By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

Finally, there is an answer from Tony Schumacher regarding his future. However, it is not the answer that one wanted to hear.

The Top Fuel pilot has finally answered speculation about his future. Yet, the eight-time champion does not have a sponsor.

The 49-year-old said sponsorship takes time. There has been speculation since the end of the season that he has had potential sponsorships but nothing was signed and sealed.

U.S. Army and Don Schumacher Racing had their long-standing sponsorship at the end of the season. Schumacher insists that the end of the U.S. Army sponsorship is not the end of his career.

Since sponsorships are expensive in the NHRA, it is going to have to be a prominent sponsorship to keep him off of the sidelines. It is going to cost anywhere between $5-7 million to run a top-flight program in the sport.

His name was notably absent from the entry list on the NHRA site on Monday. Don Schumacher Racing had until Monday to enter him into the race.

Schumacher was the runner-up in 2018 to Steve Torrence. Because of Torrence’s dominance, as he won all six Countdown to the Championship races, Schumacher finished 304 behind Torrence.

During the 2018 season, Schumacher had one win and five runner-up finishes. He also had a 36-23 round record.

In the final race of the season, Schumacher lost in the final round to Torrence at Pomona 2 in November. His lone win of the season came at Bristol wen he defeated Mike Salinas in the final round.