SEATTLE — Long before the extended, involuntary suspension of sporting events this spring, many drag-racing fans were wondering how the sport will survive someday without the continued participation of Don Schumacher, John Force and Connie Kalitta.
The three team owners account for seven cars in Top Fuel and seven more in Funny Car.
When racing resumes, all three legends will be operating at full-speed-ahead status.
And, with multiple racers in three classes, Schumacher just might see his organization hit the 350-victory plateau during the rescheduled Amalie Oil Gatornationals June 5-7 at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway. His Funny Cars (with drivers Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr.) won the first two events before racing was halted as the coronavirus spread.
Funny Car champions Ron Capps and Matt Hagan are eager to contribute to the Don Schumacher Racing victory tally.
In Top Fuel, the same is true for Antron Brown and Leah Pruett, the latter of whom has an extra chance in the Factory Stock Showdown category as she joins teammate Mark Pawuk.
The last time DSR scored a hat trick was Oct. 29, 2006, when Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Beckman (Funny Car) and Richie Stevens (Pro Stock) shared the winners’ podium at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Three triumphs in the same day at Gainesville would bump DSR from 347 overall victories to 350. If not at the Gatornationals, DSR surely will earn those three trophies sometime soon during the NHRA’s abbreviated 2020 schedule.
But what about Hall of Famer Don Schumacher? Schumacher, 75, said earlier this year, “I’m not looking to exit and go anywhere.” That’s despite the fact his son Tony, the eight-time champion and all-time Top Fuel victories leader, is facing a second straight season with no sponsorship and the fact Brown is transitioning to team ownership.
Force, who turned 71 on May 4, would be lost without his race car. Kalitta, 82, is still having fun. Speaking of fun, that’s one of the basic elements another drag-racing legend, Kenny Bernstein, always considered.
He used to ask Force, “Are you making money, and are you having fun?” His advice was that the answer needs to be yes to both questions for continued involvement to make sense.
Don “The Snake” Prudhomme is also having fun. Maybe he should be the model for retirement from drag racing.
Prudhomme was pragmatic when he shuttered his garage doors at the end of the 2009 season. He wasn’t happy that the funding was becoming tough to get, but he understood the economic realities of the day.
Prudhomme, like Bernstein, had helped escort high-dollar sponsorship into the sport, and both became victims of their own achievements. When Bernstein followed suit at the close of 2011 — and again when Castrol and Ford parted ways with Force in 2014 — the drag-racing community understandably wondered how the sport could regain its stature.
It was the end of an era in the sport. At the same time, it was the beginning of a new era for Prudhomme.
Since 2010, he has found plenty to keep him occupied. His latest venture has been helping link young dragster driver Austin Prock with Montana Brand Tools, Rocky Mountain Twist and Flav-R-Pac brands owner Frank Tiegs. That launched Prock’s career at John Force Racing.
Prudhomme floats between the drag strip and Indy car events, enjoying his open-wheel friends with a breezy demeanor that belies the gang-tough, cutthroat vibes he emitted when he was wheeling a Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car. But Prudhomme is enjoying his freedom from team ownership.
If Schumacher one day decides to assume the role of team owner emeritus, helping teams and individuals realize their potential as businessmen, who would blame him and how could the sport not prosper?
He returned to the sport because Tony Schumacher wanted to step up to the pro ranks and he wanted his son to compete in safe equipment. Since then, Don Schumacher has led the charge in supporting safety advancements, including the Top Fuel canopy.
He has put dozens of people to work and provided them a decent living. He has brought continued pride to drag racing — and he has been a winner.
No one hopes Don Schumacher will retire. But if he does, he might enjoy all he has built, and, like Prudhomme, he might usher in a new era for himself and possibly for the sport. Mega-teams might give way to strong independent organizations. If the purpose of multi-car teams has been data-sharing, who says that practice can’t continue?
Alliances still will form among racers. If the pendulum swings back to the privateers dominating, maybe that would be a step forward for the sport. Who knows?
Everything appears to be uncertain with recent events. As far as drag racing is concerned, no one need fear. As the NHRA legends gathered last year during the Gatornationals weekend, Ed “The Ace” McCulloch said that when he retired, he had wondered who was going to replace him and his peers. But Bernstein quickly interjected, “The pipeline always gets refilled.”
And it will continue to do so, with drivers and team owners alike.