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Photog Web |
Don Schumacher (M) from
Park Ridge, Illinois
USA
(Comp Nr/Finish:
356 ) |
1973 - Category: FUELFC, Type: FN, Class: AA/FC, Div: 3 |
| "Stardust" Owned by Don Schumacher
from
Park Ridge, Illinois
USA
| Crew Chief: Don Schumacher |
| '72 Plymouth Cuda by
John Buttera |
Powered by Supercharged Nitro 474 Ed Pink Hemi with
2 speed manual transmission |
| 1/4 Mile ET: |
6.347 at NHRA Gainesville FL 3/17/73 |
1/4 Mile MPH: |
233.16 at NHRA Gainesville FL 3/18/73 |
| 1000 FT ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1000 FT MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
| 1/8 Mile ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1/8 Mile MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
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Entry's 1973 Performance Ratings (0 to 100) based on comparison to average ET/MPH:
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1/4 Mile Rating: ET 82.16,
MPH 93.98 |
Entry is 0.95186 times average ET and 1.08447 times average MPH |
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1000 FT Rating: ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
| 1/8 Mile Rating:
ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
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| 1973 Records: |
1/4 Mile: 6.169 ET, 235.64 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.520 ET, 189.00 MPH |
| 1973 Average: |
1/4 Mile: 6.668 ET, 215.00 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.657 ET, 184.00 MPH |
| 1973 Minimum: |
1/4 Mile: 7.168 ET, 200.00 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.987 ET, 172.12 MPH |
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No Racer Website |
Video Link |
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Notes: Won 1973 Winternationals and was runner-up at Gatornationals with a 230.76 national mph record. Ran this car until the Wonder Wagons. Yellow Wonder Wagon debuted at Indy 1973. Where were the white Wonder Wagon panel wagons raced? The Video link shows Don racing this car against Paula Murphy at Santa Pod 1973. Gainesville 3/73 record stood for three years! Coke event promo poster from US 30 cited 6.33/228, but there was no way to know which of the three Cudas ran at that event. | Don had a great early season. It started at Beeline Dragway in Arizona for the AHRA Winternationals. Seventy-five cars showed for the 32-car nitro Funny Car field. Schumacher qualified #8 with a 6.61/208.81. In the first round, his 6.58/208.33 beat Mike Van Sant's off-pace 7.54 in the "Stone, Woods and Cook" Mustang. A second-round 6.57/214.38 defeated Dale Pulde's 6.83/200 in the "Lil Demon," He continued to improve in round three, where his 6.46/218.44 stopped Dave Uyehara, who broke a rear end in Larry Huff's car. Richard Tharp had his "Blue Max" go up in flames against him in the semifinals, while Don reset the AHRA ET record with his 6.42 at only 196. He faced "Jungle Jim" Liberman in the final and won with a 6.44 (Low ET) at 220.04, while Liberman smoked the tires in his runner-up effort. He then went to Pomona for the NHRA Winternationals, where 58 cars showed for the sixteen-car field. Traction was horrible as the low qualifier was in at 7.18. Don qualified #14 with a 7.65/206.89 and then ran 7.64 over alternate Ron O'Donnell. In round two, his 7.43/210 beat Tom Hoover's 7.59/207. He improved a bunch in the semifinals, where his 7.26/218.44 stopped Jim Murphy's close 7.28/210. He met future superstar Kenny Bernstein driving Ray Alley's Charger in the final, and Schumacher's 7.18/220.58 rn (Low ET and Top Speed) prevailed for his fifth NHRA National event title. At the IHRA Winternationals at Lakeland, Don's 7.02 qualified #5 in the sixteen-car field. A 7.00/207 in round one beat Gary Henderson's 7.18/173 in the "Super Duster," but his second round 7.09/211 lost to Harlan Thompson's 6.93/205 in the "Tom and Jerry" Mustang. The wins continued at Fremont for the AHRA Northern Nationals. He beat Art Ward in the first round with a 6.58/197.80. He had an easy run in round two and the semifinals, where Leroy Chadderton, driving the "Hawaiian," lost fire. He met up with Liberman again in the finals, and his 6.55/215.82 scored the win over JJ's 6.81/216. The following week (March 18), he almost won the NHRA Gatornationals. He set Low ET at 6.34/228.42 in qualifying #1 and made his way to the final by running 6.48/230.76 (not Top Speed, but a new national record) over Roger Lindamood, another 6.34 at 226.70 over Leroy Goldstein's 6.61 in the "Candies and Hughes" 'Cuda and a 6.54 single in the semifinals when Ed McCulloch was unable to show. He faced Pat Foster driving the Barry Setzer Vega in the final, and it was a good race, but Foster took the victory with a 6.37/221 over Schumacher's 6.41/233.16 (just short of being backed up for the record)! The winning didn't come quite so easy after that. He was at Miami for a sixteen-car Funny Car show that had him qualify #7 with a 7.25/187.11. He soloed in round one when Paul Smith was shut off on the line with a fuel leak, but his 6.94/199.11 lost to Al Marshall's 6.80/220 in round two. Don won his third consecutive AHRA race when he beat Hoover with a 6.73 in the final at the rain-delayed Tulsa Grand American Race on April 11. His streak ended at the AHRA Green Valley race when he lost to eventual winner Don Prudhomme in the semifinals. Shortly after that (May 24), Schumacher was at Dragway 42 for the next AHRA Grand American race. He set Low ET in qualifying #1 with a 6.53. In round one, he got the "odd-lot" solo and ran 6.90/199.55 to advance. But in round two, his 7.15/211.76 fell to Gene Snow's 6.67/220. He also set Low ET in qualifying at the AHRA Springnationals held in Denver, where his 6.54 was almost two-tenths ahead of the second qualifier. A 6.76 in the opening round defeated Tom McEwen, but his car was shut off on the line for an oil leak in round two, and Don had to watch as Art Ward soloed into the semifinal. A week later, he was at Columbus for the NHRA Springnationals. He debuted his new Wonder Bread sponsor at its first national event. His 6.72 qualified #4, and his 6.79 beat alternate Dick Rosberg in the "Fighting Irish" Satellite in round one. In round two, his off-pace 7.32/191.08 lost to Jim Nicoll's 6.84/211. On July 4, he competed at Englishtown's Funny Car Spectacular event. Fourteen cars were there, and all ran the first round, with the four Low ET cars advancing into the semifinal. Don ran 6.93/199.55 to beat Al Bergler's out-of-shape Vega. Unfortunately, his ET did not advance into the final four. He came back out later for a consolation race with Fred Goeske that saw his 6.76/200.89 lose to Fred's 6.80/215. He was back at Englishtown on July 15 for the NHRA Summernationals. He "only" qualified #15 with a 6.62, and he smoked the tires to a 10.58 loss against McEwen's 6.87 in the first round. At the end of the month (July 29), he was at Rockford for its Manufacturer's Meet. He did not have a good day. In his first race, his 6.80 lost to Bill Leavitt's 6.79, and in his second race, Pulde's 6.75 in the M/T Grand Am beat his quicker 6.66. The car broke, and was unable to run round three. Schumacher then went to Atco for its World Funny Car Championships. This was an eight-car show, and he lost to Pat Foster driving the Barry Setzer Vega in the first round. He came back out later for a consolation race and set Low ET and 6.56. |
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Submitted by Danny White, Last updated on Sunday, September 21, 2025, 02:37:16 PM by
John Murnan II.
Approved by Super Crew. |
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Rankings updated: 09/21/25 03:04:23 am EDT
