Commerce: Tony Schumacher Saturday notes

"THE SARGE" POCKETS THIRD STARTING POSITION

COMMERCE, Ga., April 26 - U.S. Army Top Fuel driver, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, will come out of the third starting spot here Sunday in the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Schumacher, who is the Top Fuel point leader, will face off with 14th-place qualifier, Morgan Lucas, in the first round of final eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. ET. After recording a 4.582-second pass on Friday, the defending world champion returned on Saturday to post a pair of sub-4.60 second runs despite having to battle warm, humid weather conditions.

"That was a great job today by the U.S. Army team," he said. "To come out and be one of the quickest on a hot track is saying something. Obviously, we want that kind of performance to transfer over to tomorrow when it matters the most." Schumacher will be seeking his third victory of the season and his first career win at Atlanta Dragway.

"We need to get back to winning races," he added. "And, of course, I wouldn't mind getting the monkey off my back here in Georgia. I'm tired of always leaving here without a trophy."

The Chicago-area resident is also hoping to present a victory to the U.S. Army Reserve in honor of its 100th anniversary.

"That would be so cool to do that," he offered. "We have a lot of men and women here this weekend from the Army Reserve, so to have them join us in victory lane would be very special."

The Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals marks Schumacher's 250th race as a professional.

-credit: dsr