"The Sarge" continues to dominate Top Fuel in NHRA.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tony Schumacher raced to his first victory of the season and in the process moved into the NHRA Full Throttle Series points lead Sunday at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

Tim Wilkerson, Jason Line and Eddie Krawiec also were winners in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Schumacher earned his fourth Gatornationals win and 62nd of his career by powering his U.S. Army dragster to a performance of 3.797 seconds at 322.04 mph while teammate Antron Brown’s Matco Tools dragster lost traction in the runner-up effort.

The seven-time Top Fuel world champ beat Terry McMillen, Doug Foley and rival Larry Dixon to advance to the final round.

“It was a perfect win for this team,” said Schumacher, who posted the national speed record at 324.98 mph in a thrilling side-by-side win over Dixon in the semifinals. “This is something we needed to do. Now we’re in the points lead and that’s important as we go to Charlotte for the four-wide race.”

Wilkerson scored his 14th career victory by holding off defending race winner and teammate Bob Tasca in the Funny Car final. Wilkerson’s Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang finished in 4.097 at 303.78, while Tasca’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang trailed with a 4.192 at 287.17.

Wilkerson beat Jeff Arend, top qualifier Matt Hagan and two-time world champ Tony Pedregon to advance to the final round, his first at the Gatornationals.
“When you run well and you run consistent, people will show you enough respect to try pretty hard against you,” Wilkerson said. “We did have a good day today. I’m not going to say we were world-beaters, but we made some pretty darn good runs to keep them on their toes.”

Larry Dixon says its hard to compare his record to The Snake's.

Veteran Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan, who has accomplished much during his highly-decorated NHRA racing career, still needs to check off two pesky items that stand out near the top of his drag racing bucket list.

If early season performance indicates anything, the Anaheim, Calif. native may be well on his way to crossing both off the list in 2010.

He’s called his FRAM dragster a “bracket car” for its incredible consistency early on this season. Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler have mastered the tune-up and can dial up a 3.81 when needed almost at will. Factor in McClenathan’s years of driving experience, and the combination could produce a champion’s trophy by year’s end.

McClenathan opened the season as the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Winternationals, then posted a semifinal finish at the Southern California season-opener before claiming his 32nd career victory one week later in Phoenix.

He heads to historic Gainesville Raceway for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March 11-14, as the Top Fuel points leader, a position he hopes to hang on to for the entire 10-month season. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.

“Right now we’re the points leader and we’re going in there with the same attitude of, ‘Let’s qualify very well, let’s try to keep lane choice on race day, and try to put this FRAM car in the winner’s circle,’” McClenathan said. “The FRAM car is definitely the car to beat right now and I think people know that and they’re taking notice of it. Obviously our teammates’ cars, Tony’s (Schumacher) and Antron’s (Brown), are running well; Larry Dixon’s running good also; and Doug Kalitta, obviously.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The thrilling excitement and heart-pounding action of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing returns to historic Gainesville Raceway for the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March 11-14. The event is the third stop in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the traditional opening race for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.

Thousands of fans were in attendance last year to witness two-time Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon race his Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi Racing dragster to his first win of the season and fourth at the Gatornationals when he defeated runner-up Cory McClenathan in the final round. Bob Tasca raced to his first career win in the Funny Car class as he powered his Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang past close friend Tony Pedregon, who was making his third final round appearance at Gainesville. Former Pro Stock world champion Jason Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP past the Team Mopar Dodge Stratus of Allen Johnson to collect his second win of the season and second in Gainesville, while eventual Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Hector Arana began his charge for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle world champion with his first victory at the tradition-rich Gatornationals and only the second win of his career.