DRO: You quit racing funny cars in 1974, why did you come back?

Schumacher: Really I came back because of Tony. Tony got involved in the sport and he was driving for the Peek Brothers. He got involved in the sport with a Super Stock Chevy, 1967 Chevelle that I bought him. One thing led to another and as he got into the Top Fuel ranks he was runnin' in a car that wasn't as competitive as I would like it to be. He was doing a great job. I just put a program together.

DRO: Is it more fun to race with your son, now?

Schumacher: Oh definitely. At times it's definitely more fun to race with your son, but it's very concerning to have your son be a driver sitting in one of these 330-plus mile an hour Top Fuel dragsters -- the fear of something happening.

DRO: Tony said that in the wake of Darrell Russell's death that he might prefer to run a Funny Car.

Schumacher: Tony has commented about that. We'll see how things progress this year and make that decision after the year is over.

DRO: Do you treat your son any differently than you treat any of your other hired help?

Schumacher: I'm sure I do. He'd be the one who would have to answer that rather than me, but from my business experience, you'll always expect more out of your family than you do out of a regular employee. And, you demand more from your family. So I'm sure he gets some of that situation to where I'm probably a little bit harder on him or go at him harder than I would, say Gary Scelzi or Antron Brown or Larry Morgan.

DRO: Is that how he has emerged as a leader? The way that he runs the U.S. Army recruiting meetings here at the track, he has become a real spokesman for Schumacher Racing and for the U.S. Army.

Schumacher: Tony is a great personality. Yes, he's my son, but I truthfully believe wholeheartedly that he is the best speaker out here in this sport. He does a fantastic job of it. That comes from his heart, not from me pushing him or directing him. That's all inside of him and something that he chooses to do.