Tony Schumacher has a ready answer when fans wonder how much longer the 54-year-old, three-time world champion will keep climbing drag racing's ladder in the National Hot Rod Association.Age is just a number in drag racing, where cars hurtle down the track for a quarter-mile at more than 300 mph , a blur of speed and roaring noise that is over in a few seconds before a parachute helps bring the vehicles to a stop.
He is not alone. Ron Capps, 59, has won at least one Funny Car event for 15 straight years starting in 2009. Antron Brown, 48, has 75 career Top Fuel victories, winning titles in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Matt Hagan, 41, picked up his 50th Funny Car victory in April and the reigning champ was nominated as “Best Driver” for an ESPY.
As in all racing series, safety improvements have been made over the years in drag racing, from the roll cages and padding within the chassis to the firesuits, helmets and restraints for the drivers. Deaths in the NHRA are rare but not unheard of. “I think this drag racing, the people that are in the sport, they're consumed by it, I think,” he said.
Irvin Johns made history at age 79 last year when he won the Super Stock title at the Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, to become the NHRA's oldest national event winner. “How many older people do you see racing the mile? It's not older people winning the Boston Marathon," Brown said. “You can see older winning the 100 meters. That's what we are, we're a sprint.”
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