "We're second in the point standings and we've won two races," Bernstein said. "We seem to have picked up where we left off last year on the battlefield with Larry Dixon and we need to play a little catch-up. It's still early in the season, but we need to be consistent and we need to go rounds."

Bernstein's victory at Chicago last year capped an impressive three race win streak, where he also took titles in New Jersey and Kansas. Dixon wants to do everything he can to stop a potential Bernstein winning streak in 2002.

"They have a great team and we have to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity to beat them," said Dixon, who holds a 3-1 edge this season when they meet head-to-head, including a 2-1 advantage in final round meetings. "We know we are going to have to race that team in a few finals this season, so we need to be ready."

With his phenomenal start -- the best ever for a Top Fuel driver -- Dixon can't help but look at the possibilities that the season holds. Not only is a first championship in sight, but he is in position to break a few records, including most wins in a season, currently held by Gary Scelzi (9); most final rounds in a season, currently held by Bernstein (12);  and most round wins in a season, also held by Bernstein (61).

"It's been very important for this team to get off to such a great start," Dixon said. "But our goal is not to have the greatest start in NHRA history. We want to have the greatest finish in NHRA history. If we can do that, I think we'll achieve our ultimate goal, which is to win the NHRA POWERade championship."

Dixon says records are great, but there's only one stat he wants to lead when the season ends.
"Last year we had one of the best seasons ever in Top Fuel, but it wasn't good enough -- Bernstein was better," Dixon said. "We scored more points than many of the past champions and didn't get it done. That has made us work harder during the off-season and I think that's why we've got off to such a good start. But there's so much racing left and anything can happen, we have to stay focused."      

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