[coverattach=1]ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 13, 2010) - "Fast" Jack Beckman advanced to the semifinal round today at the 41st annual NHRA SupeNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
After qualifying 12th in a field of 15 cars, Beckman raced the
Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger past his Don Schumacher
Racing teammate Ron Capps in the opening round with a 4.232-second elapsed time at 292.08 mph, then dismissed Jim Head with a 4.178/295.92 before meeting up with Del Worsham in the semifinals.
With the track temperature soaring to 124 degrees and the air heavy with
moisture, Beckman lost a close match-up, as the pair crossed the finished
line with nearly identical lap times. Worsham hit the stripe first, posting
a winning 4.180/303.30 to Beckman's very close 4.185/296.44.
"Yesterday, I don't know that the odds makers would have thought that we
were going to do this well today," said Beckman, of his No. 12 qualifying
effort. "We certainly found the combination for eliminations.
"I've never had anything happen like what happened in the semis," he added.
"Going up to stage the car, the parachute cable snags the sleeve of my fire
suit and I'm trying to pull the thing loose when I go into stage, and I
couldn't get if off of there. I drove the whole run with just my left hand
on the steering wheel. Very interesting deal.
"We were only five thou (thousandths of a second) off of Del's car and I
think we showed everybody that we could run well in the less-preferred
(right) lane. We really turned this program around from a lackluster
qualifying effort to a semifinal finish. So, now we've got some hot-weather
data on this new chassis and it seems like we have tune-ups for cold and hot
tracks now.
"We're disappointed today and we're excited about having two more races in
two more weeks, because I think we can win one of those." Next up are the
Bristol, Tenn., race this coming weekend, followed by the Norwalk, Ohio, the
following weekend. Beckman moved up to fourth place in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series class point standings.
The Valvoline/MTS Dodge featured a photo of a U.S. Army soldier this
weekend. "It's a photo of Sgt. Shane Morris of the U.S. Army, who is serving
in Afghanistan right now," said Beckman. "His father, Robert Buck, has been
involved with the NHRA on the manufacturers' midway for years and runs the
Mechanix Wear trailer. Mechanix Wear is also a sponsor of the Valvolne/MTS
team. And his sister Cheyenne is out here as well.
"So, it's nice to feature one of the troops on the car with some support
around here from his family. It really puts a personal face on the tribute
that we're trying to give all the soldiers out there.
"All the Valvoline/MTS guys got luggage and backpacks from Mechanix Wear. It was kind of their way of saying thanks for supporting Mechanix Wear. We
appreciate everything they have done for us."
As of 3:45 p.m., the final rounds of all pro classes are halted because of
rain in Englishtown. Following are the points, as they stand before the
final. The number in parentheses is the number of points that driver will
receive if he wins.
UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after 11 of 23 events:
1. Robert Hight, 844
2. John Force, 819
3. Matt Hagan, 748
4. Jack Beckman, 724
5. Ashley Force Hood, 705
6. Ron Capps, 663
7. Bob Tasca III, 657 (677)
8. Del Worsham, 591 (611)
9. Tim Wilkerson, 572
10. Tony Pedregon, 554
After qualifying 12th in a field of 15 cars, Beckman raced the
Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger past his Don Schumacher
Racing teammate Ron Capps in the opening round with a 4.232-second elapsed time at 292.08 mph, then dismissed Jim Head with a 4.178/295.92 before meeting up with Del Worsham in the semifinals.
With the track temperature soaring to 124 degrees and the air heavy with
moisture, Beckman lost a close match-up, as the pair crossed the finished
line with nearly identical lap times. Worsham hit the stripe first, posting
a winning 4.180/303.30 to Beckman's very close 4.185/296.44.
"Yesterday, I don't know that the odds makers would have thought that we
were going to do this well today," said Beckman, of his No. 12 qualifying
effort. "We certainly found the combination for eliminations.
"I've never had anything happen like what happened in the semis," he added.
"Going up to stage the car, the parachute cable snags the sleeve of my fire
suit and I'm trying to pull the thing loose when I go into stage, and I
couldn't get if off of there. I drove the whole run with just my left hand
on the steering wheel. Very interesting deal.
"We were only five thou (thousandths of a second) off of Del's car and I
think we showed everybody that we could run well in the less-preferred
(right) lane. We really turned this program around from a lackluster
qualifying effort to a semifinal finish. So, now we've got some hot-weather
data on this new chassis and it seems like we have tune-ups for cold and hot
tracks now.
"We're disappointed today and we're excited about having two more races in
two more weeks, because I think we can win one of those." Next up are the
Bristol, Tenn., race this coming weekend, followed by the Norwalk, Ohio, the
following weekend. Beckman moved up to fourth place in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series class point standings.
The Valvoline/MTS Dodge featured a photo of a U.S. Army soldier this
weekend. "It's a photo of Sgt. Shane Morris of the U.S. Army, who is serving
in Afghanistan right now," said Beckman. "His father, Robert Buck, has been
involved with the NHRA on the manufacturers' midway for years and runs the
Mechanix Wear trailer. Mechanix Wear is also a sponsor of the Valvolne/MTS
team. And his sister Cheyenne is out here as well.
"So, it's nice to feature one of the troops on the car with some support
around here from his family. It really puts a personal face on the tribute
that we're trying to give all the soldiers out there.
"All the Valvoline/MTS guys got luggage and backpacks from Mechanix Wear. It was kind of their way of saying thanks for supporting Mechanix Wear. We
appreciate everything they have done for us."
As of 3:45 p.m., the final rounds of all pro classes are halted because of
rain in Englishtown. Following are the points, as they stand before the
final. The number in parentheses is the number of points that driver will
receive if he wins.
UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after 11 of 23 events:
1. Robert Hight, 844
2. John Force, 819
3. Matt Hagan, 748
4. Jack Beckman, 724
5. Ashley Force Hood, 705
6. Ron Capps, 663
7. Bob Tasca III, 657 (677)
8. Del Worsham, 591 (611)
9. Tim Wilkerson, 572
10. Tony Pedregon, 554
