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The former driver, who campaigned a multitude of iconic vehicles over his career, was perhaps more widely acknowledged by the racing public as the patriarch of the juggernaut that was Don Schumacher Racing, an organisation that spawned 19 NHRA Championships in 25 years, with 367 NHRA National Event wins.
In November 2022, Schumacher was awarded the NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award to go with his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2019), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013) and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame (2007).
A racer in the 1960s and 70s, Schumacher fielded multiple cars with big-name drivers to fulfil the match race bookings for his “Stardust” fleet of Funny Cars, he took a break from the sport in the 1970s to grow the family business.
Schumacher Electric grew into a global corporation under his leadership, with thousands of employees worldwide.
He returned to the sport in 1998 with his son, Tony Schumacher, in Top Fuel at the US Nationals, and clinched the 1999 top fuel title – the first of eight Championships for Tony, who is widely regarded as one of the most successful Top Fuel racers in history.
More than 25 drivers and riders have raced for DSR, fielding multiple entries in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike over the years in the professional categories as well as the Factory Stock Showdown.
Schumacher was also credited with several safety innovations, including the now standard roof hatch in Funny Cars, as well as on-board fire systems with brake lever mounted activation so that the drivers could keep one hand on the wheel and one hand on the brake while trying to stop the car in an emergency.
He also funded and guided the development of an enclosed cockpit for Top Fuel Dragsters, which has since been adopted by multiple NHRA Teams, including this year’s champion Doug Kailitta.
With DSR scaling down its racing activities in recent years, Schumacher focused on growing the race engineering and precision manufacturing arm of DSR, which is a supplier to the motorsports, defence and aerospace industries.
Schumacher was a giant of NHRA drag racing, often mentioned in the same breath as other legendary team owners such as Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress, such was his stature in the wider motorsports community.
A celebration of life ceremony will be announced at a later date.
