Tony Schumacher is aware of the talk. He’s read the internet posts that suggest he won’t add to his record 86 NHRA Top Fuel victories.
The eight-time Top Fuel champ, who’s still celebrated for his knack for pulling off the seemingly impossible, knows some believe he has lost the magic. They argue that his career is on the decline because he has won only twice since the U.S. Army sponsorship ended in 2018.
Doubters contend Schumacher, now 54, has the consolation of owning at least 20 class and NHRA records that won’t soon — or ever — be matched.
Schumacher thumbs his nose at all that.
“I think the magic is not about, ‘Can you drive? Can you still hit the gas? Can you still go straight?’ The magic is, ‘Can you build a team?’” he said. “And what I’ve been very fortunate to do over the years with my pops (Don Schumacher), now with Joe Maynard, is pick the right guys.”
Tony Schumacher is the lone drag racer to win championships with three different crew chiefs and teams. In 1999, he claimed his first title with Dan Olson — but it didn’t happen overnight. Schumacher crashed a car and, he recalled, “Dan didn’t forget how to tune a car at that time. It just took time to get back to where we were again.”
Then, from 2004-’08, Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson claimed five consecutive titles.
“We had a magical several years with A.J. It was special,” Schumacher recalled. “That team went on, stayed together and moved on.”
When the dream team left Schumacher, fans sympathized, figuring he would never win again. But up stepped Mike Green (who today is building an impressive potency with Justin Ashley) and Schumacher didn’t miss a beat. He won his seventh title in 2009, his first year with Green calling the shots. They went on to rule again in 2014.
“It wasn’t one guy and it wasn’t me who brought the magic. It’s just we were a hell of a team,” Schumacher explained. “The magic part isn’t something I do. It’s something I know: It takes time. You don’t win championships by yelling at people or telling them, ‘I pay you this much. Why (aren’t we winning)?’ That’s all crap. I see it happen all the time. That’s how teams break up.”
Referring to his current crew, led by Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer, (as he has with every team he has had in the past) Schumacher said, “Those guys are fantastic. That’s the secret. Let ’em get there. They’ll get there.”
Schumacher isn’t concerned if this team doesn’t get up to full speed by the end of this season.
“We have next year. … All of it has to come together. And I think that magic comes from years of knowledge. There’s not a magic potion.” he explained. “I don’t believe in a lot of that nonsense about an individual guy. It’s about a group of people.
“Generally speaking, it’s led by the driver, the positive attitude that brings the magic. It’s not the talent in the foot. And if you know that, get in and hit the gas and let the guys do their job. They’ll figure it out,” Schumacher continued. “And what makes them confident is knowing you’re not going to walk up in the lounge and chew them out. I’m not that guy. So it keeps their faith in me. I have the faith in them, and together that’s magical.”
Schumacher says he’s happy because, “I get to drive a race car. I get to do what I love, and what I love is building a team. And that is the magic.”
Because of the supreme confidence he has in not only his own abilities but also in those of his crew, Schumacher said, “I know that we’ll be champs again. And I know that we’ll win races. And I still get to drive a damn race car. I put this whole deal together (with primary sponsor SCAG Power Equipment) It was cool. I think that was a very special part of it. For the first time, I actually assembled the team. I actually assembled the sponsor. I brought it.”
His persona as “The Sarge” through 19 years of U.S. Army sponsorship attracted the attention of Joe and the late Cathi Maynard, who purchased controlling interest in the once-powerhouse Don Schumacher Racing a year ago. And Schumacher’s business-building acumen through the credit-card processing company he partly owns brought SCAG to the sport.
SCAG President and CEO Randy Gloede – along with Maynard – has since invested in Tim Wilkerson’s Funny Car operation, and he has become an associate sponsor for five-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders. In another move, Maynard partnered financially with Justin Ashley’s Top Fuel team.