BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Officials with Don Schumacher Racing announced on Thursday that its namesake, motorsports legend Don Schumacher, has died at the age of 79.
According to a news release on DSR Performance’s website, Schumacher, the team owner for the National Hot Rod Association and a pioneer for the Funny Car, died on Wednesday after privately battling lung cancer and succumbing to illness-related complications. DSR Performance is based out of Brownsburg.
Schumacher was a “fierce Funny Car match racer” in the 1960s and 1970s and built a team with his son Tony Schumacher in 1998. Don Schumacher Racing first competed at the 1998 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and soon won many championship titles.
The release said that more than 25 drivers race for Don Schumacher and he is the only team owner to have wins from each of the NHRA’s four professional categories. Throughout his career, Don Schumacher’s teams have won 19 NHRA world championship titles and 367 Wally trophies, including five that he won himself.
In November 2022, Don Schumacher was presented with the NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The release said he has also been inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
“Schumacher… leaves a lasting legacy on not only the NHRA community, where he etched his name as one of the sport’s most successful team owners and a champion for the advancement of safety innovation but on the motorsports community as a whole,” the release said. “Schumacher’s contributions to the auto racing industry reach far beyond drag racing and have been widely recognized.”
Officials said in the release that arrangements, including a celebration of life ceremony, will be announced at a later date. In place of flowers, the family is asking individuals to donate to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
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