![\"15PhoenixWinnersCircleGroupPHOTO\"](\"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/15PhoenixWinnersCircleGroupPHOTO.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nPhotos:<\/strong> Courtesy of NHRA<\/p>\n The charge of \u2018The Sarge\u2019 takes Phoenix; Hagan undefeated<\/strong><\/p>\n Tony Schumacher and his U.S. Army Top Fuel team charged to the front of the pack at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in the Valley of the Sun to capture win.\u00a0 His Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car teammate, Matt Hagan, dominated\u00a0his category, remaining undefeated \u00a0in 2015 and surprise Pro Stock winner Roger Brogdon had a smile as big as his native Texas in Sunday\u2019s winner\u2019s circle after learning he was the new point leader.<\/p>\n TOP FUEL<\/strong><\/p>\n Tony \u201cThe Sarge\u201d Schumacher talked all weekend about how his nine-man U.S. Army team continued to give him an incredible U.S. Army Dragster. \u00a0After earning his 78th<\/sup> career Top Fuel victory and first of 2015, the eight-time and reigning NHRA Mello Yello Series Top Fuel world champion was emphatic that they were the reason he was triumphant in the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix.<\/p>\n The Don Schumacher Racing crew paid huge dividends helping Schumacher establish a new career-best elapse time both during qualifying Friday and then on Sunday resetting it three times with his best being 3.720 seconds in the final versus Doug Kalitta.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to give the trophy, the credit, every bit of it to my U.S. Army team this weekend,\u201d said Schumacher following his fifth Phoenix win. \u00a0\u201cI was off. \u00a0My lights were slower than they\u2019ve been. \u00a0No matter what I tried to do I couldn\u2019t fix it. \u00a0(Crew chief) Mike (Green) and (assistant crew chief) Neal (Strausbaugh) and all the U.S. Army guys dug deep and said we can fight through this. \u00a0They told me to just do my best. \u00a0They gave me so much confidence by giving me an incredibly fast car, and we went out and won this thing. \u00a0It was a great run through the ladder. We started with Jenna (Haddock), who has one of my old cars that she beat me with last year in Denver, and to win that round was fun. \u00a0After that, we face my DSR teammates (Spencer Massey and Antron Brown) in consecutive rounds and then beat Kalitta in the final. \u00a0What can I say? \u00a0It was a huge day for this team and that\u2019s why this trophy is going on Mike Green\u2019s desk. \u00a0Those guys were tremendous from start to finish, and they deserve this victory.\u201d<\/p>\n Schumacher entered eliminations as the number one qualifier for the 77th<\/sup> time in his career. \u00a0He was machine-like in four qualifying runs including Friday night\u2019s pass of 3.722, the quickest run of his illustrious career at that time. \u00a0That continued Sunday as he dispatched Jenna Haddock with a pass of 3.725 seconds, before knocking out DSR teammates Spencer Massey and Antron Brown. \u00a0The victory over Brown set up his 15th<\/sup> final round matchup with Kalitta. \u00a0Schumacher made it 10 consecutive final round victories over Kalitta with his run of 3.720 seconds at 326.56 mph.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had so many good races with Doug over the years,\u201d continued Schumacher, the No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier in Phoenix, who improved to 44-30 all-time versus Kalitta. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s hard to beat anyone three times in a row, let alone 10. \u00a0Today, it was a matter of the team behind me. \u00a0They were incredible and I just didn\u2019t want to explain why I didn\u2019t get the job done. \u00a0Fortunately, I didn\u2019t have to. \u00a0I\u2019m not going to go home and put the trophy on my shelf and feel fulfilled. \u00a0It should go to Mike\u2019s house, and he should feel fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n