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The US Army Top Fuel Dragster is one of the most successful racing vehicles in the NHRA Top Fuel Championship. Sponsored by the United States Army, the racer holds the NHRA national speed record for Top Fuel Dragster at 336.15 mph set back in 2005. The car is raced by the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team, with Tony "Sarge" Schumacher driving.
Don Schumacher was a successful NHRA driver, dominating the Funny Car field during his time. His son Tony followed in his footsteps and raced in the same field as well.
In 1998, Don decided to form his own team and recruited Tony to drive their Top Fuel Dragster. Barely a year later, the team was on the way to a very strong run, consistently placing better in every race and eventually winning the National Championship. During the same year, Tony set a new record, registering the very first 330 mph run during a race in Phoenix.
In 2000, DSR partnered with the United States Army as the Top Fuel Dragster's sponsor. And the results have only seen improvements since.
The army dragster, as it is often called, houses a 500 cubic-inch 8.2-liter V8 engine producing 8000 bhp of usable power. Guzzling 12 gallons of nitro-methane racing fuel for a quarter-mile run, it has registered a best time of 4.428 seconds and has achieved a top finishing speed of 337.58 mph. It accelerates faster than the Space Shuttle, reaching a fearsome 100 mph in a mere 0.8 seconds.
Top Fuel Dragsters are scary and intimidating. From the starting grid, it revs with the sound of a full-combat assault, shaking the ground beneath you and blaring to the crowds at 175 decibels. When the lights turn green, it speeds away in the blink of an eye, finishing a quarter mile lap in less than 5 seconds, in utter disregard of its 2225 lb weight.
Tony and the army dragster's success have grown to become important recruiting tools for the military. In return, DSR's Top Fuel Dragster is backed by sophisticated military technology including the complex software they use for analyzing performance data and post-race telemetry readings, such as cylinder temperature, clutch lock-up, and engine RPM's.
Every race day, the army brings in hundreds of potential recruits to the races where Tony speaks to them about joining the forces, showing them the options and benefits provided by a career in the military. While the army has not divulged any numbers, it is believed that Schumacher is one of the army's top recruiters, bringing in thousands of new recruits on the spot.