The season has not gone as planned thus far for Top Fuel standout Tony Schumacher. But all of that can change in an instant at this weekend\u2019s prestigious 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a race that helped shape Schumacher\u2019s legacy of the winningest and most successful Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. As NHRA celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026, Schumacher\u2019s incredible success is a big part of it, from his eight world championships to his remarkable 10 victories at The Big Go.<\/p>\n
It is the most in NHRA history, as one of the sport\u2019s biggest stars has shined the brightest on the sport\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
Which goes back to how quickly Schumacher could turn around a season that\u2019s had its share of rough moments. Currently 12th in points in the loaded Top Fuel ranks in his 12,000-horsepower American Communications Construction dragster for Rick Ware Racing, Schumacher and his team are eager to get their season on track. An 11th Indy victory would unquestionably do the trick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here in this position before where it just wasn\u2019t quite right and you\u2019re one decision or one little thing away from going fast,\u201d Schumacher said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get there and we\u2019ve got a lot of smart guys on this team who have won a lot of races. We\u2019ll get it figured out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have another thought process but going and winning Indy. We tested after Brainerd and the car ran well. We made some big changes, but we\u2019re walking into (Indy) thinking we can win this race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals saw Austin Prock (Funny Car), Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) win the world\u2019s biggest drag race. This year\u2019s event will once again be broadcast on FS1 with qualifying and the NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout throughout the weekend. Monday\u2019s eliminations will be broadcast on FOX beginning at 2 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n
It is the last of 14 races in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season, with the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs right around the corner. An epic U.S. Nationals is on tap as well, with special 75th anniversary highlights including:<\/p>\n
Schumacher knows plenty about surreal moments at Indy. His Top Fuel debut came at The Big Go in 1996, advancing to the final round after qualifying 16th in the field, just seven days after getting his license.<\/p>\n
His first Indy win came in 2000, signaling a run of dominance on drag racing\u2019s grandest stage. He won eight times during that decade, with Schumacher\u2019s most recent Indy victory coming in 2026. An 11th U.S. Nationals victory would do wonders for a team and a season that\u2019s included just four round wins through 13 races.<\/p>\n
Schumacher will also have to take on the lights of points leader and reigning world champ Doug Kalitta, who has won three straight races in 2026, Shawn Langdon, Tony Stewart, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown, Ashley and rookie sensation Maddi Gordon.<\/p>\n
But Schumacher knows a bit about Indy magic and never counts out the possibility of it happening again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my 30th year of racing at Indy and it\u2019s such a special place,\u201d said Schumacher, who has an unprecedented 88 career Top Fuel victories. \u201cIt\u2019s done some special things for me. This is where it started.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot guys on my team are very young and I hope they understand this is part of the journey. If it wasn\u2019t so frustrating at times, the wins wouldn\u2019t be so amazing. The car went down the track three times in a row during testing (in Brainerd) and it went fast, so we\u2019re encouraged by that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funny Car\u2019s Prock swept Indy last year, winning the race, the Callout and the regular season championship. This year, Matt Hagan leads the points, but only 22 points separate him from the next three drivers \u2013 Jordan Vandergriff, Ron Capps and J.R. Todd \u2013 in what will be an epic showdown at The Big Go.<\/p>\n
Six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders won for the fourth time at Indy last year, getting her 50th career victory with a win over Matt Hartford. Dallas Glenn earned the regular season championship and went on to secure his first world title. With four wins, Greg Anderson currently has the points lead in the talent-heavy class.<\/p>\n
Two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Gaige Herrera rolled to his second straight win at The Big Go by defeating Brayden Davis last year. Teammate and reigning champ Richard Gadson leads the points, while others to watch include Matt and Angie Smith, Steve Johnson, Ryan Oehler, Jianna Evaristo, John Hall and Chase Van Sant.<\/p>\n
Also competing will be drivers in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown and Right Trailers Outlaw Street.<\/p>\n
As always, fans get an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. Fans get a unique chance to see teams in action and service their hot rods between rounds, get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers, and more. They can also visit Manufacturers Midway, an exciting atmosphere that includes interactive displays, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.<\/p>\n
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature one round at 6:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 4, two rounds at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 5 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 12 and 2:45 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 7.<\/p>\n
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 and 10:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and eliminations at 12 p.m. on FS1 on Monday, shifting to FOX at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
To purchase tickets to the 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, fans can visit\u00a0www.NHRA.com\/tickets<\/a>. Children 12 and under are admitted free. For more information about NHRA, visit\u00a0www.NHRA.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The post As Indy\u2019s Biggest Winner, Tony Schumacher Looks for Turnaround at Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The season has not gone as planned thus far for Top Fuel standout Tony Schumacher. But all of that can change in an instant at this weekend\u2019s prestigious 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. It\u2019s a race that helped shape Schumacher\u2019s legacy of the winningest and most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}