Schumacher remains No. 1, penalized in Shootout

Piloting his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher clinched his 11th pole of the season here Saturday during final qualifying for the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout, which was an all-star race-within-a-race, Schumacher actually advanced to the finals but his semifinal round win over Melanie Troxel was reversed due to the fact the U.S. Army car failed to make a required stop at the top end of the track to weigh-in.

Schumacher's 4.482-second pass on Friday night was never challenged during the final two qualifying sessions. He will face 16th-place qualifier, Doug Foley, in the opening round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. PT.

"We're now set for race day," he said. "We have to get it done tomorrow, no excuses. We definitely had our moments in the previous three races getting out of the first round, so that's where our concentration has to be. You can't win the race if you don't survive the first round."

In securing his 46th career pole, Schumacher gained critical points as he pursues a fourth consecutive world championship.

"It's so valuable to qualify well and, more importantly, out qualify the guys who you are competing with for the title," he added. "But, to be honest, qualifying will not mean very much if you don't perform on race day. That's our priority."

In the Shootout, Schumacher eased by Cory McClenathan in the first round before disposing of Troxel in round two. But, his win over Troxel was disqualified after it was discovered that he and his car passed the track scales, which confirms that the winning driver and car meet the class weight requirements.

"I'm not sure why we passed the scales, but we did and the rules are the rules," he said. "I'm confident that this will never happen again. We'll just have to turn our attention to Sunday."