Tough day for Don Schumacher Racing organization in eliminations at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston

Tough day for Don Schumacher Racing organization
in eliminations at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston

HOUSTON (RIS) -  For the first time since July 10, 2011, at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago, a Don Schumacher Racing entry did not make the final round of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competition.

Don Schumacher Racing drivers and crew chiefs faced the most challenging race track and conditions in 2013.

Torrential rains on Saturday and overnight left a beast of a race track for teams to navigate their temperamental 10,000-horsepower machines.

Ron Capps' NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge was the lone competitor left for DSR in semifinal competition and the tricky race track bit him, causing tire smoke and ending the day for the seven-team organization.

Spencer Massey's Battery Extender carried DSR to the second round after defending Top Fuel champion Antron Brown and seven-time champion Tony Schumacher both suffered first round losses.

Very few nitro-powered machines made full pulls throughout the day at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston, causing many pedal-fest drag races for the fans in the stands and when the semifinal and final rounds aired live on ESPN2 for the first time.

Don Schumacher Racing will regroup and head to Commerce, Ga., next week and watch team owner Don Schumacher be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday in Talladega, Ala. Capps is the defending Funny Car winner at Atlanta.

The following are event results and other notes:

TOP FUEL
Event winner: Bob Vandergriff, Bob Vandergriff Racing

Spencer Massey, Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher
Qualifying position: No. 7
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: SPENCER MASSEY (3.941 sec., 268.49 mph) def. Bernstein (7.935, 56.69)
Second round: Khalid alBalooshi (3.852, 318.09) def. SPENCER MASSEY (4.327, 215.27)

Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army
Qualifying position: No. 14
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: Shawn Langdon (3.846, 319.98) def. TONY SCHUMACHER (4.666, 169.17)

Antron Brown, Matco Tools
Qualifying position: No. 4
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: Bob Vandergriff (4.181, 260.71) def. ANTRON BROWN (4.902, 158.19)

FUNNY CAR
Event winner: Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing

Ron Capps, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T
Qualifying position: No. 11
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: RON CAPPS (4.308, 287.38) def. Matt Hagan (5.470, 147.84)
Second round: RON CAPPS (4.306, 291.89) def. Johnny Gray (4.857, 195.19)
Semifinal: Tim Wilkerson (4.202, 297.81) def. RON CAPPS (6.656, 109.22)

Jack Beckman, Valvoline NextGen/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge
Qualifying position: No. 4
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: JACK BECKMAN (4.658, 278.00) def. Tony Pedregon (5.446, 146.64)
Second round: Alexis DeJoria (4.484, 283.49) def. JACK BECKMAN (4.650, 270.00)

Johnny Gray, Pitch Energy Dodge Charger R/T
Qualifying position: No. 14
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: JOHNNY GRAY(5.147, 235.36) def. Robert Hight (5.167, 212.36)
Second round: Ron Capps (4.306, 291.89) def. JOHNNY GRAY (4.857, 195.19)

Matt Hagan, Rocky Boots/Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar Dodge Charger R/T
Qualifying position: No. 6
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: Ron Capps (4.308, 287.38) def. MATT HAGAN (5.470, 147.54)

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
(Unofficial through Houston event; 6 of 24; DSR drivers in CAPS)

TOP FUEL
1. TONY SCHUMACHER, 510
2. ANTRON BROWN, 440
3. Shawn Langdon, 423
4. SPENCER MASSEY, 413
5. Morgan Lucas, 347
6t. Doug Kalitta, 333
6t. Khalid alBalooshi, 333
8. Bob Vandergriff, 295
9. Brandon Bernstein, 281
10. David Grubnic, 250
Event winners: Shawn Langdon, TONY SCHUMACHER, ANTRON BROWN, SCHUMACHER, Bob Vandergriff

FUNNY CAR
1. Cruz Pedregon, 470
2. MATT HAGAN, 433
3. Courtney Force, 384
4. RON CAPPS, 381
5. JOHNNY GRAY, 362
6. Tim Wilkerson, 348
7. JACK BECKMAN, 318
8. Alexis DeJoria, 295
9. Bob Tasca, 293
10. Del Worsham, 290

Event winners: Courtney Force, RON CAPPS, JOHNNY GRAY, Cruz Pedregon, MATT HAGAN, Pedregon.

NEXT MELLO YELLO EVENT: May 3-5, NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Ga.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., starts 2013 with seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar/Rocky Dodge, the NAPA Filters of Ron Capps and the Pitch Energy Dodge of Johnny Gray.
DSR has won 203 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.