CLERMONT, Ind. - With one run down the track at O'Reilly Raceway Park, Tony Schumacher set all sorts of records on Monday.

The run, a final-round victory over Doug Kalitta in the NHRA's U.S. Natioals, gave the U.S. Army Dragster driver his record-setting sixth consecutive victory and a record 11th win in 2008.

But the biggest note for Schumacher and his Alan Johnson-led crew was that, with the victory, he tied the all-time record for Top Fuel event victories, equaling the 52 wins put up by driving great Joe Amato.

“We want people to remember this is one of the greatest teams ever,” said Schumacher, who felt the pressure to perform. “You get to the finals and you're down to one round, you're one four-second push of the throttle away from setting all those records, one shot to do it Š it's very intense. We had to stay focused. We had to stay a machine.”

The win comes two day after Johnson announced that he would be leaving the Schumacher Racing organization to co-found a two-car Nitro team with Al-Anabi Racing, originally out of Qatar.

With all of the pressure on Schumacher to deliver one more time, he steered the Alan Johnson-tuned machine to a 3.916 at 309.13 in the final round, good enough to achieve the record-breaking win going away against Kalitta's Mac Tools dragster (4.036 at 299.86).

“I don't think it's all set in just yet. Today was so special,” Schumacher said. “It's going to go on the trophy case as one of the most special ones ever.”

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The win was Schumacher's third straight at the U.S. Nationals, the most prestigious event on the NHRA calendar, and his seventh all-time, one short of Don Garlits' record of eight.

In the other categories, Robert Hight beat Schumacher Racing driver Jack Beckman to claim the title in Funny Car, while Dave Connolly beat Allen Johnson for the Pro Stock crown, and Steve Johnson beat Andrew Hines to take the Pro Stock Motorcycle title.

Beckman's DSR teammate, San Luis Obispo native Ron Capps, suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Melanie Troxel. Another teammate, Gary Scelzi, was one of several prominent drivers who didn't qualify for the event, including 14-time Funny Car champ John Force.

The series returns to action on Sept. 11-14 at the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Natioanals, held at the brand new zMax Dragways at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Sept. 2, 2008