Sensory Overload Nationals
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NEXT: SENSORY OVERLOAD NATIONALS DSR’s Matco dragster, Infinite Hero Funny Car look to defend titles in two weeks at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte Don Schumacher Racing and the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series are in the midst of their longest stretch of off weekends through the last 20 races in the 24-event national tour. And when the series resumes April 22-24 it will be at the most unique event of the series when the 40,000 horsepower fire up at once during the seventh annual Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte Motor Speedway. A year ago at Charlotte, DSR swept the nitro categories when Antron Brown in Top Fuel and Jack Beckman left the event with NHRA Wally trophies. The Four-Wide is the most impressive spectacle in motorsports when four nitro-fueled machines line up side by side on one of the sport’s fastest circuits for qualifying, and then on Sunday, the first two to cross the finish line in four-car heats advance to the next round. For ticket information: CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com or NHRA.com Brown, Matco/U.S. Army team get DSR back on track with victory at Las Vegas in NHRA Mello Yello Series The desert was a fitting place for Don Schumacher Racing to end a drought and that’s what Antron Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team accomplished Sunday when they won the NHRA Nationals outside of Las Vegas. Brown and his team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald with assistant Brad Mason, delivered the first Mello Yello Drag Racing Series title of the young season to DSR dragsters that ended a dry spell during which DSR’s three Top Fuel teams were unable to advance past the second round of the first three events. “It’s huge, especially considering where we came from. We had a rough start to this year, and it’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Brown said. “We had a couple of things we had to change – we had to change our (tuning) combination around because we have different parts and pieces. We started off and it wasn’t like our car wasn’t running well. It was running great. “You come out and you just want to win and you want to win early but then you end up pushing too hard. On race day today, the car was just like a bracket car. It ran 3.84 seconds, an .84, an .82 and an .84. It did exactly what it needed to do to get us these round wins. “This has made us learn more and grow more, and you’re able to get results like that after learning from when things aren’t going right.” The 55th win of Brown’s professional career that includes 16 in Pro Stock Motorcycle, moved the reigning and two- time Top Fuel world champion to second in points after starting the weekend ranked 10th. He now trails points leader Brittany Force of John Force Racing by 38 points after the fourth of 24 events in the Mello Yello Series. In Funny Car at Las Vegas, Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team that is funded by Terry Chandler, led DSR by advancing to the second round after winning the pole with his eighth track record elapsed time. “We've been great at getting green hats this year. That's what you get for being the No. 1 qualifier,” said Beckman, who has won three of four poles this season. “We want the yellow hat - that's the one you get for winning the final round. So we have to keep picking away.” Two weeks before the Las Vegas visit, the Infinite Hero team led by crew chief Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham, set the NHRA national elapsed time record with a run in 3.879 seconds in the Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. Will Truitt brewing new career after 12 years at DSR Don Schumacher Racing general manager Will Truitt leaves DSR today to pursue a business career outside of motorsports that will allow him to spend more time at his Indianapolis home with his young family including a 21-month- old daughter. He will be the vice president of operations for Quaff ON! Brewing and Big Woods restaurants, which opens its fourth location in early May in Speedway, Ind. Will, 35, began working at DSR upon graduating in 2004 from Eastern Illinois University. He began working in DSR’s hospitality operations and show car program, then spent five years in public relations and marketing before becoming GM in July 2011. During his career at DSR, the largest team in professional racing has won 242 of its 268 NHRA national event titles and 13 of 14 NHRA world championships. “Will started at DSR as a show car driver and, once he got his foot in the door, excelled at every step of his DSR career,” Don Schumacher said. “We appreciate everything Will has accomplished at DSR and wish him well in his new venture.” The following are Will’s reflections on his stellar career at DSR: By WILL TRUITT When I made the decision recently to leave the sport of drag racing and my nearly 12-year DSR tenure, I had some very good conversations about our past with our employees. Twelve years is a lifetime in racing. I was very fortunate to land at DSR right out of college, and to grow with them the entire time. The Schumacher family and Mike Lewis have been constant supporters of my career. I am very thankful for their time working with me, developing me and trusting me. Below are my top-10 memories (in chronological order) from more than 250 races, 13 championships and 242 Wally trophies. 2005 Joliet Fall Race. I had no idea, but I met my future wife at this race. Our relationship outlived that race quickly. We re-met at Englishtown in 2006 and never looked back. We have a ways to go to get to E-Town’s 47 years, but we like goals. 2006 “The Run.” Enough said! Well, a little more. “The Run” ended up No. 4 in NHRA’s Top 60 Moments celebrating its 60-year anniversary. I tried to get Tony to refer to himself in third person as the “Fourth Greatest Moment in NHRA history” in a top-end interview in Indy. He’s always game for a good laugh, but he chickened out, or forgot, or got distracted by a squirrel. What were we talking about? 2008 Army Top Fuel Win Streak. When we lost in the second round in Norwalk, I never would have thought that would be my last short Sunday for three months. Starting in Denver they kept winning, and winning and winning, just like the Energizer bunny. 2008 Mike Lewis runner-up in Top Alcohol at Reading. All of us in the office watched more Sportsman racing that weekend than Nitro. It was great to see Mike going rounds on Sunday, and to be able to do that at his home track with all his family there was perfect. 2009 Army Top Fuel Championship. A lot of journalists and internet experts told us it was all over for Tony and the Army team when Alan Johnson left to start his own team in 2009. Luckily, Tony, Mike Green and his team didn’t listen. They went on to prove everyone wrong in very dramatic fashion. I have been watching sports my entire life, so to be involved in some way with something like this was unbelievable. My 2009 Army TF championship ring is the only one I ever wear to special events. It stands for heart, class, team and determination. 2012 Mike Lewis wins Hot Rod Reunion. Mike accomplished that in Paul Smith’s Brand-X Nostalgia Funny Car. Totally Bill Murray in Caddyshack. “It’s a Cinderella Story.” 2012 Antron and Jack become World Champions. These are two of the most genuine, kind, and positive racers in the sport. It was great to see them both become NHRA Champions. 2014 TJ back in Funny Car. He had worked with us at DSR for several years doing anything we asked of him, and he tested nearly every one of our cars. Thanks to Terry Chandler, he returned to driving a Funny Car, where he belongs. 2014 Ron and Tony double-up in Bristol. This race marked 10 years with DSR for me. Anytime these two double up, I call that Vintage DSR. They have been sharing the winner’s circle at DSR since 2005. 2015 True American Hero. Gary Linfoot, a paraplegic since his Army helicopter crashed eight years ago, stood for the National Anthem for the first time since the accident in Bristol using Exoskeleton technology. We were lucky to meet Gary and his wife Mari through the wonderful Infinite Hero Foundation program. They have been tremendous supporters of that program and Jack Beckman. They attend several races a year, and should you run into them, take time to meet them. Their story is amazing, and he is an American Badass. I leave with a full heart. I will always be a DSR fan, and I look forward to seeing our drivers continue to win races and championships. I’ll leave with something Don told me early in my managing years. I was standing firm on an issue, and he said, “Will, don’t look at everything as simply black or white.” I said, “Gee, where did I learn that.” He responded, “Yes, I know, but I want you to be a better manager than me.” That drove me for the rest of my DSR tenure, and it will continue to drive me throughout my career.