THE MAYNARD FAMILY
THE MAYNARD FAMILY ’ S SPONSORSHIP OF SCHUMACHER LED TO THE FAMILY PURCHASING A MAJORITY STAKE OF THE TEAM . SCHUMACHER RACED TO VICTORY AT SEATTLE IN 2022 , GIVING THE MAYNARDS THEIR FIRST WIN AS TEAM OWNERS WHILE SURPASSING BOB GLIDDEN ON NHRA ’ S ALL-TIME WIN LIST .
“ The more cars the better , but they ' ve done it in a little bit of a different way than we ' ve seen in the past because they ' re allowing these teams to not necessarily be under one big conglomerate , but operate independently at the same time ,” Ashley says . “ I think that ' s the best approach because it ' s the best of both worlds . You have that stability and the opportunity for more cars to be involved in NHRA drag racing , but at the same time not be under this one big umbrella and all be dependent upon each other . I think they ' ve found the right balance , and I think it speaks volumes to their approach on the business side and how it ' s going to continue to help the sport as a whole grow .”
“ It is 180 degrees from the JFR [ John Force Racing ] and DSR and Kalitta legacies ,” Wilkerson says . “ They were all under one roof and commanded by one leader in reality . We have some co-op leaders . We ' re not having to fight with each other over dollars . At the same time , we have some cohesion together where if any of us need help , we can talk to each other . That kind of thing I think is still a good thing .”
NLIKE NEARLY ALL of the other team owners in the nitro ranks , the Maynards have never driven in the classes they now compete in as owners . Joe and Cathi have been longtime fans of the sport , and as Army veterans , they were especially fond of Tony Schumacher since his days driving the U . S . Army Top Fuel dragster . Their success
“ For me , to be out for a while , wondering when you were going to get a phone call to come back and drive , it was just open arms , baby . Let ’ s go racing ,” Schumacher says about his return to Top Fuel .
TONY SCHUMACHER in business allowed them to get involved as team supporters and now team owners . That business background informs the way JCM Racing is operated .
“ We started a company that got pretty large , and then I sold out part of it , so what I bring to the business side of it is the processes , cashflow operations , and all the things like that ,” Joe E . says . “ I don ' t know if every team has that . I think a lot of guys are doing that as a side to being the driver and / or crew chief , and so I bring a fulltime presence to that .
“ Then my job is to take those lessons I ' ve learned and the knowledge I have and pass it on to Joe and Eric [ Lehman ] and the rest of our executive team here ,” Joe E . continues . “ So I think maybe we have a fresh set of eyes . That ' s what I ' ve been told by other owners . We ' re seeing the business side of this completely different than other people are . It is very much a sponsor-driven operation , but I look at sponsors more as partners than I do as sponsors .”
The most obvious example of that is Maynard ’ s relationship with Scag Power Equipment , which signed on as a sponsor on Schumacher ’ s dragster in 2022 and expanded as a major sponsor of JCM Racing through the 2025 season . That also includes sponsorship of Wilkerson ’ s Funny Car . Scag has taken an active role in the partnership , holding meet-and-greets at power equipment dealers and hosting employees at races .
The Scag partnership is one of JCM Racing ’ s biggest success stories in their early history . It ’ s a part of the father-son duo ’ s collective effort to build and maintain relationships with sponsors .
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