The facts and figures on your 2014 NHRA Pro champions.
Mello Yello Top Fuel World Champion
TONY SCHUMACHER
Date of birth: Dec. 25, 1969
Hometown: Chicago
Residence: Austin, Texas
2014 car: U.S. Army dragster
2014 wins: 5 – Las Vegas 1, Epping, Charlotte 2, Dallas, uReading
2014 Runner-up finishes: 1 – Pomona 2
2014 No. 1 Qualifying positions: 4 – Denver, Seattle, Indianapolis, Reading
Crew Chief: Mike Green
Team Owner: Don Schumacher
Season summary: Schumacher began the season with a first round loss in Pomona but in Las Vegas he raced to his first win of the season and moved into the top 10 in points. Following his semifinal appearance in Norwalk, he moved to fourth in points and was never lower than that position in the standings for the remainder of the season. Schumacher entered the 2014 Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship as the fourth seed. On the strength of his Charlotte win, he took the points lead following the event and has won three races in the Countdown (Charlotte 2, Dallas, Reading) and raced to one runner-up finish (Pomona 2). This is the second championship with crew chief Mike Green.
Season highlights: Schumacher stretched his points lead at the NHRA Nationals event in Reading. During the event, he earned seven qualifying bonus points, raced to the No. 1 qualifying position and earned his fifth win of the season. Following the event he held a 134-point lead over Doug Kalitta.
Quotable: “It is a great moment to be out here, Pomona, California and it is crunch time. I would have loved to have locked it up in Vegas but there is nothing like the Pomona crowd. Racing is so big here, our team is here, our families are here, and it is such a great moment. We got beat in St. Louis in the first round and then came back in Reading. It takes the losing to enjoy the wining. The last four years we have been digging through adversity and really took a lot of heat for sticking with the six-disc clutch, people wanted us to revert to the five-disc clutch but Mike Green stood his ground and made us use that six disc clutch and we won a championship. It is a gift of a job to go out and drive for the U.S. Army, my dad and my guys. This is what life is about, family, and we love them.”
Notable: This is Schumacher’s eighth championship and his first since 2009. His eight championships are the most for any Top Fuel racer. This is the 12th world championship for Don Schumacher Racing, nine in Top Fuel and three in Funny Car. Schumacher’s 77 wins are the most victories in Top Fuel history. Schumacher is the son of racing pioneer Don Schumacher. His first career Top Fuel start was in Indianapolis in 1996.
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Mello Yello Funny Car World Champion
MATT HAGAN
Date of birth: Nov. 18, 1982
Hometown: Salem, Va.
Residence: Christiansburg, Va.
2014 car: Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T
2014 wins: 4 – Chicago, Charlotte 2, Reading, Pomona 2
2014 Runner-up finishes: 2 – Pomona, St. Louis
2014 No. 1 Qualifying positions: 2 – Indianapolis, Las Vegas 2
Crew Chief: Dickie Venables
Team Owner: Don Schumacher
Season summary: Hagan secured his second Funny Car world championship with three wins and two runner-up finishes on the season. He also powered to two No. 1 qualifying positions. Hagan clinched the championship with his victory over Tommy Johnson Jr., in the semifinals. Hagan went to defeat John Force in the finals for his fourth win of the season. This is the second Funny Car world championship for crew chief Dickie Venables.
Season highlights: Hagan began the Countdown to the Championship in the eighth position but immediately jumped to third when he defeated John Force in the finals in Charlotte. He took the points lead following his victory at the Reading event. Hagan raced to four final round appearances, one semifinal finish and one quarterfinal appearance in the Countdown. Hagan had only six first round losses during the year.
Quotable: “DSR and Don Schumacher Racing and the whole family just put a great racecar under me. We still got a lot of work to do. John (Force) is a tough competitor and in the finals and we’ll see if we can do it out there. It is just awesome to have this experience, my family, my kids, and what a lot of people don’t understand is it all comes down to the five races before this and all the preparation and all the drama and the nerves you have to get through. This is a really special championship for me. We came out and stumbled a little bit on Friday but Dickie Venables (crew chief) did a good job recovering and put a new fuel pump on the car, found some mistakes that we made and went out there and ran really strong and kept it two rounds ahead of John. It was a tough race all the way down to the end and gave the fans what they were waiting for. Hopefully we can go out here and win another race. It is just great to have this experience. It is bigger than me and I’m glad to be associated with his entire team.”
Notable: In Hagan’s four appearances in the Countdown, he has won the championship twice and been runner-up twice. Hagan’s Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel teammate Tony Schumacher raced to his eighth world championship during the event. It is the third time Don Schumacher has won both titles in the same season (also 2005 Schumacher, and Funny Car Gary Scelzi; 2012 Top Fuel Antron Brown and Funny Car Jack Beckman.) This is the 13th NHRA Mello Yello world championship title for Don Schumacher Racing.
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Mello Yello Pro Stock World Champion
ERICA ENDERS-STEVENS
Date of birth: Oct. 8, 1983
Hometown: Houston
Residence: New Orleans
2014 car: Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro
2014 wins: 6 – Las Vegas 1, Houston, Bristol, Norwalk, Las Vegas, Pomona 2
2014 Runner-up finishes: 1 – Gainesville
2014 No. 1 Qualifying positions: 6 – Atlanta, Norwalk, Charlotte 2, St. Louis, Reading, Las Vegas 1
Crew Chiefs: Rick Jones, Rickie Jones
Team Owner: Richard Freeman
Season summary: Erica Enders-Stevens raced to her first career Pro Stock world championship with six race victories and one runner-up finish on the season. Her 12 career wins are the most by any female Pro Stock winner and she is third on the all-time female win list.
Season highlights: Enders-Stevens gained the points lead following the first Las Vegas race and maintained the lead until the Brainerd event where she slipped to second. She was as low as fourth until the Las Vegas race when she powered to the No. 1 qualifying position and won the event.
Quotable: “It is crazy and hard to boil it into words to have it come to the final race and final round of the year with everything on the line against one of the baddest guys in the class. We were able to get it done and I give God all the glory. Also teamwork, teamwork makes the dreamwork. I say that in every interview and I believe that in the bottom of my heart. I’ve got such a solid group of guys. I was a little kid with a big dream. Racing juniors when I was eight years old and then moved up to Super Comp and Super Gas for five years. Then I thought I wanted to drive a Funny Car and went and got my Alcohol Funny Car license and that is when (Victor) Cagnazzi called and said ‘hey come drive my Pro Stock Car’ and now ten years later here we are in Pro Stock. It is definitely an awesome feeling and I feel very blessed. I love what I do. I love leaving with a clutch, the weight on my shoulders and it is a fun car to drive. It is right on the edge of out of control and it is a challenge and that is what I like about it.”
Notable: Enders-Stevens is a former Jr. Drag Racing League competitor. Her team missed two races during the season. One of her Jr. Dragster racecars is predominately featured in the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. She was the subject of the Disney Channel’s original movie Right on Track.
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Mello Yello Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion
ANDREW HINES
Date of birth: May 25, 1983
Hometown: Villa Park, Calif.
Residence: Brownsburg, Ind.
2014 car: Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson
2014 wins: 6 – Charlotte 1, Englishtown, Norwalk, Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas
2014 Runner-up finishes: 2 – Atlanta, St. Louis
2014 No. 1 Qualifying positions: 1 – Las Vegas 2
Crew Chief: Matt Hines
Team Owners: Byron Hines, Terry Vance
Season summary: Hines raced to his fourth career Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship on the strength of strong finishes at each of the 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events. Hines didn’t record a first round loss this season and only three quarterfinal losses. He won the spring Charlotte event and took over the points lead. He was the No. 1 seed at the start of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, but lost the lead following his semifinal round loss at the fall Charlotte event. He powered to the race win in Dallas and retook the points lead which he never relinquished. He secured the championship with his first round victory over Katie Sullivan.
Season highlights: Hines and his Screamin’ Eagle team showed their dominance in the Countdown with a string of dominating performances. In the Countdown he raced to two wins (Dallas and Las Vegas 2) and one runner-up appearance (St. Louis). He also raced to semifinal appearances.
Quotable: “The team I have to put us in this position to get back to winning my fourth championship for myself, I can’t say thanks enough to each and every one of them. It was a non-drama day and it was nice to get that win light and get that off my chest and be able to come over here and hold that Mello Yello trophy. It goes all the way back to Dallas when it finally started running better in that final qualifying session. It was just a matter of picking away at the tune-up. Going into Vegas it was an unfortunate set of circumstances with the bike shutting off a couple of times on the starting line but we pulled it together and got a No. 1 qualifier and gave me some big confidence and just had to go out there and perform. Forget about all the extra pressure and just go out there and race my lane and that is what I have been doing and it has been paying dividends. You can obviously see that with this awesome Mello Yello trophy. I was given the chance by Harley-Davidson 12 years ago to field a second V-Rod Pro Stock Motorcycle entry. I can’t say thanks enough to Willie G (chief styling officer emeritus) and Nancy who were instrumental in getting Harley-Davidson back to the front. I can’t believe it has been 12 years I have been racing in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle and four championships later it is still just as good as the first day.”
Notable: This is the fourth championship for Hines also (2004, 2005, 2006). He has appeared in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship seven times in his career but failed to qualify in 2012. His six wins in 2014 is a new season career record. His 38 career wins is third in all time Pro Stock Motorcycle victories. His teammate, Eddie Krawiec won the 2012 Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship and is a three time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion.
