The Schumacher family, with heavy hearts, announced the passing of motorsports icon Don Schumacher. The NHRA team owner and Funny Car pioneer had spent the past several months privately battling lung cancer before succumbing to illness-related complications on Wednesday, December 20.
Schumacher, who was 79 at the time of his passing, 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. Schumacher’s contributions to the auto racing industry reach far beyond drag racing and have been widely recognized. In November 2022, Schumacher was honored at the NHRA Awards Ceremony where he was presented with the NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach, Florida, and in May 2013, he was enshrined into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. He also joined a prestigious list of straight-line racing legends when he was invited into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.
A fierce Funny Car match racer in the 1960s and ‘70s who fielded multiple entries with top-notch drivers to fulfill the demand for bookings of his Stardust Funny Cars, Schumacher took a departure from motorsports in the early 70’s to grow the family business, Schumacher Electric. While operating Schumacher Electric, he grew the family business into a global corporation. Schumacher increased the company value more than ten-fold and employed thousands of people around the globe. He was known as a fierce and compassionate leader to all who worked with him.
In 1998, he returned to NHRA Drag Racing to build a team with son Tony Schumacher. Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) made its competition debut at the 1998 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and by the time the 1999 season had wrapped, DSR had clinched its first of many championship titles. Soon after, the single-car team exploded into a multi-car powerhouse.
As the patriarch of DSR, Schumacher was a force to be reckoned with. More than 25 drivers have raced for the legendary team owner. He created champions, introduced new personalities to the sport, and was responsible for the resurgence of several careers. Schumacher is the only team owner to have wins from each of NHRA’s four professional categories. He was also successful in the Factory Stock…
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