Dixon hot on Schumacher’s tail

Most in drag racing thought Tony Schumacher's run of five consecutive NHRA Top Fuel championships would end this year when noted crew chief Alan Johnson announced a year ago he would be forming a new team and leaving Schumacher.

Even Schumacher wasn't expecting to challenge for this year's NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series crown.

"No. Honestly no. I thought it would be a year of rebuilding," said Schumacher, who drives for his father's Don Schumacher Racing team.

But the "rebuilding" job engineered by new crew chief Mike Green would make stars of Home & Garden Television envious.

When pro qualifying begins at 1:30 p.m. today in the sixth annual Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Schumacher will be the Top Fuel points leader and on the cusp of continuing his reign by winning a sixth straight and seventh championship.

Johnson and his new Al-Anabi Racing team with driver Larry Dixon trails Schumacher by 47 points with two races left in NHRA's "Countdown to 1" six-event playoff.

The battle for the Nitro Funny Car championship is even closer, with Robert Hight leading John Force Racing teammate and sister-in-law Ashley Force Hood by 13 points.

The Schumacher-Johnson combination enjoyed a successful 2008 season, producing 15 event titles and 31 consecutive elimination-round wins and other NHRA records.

Dixon is not surprised that Schumacher has continued that success this year.

"People weren't giving Mike Green enough credit," Dixon said. "Mike worked under Lee Beard when Gary Ormsby won the (Top Fuel) title in 1989.

"When Alan left (Schumacher's) team, it didn't have to start from scratch. It would have been odd if they didn't win races this year."

Even Johnson suggested the Schumacher team consider Green as a replacement.

It didn't take Dixon or Schumacher long to show they would be contenders this year; Dixon won the third event of the season, and Schumacher followed by winning at Las Vegas at the next stop.

Each has won five events this year.

A new wrinkle to the rivalry came this week when Don Schumacher purchased the Top Fuel team owned by Mike Ashley, whose driver, Antron Brown, is fourth in points with five titles and 81 behind Schumacher.

Another DSR Top Fuel team with Cory McClenathan is third in the standings with one win.

"When I heard that Schumacher bought Antron's team, I realized right away that we're the only Top Fuel team in the top four that isn't owned by Don Schumacher," Dixon said.

Tony Schumacher is excited about the addition of Brown, who was a teammate when Brown raced a Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"I hope me and Antron don't race each other this year so no one can imply that one of us threw the race," said Schumacher, referring to when a teammate lower in points lets the other win.

He vowed that if paired with any of his teammates in Sunday's elimination rounds, there will not be any team orders about who is to win.

"We all have different sponsors, so we couldn't do it anyway, but that's something I can't ever see my dad doing," he said.

"I've won six of these championships, and if I win this one, I don't want an asterisk on it."

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.