The Maynard Family Racing (JCM) team is strengthening its crew chief and tuning corps by bringing Phil Shuler to the fold on a permanent basis. Shuler, who spent much of his crew chief days working in the Don Schumacher Racing organization with current JCM crew chief Todd Okuhara, joins Okuhara and Marc Denner as part of Tony Schumacher’s NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel tuning team.
This change should come as no surprise as Shuler’s been part of the JCM/DSR squad since the second NHRA Western Swing stop at Sonoma Raceway in late July. At the time Okuhara had to step aside as he battled COVID, but Shuler continued with the team as they earned victory the following weekend at Seattle and in Brainerd, where eight-time Top Fuel champ Schumacher, the winner of 86 dragster national events and his team were runners-up to four-time reigning titleholder Steve Torrence.
The trio of Okuhara, Shuler and assistant crew chief Marc Denner has proved to be a good mind meld. Obviously, Okuhara and Shuler, who worked together at Don Prudhomme’s team from 2003-2006 before coming to Don Schumacher Racing, have an innate understanding. The duo collaborated on the Funny Car squads for Jack Beckman, Gary Scelzi and Jerry Toliver, while later helming Top Fuel cars for Cory McClenathan and Spencer Massey through the 2016 season.
Before the start of the 2017 season, Okuhara became Leah Pruett’s Top Fuel crew chief while Shuler joined the U.S. Army squad as assistant crew chief, with crew chief Mike Green, for Schumacher. That episode was Shuler’s first experience working with the most successful Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. “After the 2019 season,” Shuler explained, “I stepped away from nitro racing to work on Pro Mods, but I’m happy to be back out on the NHRA circuit full-time again and reunite with Todd and Tony.
“Todd and I have a long history together, and Tony and I worked together for a few years on the Army car. This is my first time working with Marc Denner, and I think our group has found a good balance as far as how we all complement one another,” Shuler continued. “For me, being away from fuel racing for two years allows me to look at things differently and bring a different perspective. You learn things from other forms of racing, such as Pro Modified, Drag Radial and Outlaw cars, that applies to nitro racing.”
As Schumacher prepares to make a run for a ninth Top Fuel title, Shuler’s addition to his tuning corps is the right move at the right time. “They just work well together, plain and simple,” Schumacher said of Okuhara and Shuler. “On their own they’re both great, but when they are able to collaborate, they’re even better. It’s clear our team has been making big strides as of late, and I feel good about the direction we’re headed.”
Since Sonoma, the JCM/DSR team for Tony Schumacher has definitely come alive, vaulting from 12th in the standings to eighth, putting them firmly back into the playoff picture. “We have the capability to run right up there with the top-ranked cars in the category, and I feel good about our abilities to keep this momentum rolling into the Countdown,” he said.
Of course, making the Countdown is one goal, and being towards the sharp end of that grid is another. Schumacher has won the upcoming Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals an incredible 10 times and, with the Big Go’s unique points-and-a-half format, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Schumacher and this team to vault another two spots next weekend. In fact a bit more than three round wins, or 94 points, separate the driver from No. 5-ranked Josh Hart. He’s less than two rounds (54 points) behind Pruett and Shawn Langdon, that duo tied for sixth place.
Nitro qualifying for the vaunted U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park begins on Friday, September 2, at 7:30PM. The biggest race on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series calendar, the Big Go has its final eliminations on the traditional Labor Day date, Monday, September 5th.
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