True to form at Mile-High Nationals

Schumacher, Wilkerson continue to dominate foes

By Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Tony Schumacher races to a win in the Top Fuel semifinals. Schumacher went on to capture the title for his sixth victory in eight trips to the final this year.

Tim Hussin © The Rocky

Antron Brown gets support from a crew member before his Top Fuel semifinal win. He lost to Schumacher in the final.

Tim Hussin © The Rocky

The crew of Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith celebrates after he beat Steve Johnson in the final to capture the title at Bandimere Speedway for the second year in a row.

A 1,000-foot pass or a full quarter-mile did not matter to Tony Schumacher and Tim Wilkerson during the 29th Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway on Sunday.

What they wanted most was to pad their points leads in their respective National Hot Rod Association divisions.

And that's what Schumacher, who won in Top Fuel, and Wilkerson, who came away with the Funny Car title on the side of Thunder Mountain, did.

Schumacher, who leads in Top Fuel, beat former teammate Antron Brown with a pass of 4.007 seconds at 304.05 mph to Brown's 4.173 at 276.97.

Wilkerson beat 2007 Mile-High champion Jack Beckman in Funny Car with his 4.398-second pass at 262.23 mph to Beckman's 4.661 at 205.41.

It was the fifth time Schumacher and Brown have raced each other this season, with Schumacher gaining a 4-1 edge. Not only that, the two exit the side of Thunder Mountain still 1-2 in the Top Fuel points race, 1,179-904.

The day was historic for the NHRA's nitro cars, as the two divisions were competing at the 1,000-foot distance instead of at a quarter mile (1,320 feet) for the first time since the NHRA's inception in 1955.

"It doesn't matter if it's 1,000 feet, it's still a great race," said Schumacher, who is seeking to win his fifth straight NHRA world championship. "You are clicking off only four-tenths of a second earlier, that's the only difference. The car went right down the track every single time. I couldn't have asked for a better race car. It was flawless."

It was the eighth trip to the final this season for Schumacher, who garnered his sixth win.

It also was the 78th final in his 13-year career, his sixth final at Bandimere and the 110th win for his father as the owner of Don Schumacher Racing.

Schumacher, who also established a milestone in the Mile- Highs by winning his 13th consecutive first-round race, won his only other title on Thunder Mountain in 2005.

He beat Steve Chrisman in the first round (4.032-4.352 elapsed time), Doug Herbert in the second (4.041-4.290) and Larry Dixon in the semifinals (4.039-4,146).

"Antron Brown is a great dude and he and I are buddies," Schumacher said. "He makes me sit up in the seat and drive hard. He is a great driver who will catch on fast and I'm proud to have him as an adversary down the stretch. Now he's a rival."

Brown, who moved up from the Pro Stock Motorcycle division this season, is the only driver in the NHRA to have won national events in Top Fuel and as a rider.

He came to Bandimere with two victories among his three final event appearances this season, but one was against Schumacher at Atlanta. Brown also has Colorado ties; Lee Beard, of Pueblo, is his crew chief.

As for Brown, it was his36th finals appearance but only his second in Morrison since 1980.

He started the Mile-Highs by beating defending event champion Hot Rod Fuller (3.995-4.115 elapsed time), then Bob Vandergirff Jr. (4.259-4.282) and the event's No. 1 qualifier, Cory McClenathan (4.245-4.326).

Wilkerson, who came to Bandimere with three wins under his belt in Funny Car, reached his fifth final this season, eliminating three drivers from John Force's team.

He beat Ashley Force in the first round (4.261-5.082), Mike Neff in the second (4.322-4.410) and John Force's son-in-law, Robert Hight, (4.260-4,316) in the semifinals.

"The 1,000-foot deal, I don't know what the fans think about it, but it looked pretty good to me from where I was at," said Wilkerson, who has 978 points to Hight's 763. "It was pretty good racing the entire weekend, and I want to applaud the NHRA for that.

"We were a little nervous coming into Denver, but we can't get too worked up about it. We just go with what we have. Hopefully, this is a good start for us on the Western Swing. We're excited about going the rest of the way and running the 1,000-foot for the next few races."

Beckman has struggled this season. But he has found Bandimere to his liking. He started from the No. 10 spot, beating Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round (4.296-4.487), Gary Den-

sham in the second (4.362-4.345 hole shot), then took out Cruz Pedregon in the semifinals (4.334- 4.474 elapsed time).

"We're back in the top 10," said Beckman, who had not won a round in his past nine events but won the second event in Gainesville, Fla. "It's been a long time since Gainesville (on March 16). Now maybe we've got a little bit of steam going. You always want to leave Denver on a high note."