Photo illustration by Leah Vaughn/Tom Patsis 20th year starts with a bang Schumacher, Capps look to defend Phoenix titles at Wild Horse Pass BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Feb. 14, 2014) – Don Schumacher Racing’s Tony Schumacher and Ron Capps plan to rebound when racing resumes Feb. 21-23 near Phoenix at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park after disappointing results from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series opener a week ago. Schumacher won the title a year ago at the track formerly known as Firebird to post his fourth win there, which is the most by any Top Fuel driver. Capps added the Funny Car crown to provide DSR with a double-up, which occurred six times in 2013 and 38 times since DSR was founded in 1998. While Schumacher, the seven-time Top Fuel world champion, lost in the opening round after qualifying 10th on Feb. 7 in the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., Capps had an explosive start to his 20th season competing as a professional. Capps, 48, who lives in Carlsbad, Calif., was featured throughout the country with replays of his fiery engine explosion on his second qualifying run (Friday night) at Pomona that destroyed the $50,000 carbon fiber NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T body. He has been interviewed several times about the run including at the track on KABC in Los Angeles a few hours after the incident. Three days later he was a guest on Fox News Network’s nationwide “Fox & Friends” morning show, FROM ESPN/NHRA VIDEO the video has been aired countless times around the country. Capps, who was not injured, was able to qualify fifth on that run with a time of 4.014 (304.67 mph) despite the explosion happening about 200 feet from the finish line. “The explosion is something you can’t control,” Ron said. “It’s going to happen once in a great while. But to be able to bounce back with consistency shows our NAPA Dodge team can run with anyone on the grounds. We know we have a bad hot rod because we ran a 4.0 and it blew up way before the finish line. It’s encouraging going to Phoenix in two weeks. That’s the silver lining right now. For Schumacher, it was a frustrating qualifying effort that seeded him 10th for eliminations. He joined the U.S. Army team and crew chief Mike Green at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for one day of testing the following week when he also filled-in for Antron Brown in DSR’s Matco Tools dragster. “We were in our U.S. Army car at Las Vegas two days after Pomona, and we learned a lot,” Tony said. “Our qualifying will improve at Phoenix because it can’t be the way it was at Pomona,” he said. “We can’t end up qualified that way (10th) and expect to win. We put ourselves in that spot. We need to go fast right off the get-go instead of catching up. Mike Green knows what he’s doing. We have a great plan, and we’re getting there.” Tommy Johnson Jr. brings spirit to Make-A-Wish’s hometown Tommy Johnson Jr. had an impressive return to full-time driving in the Mello Yello series when he qualified DSR’s Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T for the No. 9 spot then defeated teammate Jack Beckman’s Valvoline team in the opening round with a time of 4.048 seconds (320.81 mph). Even more impressive was Johnson’s next run when his career-best time (4.021) and speed (322.27), but he was edged by eventual event winner John Force’s 4.020. "It was just a great drag race," said Johnson, the 2005 Winternationals winner. "With how Force's car has been running lately, for us to go out there and run one-thousandth of a second behind him, I’m extremely pleased. "Coming back after a five-year layoff (from Funny Cars), a lot of people ask me what my expectations are and what I’m hoping for. Yeah, I want to win, but realistically, getting back into the car has reminded me of just how hard these Funny Cars are to drive. You take it for granted sometimes when you do it every week, but when you haven’t done it for a while, it's not that easy. To have such a good weekend, it gives you high hopes for the rest of the season." The Make-A-Wish team, which is funded by sponsor Terry Chandler, is eager to race in Phoenix that is home to the Make-A-Wish America headquarters and where Johnson won in 2006 Hagan starts strong in Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T It was reason to celebrate for Matt Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team just to be at Pomona for the Winternationals with crew chief Dickie Venables back on board. Venables missed the 2013 finale at Pomona while recovering from surgery in Indianapolis, and assistant Michael Knudsen led the team to the event title and with an NHRA speed record on the last run. They nearly started 2014 season the way the last one ended when Hagan beat John Force in the championship round. Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane Dodge came close but this time he couldn’t catch Force, who won the Winternationals title while setting NHRA records for elapsed time (3.965) and speed (324.12). “Force had been running 3.90s all weekend long,” Matt said. “We knew we had to bring our A-game. He’s got a great hot rod right now but we’ve got a pretty good one too. It’s going to be a great season this year and I can’t wait to battle it out and turn on some more win lights.” ‘New’ Valvoline team heads to great track for Beckman Jack Beckman, the 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champ, has won 20 percent of his 15 NHRA titles near Phoenix and is confident he can for the fourth time in eighth tries despite arriving with a virtually new team. Beckman and assistant crew chief Terry Snyder are the only two members of the Valvoline team who raced there with the team a year ago. They’ll return with veteran crew chief Rob Flynn and an all-new crew. The team impressed at their inaugural event at the Feb. 7-9 opener at Pomona when it produced a best qualifying run of 4.049 (312.89) to earn the No. 8 spot, which was a run it needed after not being among the top-16 after three tries. “It’s probably not going to happen in three races,” Jack said of the new lineup meshing. “It was tough going into the last qualifying session and not be qualified. Not only did we run well enough to get in, we ran well enough to get a bonus point in that session by being the third quickest.” Beckman was paired against teammate Tommy Johnson Jr., for the opening round Sunday and despite losing the race the Valvoline team produced a solid time of 4.071 seconds (309.56). “We had every reason to believe we could challenge for the title; our teammate just ran better. We definitely made steps in the right direction. We’ll be OK.” Brown, Matco strong at Winternationals opener Antron Brown and the Matco Tools team led by Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald always expect the best and came close at the Winternationals. Antron held the Winternationals provisional pole position until Saturday evening’s last qualifying session and they dropped to the No. 3 seed heading to Sunday’s eliminations after completing three of four runs in the 3.7- second range. Despite having their choice of lanes against Clay Millican, the Matco dragster lost traction and slowed to a time of 4.076 seconds at 205.53 mph to Millican’s 3.797 (312.28). “We went out there with our heads down and we were pressing,” Antron said. “We were going good down the Matco track but it just couldn’t hold what we Tools Expo put down. The car was marching. DSR's Matt “It just puts a bad taste in our mouth Hagan and because we’ve never won the Antron Brown Winternationals. “It’s alright. We’ll have were guests at our game faces on when we get to the 2014 Matco Phoenix and give it all we’ve got. We’ll Tools Expo regroup and be ready for Phoenix.” this week at Antron has won near Phoenix twice, San Antonio. most recently in 2012. Massey, Battery Extender team charged-up after Pomona semis Consistency wins championships and that left a smile on the faces of Spencer Massey and his Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher Top Fuel team after the Winternationals. The Battery Extender team led by crew chiefs Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara advanced to the semifinals and rank third in Mello Yello championship points heading to the Feb. 21-23 event near Phoenix. After losing traction early on its first qualifying attempt in the Winternationals, the team reeled off six straight runs in the 3.7-second range, including matching 3.768s on Saturday at 324.51 and 323.04, respectively. “Phil and Todd made some great calls over the weekend. Going 3.76 twice was great for our team.” SPOTLIGHT ON DSR Tom Turkal, valvetrain U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster Illinois native in 17th season with DSR Tom Turkal never imagined when he started with Don Schumacher Racing in 1998 as a race-car technician on Tony Schumacher’s Top Fuel dragster that 16 years later he’d be with Tony, and that the one-car team in a small shop on Girls School Road outside of Indianapolis would grew into seven teams working in a 120,000-square-foot shop in Brownsburg, Ind.