Tucson Dragway

BAYTOWN, Tex., March 30 - With weather a potential issue for Saturday qualifying, U.S. Army drivers, Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher, Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, seized the opportunity to jump into the O'Reilly Spring Nationals field during the first day of qualifying here at Houston Raceway Park. Schumacher, who handles the controls of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, nailed a 4.558-second pass at 312.50 mph to move into the fifth spot in the line up. In Pro Stock Motorcycles, Sampey and Brown, aboard their U.S. Army Suzukis, settled into the second and sixth positions, respectively. Top Fuel Coming off his first victory of the 2007 season at the ACDelco Gatornationals two weeks ago, Schumacher was relieved he got into the 16-car O'Reilly Spring Nationals order on Friday given a rainy forecast for tomorrow. "No doubt about that," he offered. "If you're not in the field after Friday and you know Saturday is expected to be a wash out, you certainly don't sleep very well. We're in the show comfortably and that's okay with me. We'll see if tomorrow turns out like they said." The defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion is looking for his second career win at Houston Raceway Park. "The big objective is to build on the momentum that we grabbed a couple of weeks ago in Gainesville," he added. Pro Stock Motorcycles In taking the second slot, Sampey posted a sizzling 6.973-second run at 192.22 mph. She also had a 6.999-second trip in the second qualifying session. "We're definitely running well," said the three-time world champion. "If we don't manage to get on the track tomorrow because of weather, I feel confident about where we're at for race day." Brown's best quarter-mile tour was 7.043-seconds at 190.67 mph, which secured a spot in the top half of the field. "I'm all right with how we performed today," said the New Jersey native. "If we do get a qualifying session or two in tomorrow, we'll certainly look to improve. "After Angelle and I both lost in the first round down in Gainesville, we want to make things right this weekend with a win. We owe it to our soldiers."