NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Maynard Family Racing team’s end-of-season ‘giving car’ campaign will commence this weekend at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, with Tony ‘the Sarge’ Schumacher piloting the A Soldier’s Child Top Fuel dragster. 

The team featured the American Mobility Project at the most recent race on tour in Las Vegas two weeks prior, and at this weekend’s season finale, JCM is looking forward to flying the colors of another Tennessee-based nonprofit. By fielding the A Soldier’s Child (ASC) dragster, JCM will be racing to raise funds and awareness for the national organization that aims to serve the children of fallen military personnel who lost their lives while on active duty.
 
Team owners and Clarksville, Tenn., residents, Joe and Cathi Maynard, have been tremendous supporters of ASC since 2008. Among their many contributions to the Smyrna, Tenn.-based group is their involvement with the annual ASC Dinner Banquet. For the past 12 years, the Maynard family business, ECHO Power Engineering, has served as the presenting sponsor of the banquet, the organization’s largest yearly fundraiser. At the 2022 event held earlier this year, more than $230,000 was raised for ASC. Schumacher and Funny Car racer Ron Capps attended the event as guests of the Maynards, and each donated NHRA experiential packages to the event’s live auction, which helped to contribute to the evening’s fundraising efforts.
 
“We’ve been involved with A Soldier’s Child since pretty much day one. Our company, ECHO Power Engineering, was one of the first major corporate sponsors of their organization, and we’re proud to have continued to support their worthy cause for all these years, and now, combine it with our love of NHRA Drag Racing,” Joe Maynard had said back in May following the event.
 
“A Soldier’s Child allows families who have suffered great hardships to experience some joy in an otherwise dark time. Our American Mobility Project campaign at the Las Vegas race was a great success, and we’re looking forward to A Soldier’s Child having that same experience where they can be exposed to an otherwise new audience on one of NHRA’s largest stages,” added Maynard after Schumacher’s semifinal appearance at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. “ASC does great work, such as helping to send kids to summer camps and providing educational scholarships. They’ll also donate birthday and holiday gifts for several thousand children this year. It’s a feel-good cause, and we’re so happy they will get to share in the NHRA Finals spotlight this weekend, especially given that it’s Veteran’s Day weekend.”
 
In addition to running an ASC car at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, JCM will host a Gold Star Family at the track on Sunday. Before eliminations get underway, the family will be recognized in the team’s hospitality pavilion, and their late father, SGT Troy James Harris, USMC, will be honored. After, Tyrian, the family’s son, will enjoy a special pit-side party celebrating his eighth birthday.
 
"Caring for the widows and orphan children of our fallen heroes is our American debt to pay,” said Daryl Mack, Founder/Executive Director, ASC. “A Soldier's Child foundation is grateful to the Maynards for this opportunity, and to the NHRA and its fans for their support."
 
“It will be an honor to represent A Soldier’s Child on Veteran’s Day weekend at one of our biggest races of the year,” said 11th-ranked Schumacher, who will be vying to advance into the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top 10. “Between attending the ASC banquet earlier this year, and hosting a Gold Star Family at our Topeka race, I’ve gotten to see firsthand how much this organization benefits the families of our nation’s fallen soldiers; it’s truly something special. At our last race in Vegas, we went to the semi's, and we’re looking to take it one round further this weekend and close out the year with another win while representing a great cause.”
 
Aboard the DSR Performance-powered A Soldier’s Child Top Fuel dragster, Schumacher will begin his quest for a seventh Pomona triumph when qualifying for the NHRA Finals kicks off at 1 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 11. Fans wishing to support the Maynard Family Racing team’s efforts in raising funds for A Soldier’s Child can make a donation by visiting asoldierschild.org. Additionally, merchandise benefitting ASC can be purchased via the Maynard Family Racing e-store or at the Fatheadz Trackside Store.