The latest news on NHRA Drag Racing’s Super Team WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012 BROWNSBURG, INDIANA SAFETY CANOPY APPROVED U.S. Army dragster will feature ‘Tony Under Glass’ to start the NHRA Nationals in Minnesota on Friday Top Fuel Dragsters will enter a new era on Friday at Brainerd International Raceway when Tony Schumacher races with the recently approved enclosed safety canopy on his U.S. Army dragster for the first time in NHRA competition. The truly 21st-century protective canopy and other safety enhancements developed by Don Schumacher Racing and Aerodine Composites of Indianapolis were Tony Schumacher tests the U.S. Army cockpit canopy approved by NHRA late Monday during January testing in Florida. A slightly modified afternoon for use in NHRA version will run on Friday. competition beginning at Brainerd. DSR plans on using the canopy in the first qualifying session at 3 p.m. Friday at the Minnesota track. “We are very, very excited to be able to take NHRA and Top Fuel Dragsters into a new era of safety,” said team owner Don Schumacher, a longtime safety innovator since he began driving and owning Funny Cars in the mid-1960s. “I’m proud of what our talented people at DSR The latest version of the canopy. were able to develop with Aerodine, and thankful That NHRA invested the time into studying it and then approved it once we were able to incorporate their requests.” It will be the first time since preseason testing Jan. 17-21, 2012, at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla., that the canopy will be used at a dragstrip Schumacher, the seven-time Top Fuel world champion, made 13 runs with it at Florida and posted a best run of 3.761 seconds and 324.28 mph. Since then and without a canopy, Schumacher has run as quick as 3.746 seconds (Englishtown, N.J., 2012) and became the first Top Fuel driver to reach 330-mph (Charlotte, N.C., 2012) since NHRA shortened the racing distance by 320 feet to 1,000 feet in mid-2008. “This never has been about performance. This is about safety,” Tony Schumacher said. “I want every driver to have one. We aren’t hiding anything. Again, this is just all about making it safer for all the guys in Top Fuel. “When I sit in this car under the canopy I have a level of comfort in a racecar that I haven’t had in a long time. Every driver should have that feeling. I’ve lost some good friends out here and don’t want to lose any more." Other than Florida testing in January, the only time the canopy was used was for a promotional burnout with DSR teammate Antron Brown on pit road of Charlotte Motor Speedway during pre-race festivities for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 on May 27. The canopy was approved after a few modifications were made at NHRA’s request. Races tighten for Capps, Hagan heading to Brainerd Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps and Matt Hagan find their teams racing at opposite ends of the Funny Car standings in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series as the pro tour heads to Brainerd, Minn., for the 16th of 23 national events of 2011. While Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler are well within reach of catching points leader Robert Hight before the standings are reset after the Aug. 29-Sept. 3 NHRA U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis, Hagan and his Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T is battling to get a chance to defend the Funny Car world championship they won a year ago. Capps trails Hight of John Force Racing by 31 points heading to this weekend’s event two hours north of Minneapolis, while a pair of consecutive championship round appearances by Hagan and crew chief Tommy DeLago have moved them up to 11th in points and only 62 outside the coveted 10th position in the standings. DSR teammate Johnny Gray moved up to fourth place in his Big O Tires/SpeeDee Lube Dodge after winning the title July 29 at Sonoma, Calif. After the U.S. Nationals, the top-10 in each Full Throttle pro category will qualify to compete over the last six events of the year for season championship. The points standings will be reset for the Countdown and the points leader after Indy will start the Countdown with a 30-point advantage over second place. NHRA FULL THROTTLE STANDINGS (Through Kent, Wash., 15 0f 23 events; DSR drivers in CAPS; clinched spots in Countdown) TOP FUEL 1. *SPENCER MASSEY, 1,236 2. *ANTRON BROWN, 1231 3. *TONY SCHUMACHER, 109 4. *Steve Torrence, 1108 5. Doug Kalitta, 902 6. Shawn Langdon, 839 7. Morgan Lucas, 829 8. Brandon Bernstein, 766 9. David Grubnic, 756 10. Bob Vandergriff, 633 FUNNY CAR 1. *Robert Hight, 1143 2. *RON CAPPS, 1112 3. *JACK BECKMAN, 1003 4. JOHNNY GRAY, 942 5. Mike Neff, 933 6. Courtney Force, 851 7. Cruz Pedregon, 803 8. Jeff Arend, 749 9. John Force, 746 10. Bob Tasca, 739 11. MATT HAGAN, 697 Vote4Hagan.com campaign is on Start warming up your best key-punch finger because moments after completion of Sunday’s NHRA Nationals at Brainerd you will be able to jump on the computer and vote for Matt Hagan to become the eighth and final contestant for the Sept. 2 NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout. You can go directly to Facebook.com/nhra to cast for vote for Hagan or take a little detour to Vote4Hagan.com that could be very much worth the slight detour. On Monday, the fourth and final announcement about the Vote4Hagan.com campaign will be announced and it’s worth keeping up to speed about it at Vote4Hagan.com. We would never steer you wrong, not even remotely. The news is so huge it should be shown on a big screen TV so don’t dodge the opportunity to dart over to Vote4Hagan.com on the way to casting your vote to get Hagan into the Shootout for his chance to win $100,000. The eighth Shootout contestant will be named on Aug. 29 at Monument Circle during NHRA Fanfest in Downtown Indianapolis. Six of seven DSR drivers are locked into the special event for Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. DSR’s Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray will be joined by John Force, Robert Hight, Mike Neff and Jeff Arend. In Top Fuel, Spencer Massey, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher will be joined by Morgan Lucas, Steve Torrence David Grubnic and two others including a fan-favorite announced on Aug. 29. Big O Tires DSR Open House for Riley Hospital returns Aug. 31, features 330-mph artwork, racing technology, stars The seventh annual Big O Tires presents the Don Schumacher Racing Open House is in three weeks, and this year’s theme ”330-mph Art & Technology” is expected to attract another record crowd to team headquarters near Indianapolis during the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The free event will raise money for the Riley Children’s Foundation that supports Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and Camp Riley through a silent auction and other donations. Riley Hospital has served as Indiana’s only comprehensive children’s hospital since 1924. The annual Open House and other DSR functions have raised more than $175,000 for Riley Hospital. Auction items range from 60-inch HD, flat panel television provided by Aaron’s to the actual front end from Matt Hagan’s Aaron’s Funny Car that was featured worldwide on the Internet and television news programs after the car exploded earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s zMAX Dragway. A complete and updated list of silent auction items soon will be posted at ShoeRacing.com and Facebook.com/shoeracing. The Open House, which is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature DSR professional drivers Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Spencer Massey, reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray. In addition to the event’s annual features, new this year will be a motorsports art exhibit and displays of DSR’s metal-working technology. Among the featured artists: Thomas Patsis, a full-time DSR metal fabricator, will display his unique and creative race-themed metalwork. During the five-hour Open House Patsis will create a special piece that will be auctioned that afternoon with proceeds going to Riley Hospital. Examples of his work are at: ColdHardArt.com Bruce Tatman (right) is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and an Indianapolis resident. The graduate of the Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati is noted for realistic illustrations of racecars. He will complete an illustration during the Open House and donate it for auction. Todd Myers, a 41-year old native of Paris, Tenn., is an award-winning multimedia artist whose creations (below) have been seen in fine art galleries from Tennessee to Michigan. Myers, who studied fine art and graphic design at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., has worked as the public relations representative and creative director for Kalitta Motorsports for 11 years. Motorsports, in particular drag racing, influences can be seen in his art. The technology aspect of the Open House will allow visitors for the first time to tour the DSR Machine Shop that includes high-tech machinery used to manufacture more than 200 components used on DSR Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. The DSR 8,000-horsepower supercharger dynometer also will be operated at various times throughout the day.