DSR sweeps Gatornationals for #244, #245 Now it’s on to the Four-Wide Don Schumacher’s return to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series after health challenges the past three months couldn’t have gone much better Sunday during the 46th annual Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. In addition to a “Welcome Back Don” banner his employees placed in one of DSR’s hospitality areas, two of his teams presented him with NHRA Wally trophies after Spencer Massey drove the Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant dragster to a final round win over DSR teammate Tony Schumacher for the Top Fuel title moments after DSR teammate Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS 2015 Dodge Charger R/T won the Funny Car title to become the second winningest driver in Funny Car history. It marks the 43rd time DSR has won two professional titles at the same Mello Yello event and second straight this year to increase the organization’s total to 245 wins. After three of 24 Mello Yello events, DSR’s statistics are staggering: DSR has won five of the six nitro event trophies; DSR has filled eight of 12 spots in championship rounds; DSR has won all three Funny Car titles with the all-new 2015 Dodge Charger R/T; DSR has won two of three Top Fuel titles; And DSR has combined for an eliminations record of 40-15. But as Don and each of his drivers, crew chiefs and crew members will quickly say: Three races do not constitute a season. “My teams and all the guys back at the shop have done a phenomenal job,” Schumacher said. It was uplifting for DSR to have him back on the starting line wearing his customary red shirt over the weekend of the Gatornationals. “It's tremendously gratifying the way my teams have been able to come out and perform over the years, this year especially,” Don told a gathering of media after the championship rounds. “They've Red Fuel/Sandvik crew members Jimmy Newlin, Ryan Odette and Marla just done a phenomenal job. O'Guin get a Mello Yello shower after winning their first NHRA event It certainly was a boost to title. see Capps, his veteran Funny Car driver, win in the category for the 43rd time that moves him to second on NHRA’s all-time list. And Capps blended the expertise of crew chief Rahn Tobler and his NAPA team with his starting line reactions that contributed greatly to two of his four round wins on Sunday. Capps was first to leave the line in the first round against Courtney Force that allowed him to advance and eliminate No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Capps again was the first to leave and he beat Tim Wilkerson by a few inches at most. In the championship round, Capps ended rookie John Hale’s hopes of getting his first NHRA Wally trophy. “Tobler has been working on making our NAPA Dodge better and in that process I’ve been feeling like I’ve been driving a car that was behind the other cars so I’ve felt like I’ve had to be really up on the wheel all the time and that’s helped me,” he said of his quick reactions. Capps, who was runner-up at this year’s opener, moved to second in points and trails leader and DSR teammate Matt Hagan, who was upset in the first round, by 26 points. “Having Don here, there was a lot of incentive to get this win,” Capps said. “I know you've got a lot of these. Good to have you here. Love you.” In Top Fuel, Massey moved to third in points after using an outstanding reaction time of 0.020 seconds in the championship round that enabled his slower 3.882-second run to beat Schumacher’s 3.873. “Running Tony Schumacher in the final round, that car has been running extremely strong,” said Massey, who set a track record with a speed of 329.02 that his dragster tuned by crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler did twice over the weekend. “We know how well that car can run and Tony can be deadly on the starting line. I had to do whatever I had to do. It worked out. It’s just crazy. “Just to be able to race against legends and do this, I never want it to end.” His name also became attached to a pair of other legends when his 18th career Top Fuel title tied him with Darrell Gwynn and Shirley Muldowney on the all-time win list. Six of DSR’s seven teams advanced past the first round. Surprisingly, the only one that didn’t was reigning Funny Car world champion and points leader Matt Hagan, who had won the past three Mello Yello events including the first two this season. It was the first time the Mopar/Rocky team lost in an opening round since at Epping, N.H., that is a span of 17 races. DSR celebrates with two more trophies, more importantly Don’s return to the track By JEFF WOLF DSR PR Several decades ago as a substitute high school teacher I’d judge how good regular teachers were by the way their students behaved in their absence. If the kids were unruly, it was likely that was how they behaved every day in class. If they were attentive and diligently worked on assignments left for me to implement then it was accurate to assume their everyday teacher was respected and loved. From left, Ron Capps, Don Schumacher, Megan Fessel Schumacher and That’s one way to describe Spencer Massey enjoy a happy time after Sunday's NHRA Gatornationals. how Don Schumacher Racing – from front office, to fabrication and machine shop, merchandising and hospitality to crew chiefs, crews and drivers – performed their tasks for the three months their boss and mentor Don Schumacher has fought a battle that is tougher than any quest for an NHRA Wally trophy or world championship ever have been. On Sunday in the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., Don was able to enjoy a storybook chapter in his fight against head and neck cancer that began two days after winning Top Fuel and Funny Car world championships on Nov. 16 in the 2014 season-finale at Pomona, Calif. Seeing Don with his customary red shirt, black pants and focused look on the starting line behind each of his seven teams was comforting for not only members of the DSR family but for also competitors, NHRA and knowledgeable fans aware of his vast contributions to the sport since he drove a Dodge into his first winner’s circle in the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day in 1970 near Indianapolis. Since then, he has led DSR to 13 world championships and 245 NHRA national events. He has helped pioneer safety enhancements. And he currently enables more than 110 DSR employees to provide comfortable livings for their families. While Don looked great and smiled often and marked key wins on Sunday with his trademark fist pump, don’t be fooled into thinking he is completely off recovery road. “Better every day,” Schumacher said. “Having cancer is a long-term battle and a long-term fight for anybody who has ever had it. It's fighting every day. I'm recovering. Things are good, it's going along. I'm looking to just continue on and do what I do. “Coming out here this weekend, first time I've been out and about, this was really a refreshing move for me to come out and get back involved. Not only this, but back involved in life. It's really important for all of us to do that. “My key to fighting this cancer was early detection. I've been slashed and burned and just kind of deal with it from there. It's a barbaric way of treating the disease, but that's the best they have at this point. “Five years from now, 10 years from now, it's going to be a whole different world for treating cancer and beating cancer. I just look forward to being part of that.” The sign of great leaders is how their troops respond in their absence. Just like a good school teacher. Antron returns to Four-Wide to defend Top Fuel title in world’s most powerful race What’s twice as loud and powerful as a 20,000- horsepower drag race? Well, that’s easy to answer: It’s the NHRA Four- Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlottte Motor Speedway and this year’s edition of Mello Yello sensory overload. Consider that each time a group of four 10,000- horsepower nitro cars fill the lanes and produce 40,000 horsepower that it is more power than in the combined total of a 43-car NASCAR lineup … actually, it would be more than the combined power of 53 NASCAR stock cars. The most unique event of the year on the planet is next weekend and it’s one in which DSR has enjoyed success. Antron Brown and the Matco Tools team won the title last year marking the third straight year DSR has left with the Top Fuel title; Spencer Massey, who won the last Mello Yello event in Gainesville, Fla., won the coveted Four-Wide titles in 2012 and 2013. In Funny Car, DSR’s Matt Hagan (2013) and Jack Beckman (2011) each have won the quad title.