rpm.espn.com: Tony Schumacher

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Tuesday, December 24
Updated: January 3, 3:18 PM ET

Tony Schumacher
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com

Team: U.S. Army/Schumacher Racing

Tony Schumacher
Schumacher

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Final rounds
No. 1 qualifier
Round record

2002 3 2 5 1 32-21

Career 7 25 4 154-115

2002 recap
The good: Remained in the top five in points all year, edged out Doug Kalitta for third in the final standings.

Season highlight: Beat Larry Dixon to win the second race of the year and briefly held second place in the points.

The bad: 10 first-round losses in a season will dash anyone's championship hopes. Schumacher needed to have better early round luck at more races.

Season lowlight: Lost to underfunded and part-time racer Don Sosenka in the first round in Atlanta.

Tony Schumacher

Key stat: Out of five final round appearances in 2002, Schumacher raced Dixon four times, beating him twice. In his only other final, he lost to Kenny Bernstein.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Team Schumacher has to develop a consistent plan of attack now that Wes Cerny is coming in as tuner. Dan Olson will become more of a team supervisor next year and the technical talent on board will be impressive. But, they need to go rounds, at least 50 to be considered a title threat.

Prediction: Still capable of challenging for the championship, especially with the fastest car in the class (333.08). If Cerny brings consistency to the party, Tony Schumacher has a real shot at winning his second crown.

Your take
Can Tony Schumacher and Co. find the consistency to compete for a title? Here are your thoughts on Schumacher's prospects for the 2003 season.

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