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JFR to DSR sounds like airport codes on a flight itinerary. But it's actually shorthand for the momentum shift that took place in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship last weekend at Maple Grove Raceway. John Force Racing arrived at Reading, Pennsylvania, with its drivers ranked 1-2-4 in the Funny Car standings, but after John Force, Courtney Force and Robert Hight were all knocked out in the first round of eliminations, Matt Hagan's victory at the NHRA Nationals put him and Don Schumacher Racing at the front of the points race. Brittany Force had one last chance for JFR to grab the glory, but she came up short in a tire-smoking final-round Top Fuel matchup against seven-time national champion Tony Schumacher of -- you guessed it -- Don Schumacher Racing. Tony Schumacher, known as "The Sarge," has taken command in recent weeks, claiming three of four event wins in the 2014 Countdown to pull out a 134-point lead over regular-season leader Doug Kalitta. "We have a great race car with the U.S. Army team, but we know there are a lot of great race cars out here," said Schumacher, who is chasing his first season championship since he wrapped up a streak of six straight in 2009. "Right now, Mike Green [crew chief] and Neal Strausbaugh [assistant] have put a great car underneath me. And we're just living the dream. We have three wins in the Countdown with two more races coming up, so that gives us a shot at winning five." Brittany Force qualified for the finals for the fourth time in her two-year Top Fuel career. Unfortunately Schumacher was able to recover and pedal faster after his tire-smoking start, crossing the line in 4.440 seconds at 291.13 mph to Force's 4.652 at 269.94.  "Winning that semifinal against Doug Kalitta may have been the biggest round win we've had in a long time," Schumacher said. "Coming up against Brittany in the final, I knew we were going to be challenged. The thing shook loose but I got back in it. I think I pedaled it twice and finally got it to hook up a little bit. Luckily I don't have a 'give up' attitude. That's the first one of those I've won in a long time, and it was a good time to win one like that." Hagan's final-round victory over his DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. was far more spectacular. The engine of his Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T exploded in a ball of flame just before he tripped the lights with a 4.333-second run. It was the fourth time this year that DSR captured the Top Fuel and Funny Car titles at the same event and the 42nd time in the team's history. Don Schumacher Racing has won a total of 238 NHRA Wally trophies, putting it one ahead of John Force Racing -- for the time being. "I don't know what happened in the final -- probably a part broke," Hagan said. "It just went 'kaboom,' and it's such a crazy feeling. You look over, and you're on fire, and TJ [Johnson] wasn't there and you're just waiting on it to get to the finish line before you hit the brakes and pull the fire bottles. "It's just a wild way to win," he added. "That's probably the wildest way I've ever won out here on the NHRA circuit." Hagan, the 2011 Funny Car champion, now holds a 36-point lead over John Force and a 72-point lead over Courtney Force with two races to go. Hagan and Courtney Force have split the four Countdown races with two wins apiece. "The point lead is huge but we showed up here to win a race," Hagan said. "Our guys, they are busting their humps out here and they didn't make any mistakes. They're flawless. You can't have mistakes in the Countdown and they aren't making them. I'm grateful to have a great race car underneath me." Rodger Brogdon shook up the Pro Stock ranks by claiming his second career event win. Brogdon, who did not qualify among the 10 drivers in the Countdown, went on an impressive run at Reading, knocking off Richie Stevens, points leader Jason Line and four-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson on the way to his final-round matchup. Despite his early exit, Line actually extended his championship advantage to 35 points over Erica Ender-Stevens. "It was a bizarre weekend, but thankfully I was able to gain in the points and move forward," Line said. "At this point, it's a two-race Countdown, and our challenge will be to keep the points lead and hopefully lengthen it even more in these final two races. "It's going to come down to the end, and it's exciting. It's going to be a good show for the fans." The battle for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title tightened up considerably at Reading as Eddie Krawiec's win moved him within 25 points of his Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate Andrew Hines. Hines suffered a mechanical DNF in his semifinal run against Scotty Pollacheck, whom Krawiec went on to beat in the only final of the day in which both lanes completed the distance at full power. Krawiec won with a 6.793 second/197.13 mph pass that bested Pollacheck's 6.853/193.82. "We were joking around that it looks like it's going to come down to a two-'Hog' race instead of a two-horse race," said Krawiec, who rides a Harley-Davidson. "I knew that this was an important day for me personally. If I wanted to stay in championship contention I have to make sure I can make up every round." After racing four consecutive weekends to start the Countdown, the NHRA field now gets a three-week break before action resumes at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 30 for the Toyota Nationals.
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