"
The Sarge" Remains Number One;
Sampey Ends Up Sixth, Brown Eighth
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/12/06) -- Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, who handles the controls of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, pocketed his eighth pole of the season here Saturday during final qualifying for tomorrow's Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR).
In Pro Stock Motorcycle action, U.S. Army pilots, Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, settled for the sixth and eighth starting positions, respectively.
Top Fuel
Schumacher's Friday evening pass - 4.499-seconds at 330.72 mph - went untouched during Saturday's action.
The Chicago native, who banked his 30th career pole, will confront 16th-place qualifier, Joe Hartley, in the first round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. CDT.
"It's always nice to end up number one, but you still have to make it pay off on race day," said Schumacher. "As I always say, Sunday we all start from scratch again."
The three-time world champ is hopeful he can continue his recent surge in the Top Fuel standings. He moved from seventh to third in the last four races.
"We can't let up, that's for sure," he added. "Just as quickly as things turned around for us, it can go back the other way again just as fast. We have to keep attending to detail with everything that we do."
Pro Stock Motorcycles
Sampey, who is a three-time world champion, dropped a couple of spots in the final order following the last qualifying session.
The Louisiana native will take on 11th-place qualifier, Ryan Schnitz, in the opening round of eliminations.
"I'm looking forward to race day," she offered. "We'll definitely get a better handle on my Suzuki by the time first round rolls around. My crew chief, Steve Tartaglia, will get it figured out."
Despite putting up two solid runs on Saturday, Brown also moved down a couple of positions in the starting line up. But, he did remain in the upper half of the field.
Brown will await ninth-place qualifier, Shawn Gann, in the first round of competition.
"We'll be just fine," said Brown. "We've got to race well tomorrow given the points battle Angelle and me are involved with at the moment. I'm optimistic the U.S. Army team will perform well."
