SONOMA, Calif. (July 18, 2010) - "Fast" Jack Beckman advanced to his third
Funny Car final round of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
today at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, and scored
his second runner-up finish of the year. He also clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 playoffs.
Facing his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, Beckman launched first with an .082 (of a second) reaction time to Capps¹ .106 - .000 is perfect - but couldn't hold off a hard-charging Capps, who took over the lead at the 60-foot mark and held it to the finish, snatching the victory by eight feet with a 4.169-second pass at 296.44 mph to Beckman's 4.210/298.93.
En route to the final round in the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge
Charger, No. 1 qualifier Beckman eliminated Jeff Diehl with a 4.257/287.41,
then second-in-points Robert Hight with a 4.252/292.96, and Bob Tasca III on
a holeshot win by two inches with a 4.221/298.73. The California native
moved into third in class points.
"I heard Capps talking in his interview with Gary Gerould (of ESPN) that in
these Dodge Charger bodies we sit back so far we can't see the car in the
other lane," said Beckman. "And, boy, those words couldn't have been more
true for me. We were getting down there, we were getting down there, we were getting down there, and when you're going 300 mph you're thinking, There ain't another car on the planet that's going to hang with this beast.
"And then his win light comes on, And I said, 'What the....' And then I look
over and see the nose of his car in the shutdown area. So, neither one of us
could see the other one. Seventeen thousandths (of a second) is pretty
gosh-darned close down there.
"I am frustrated for us because we did qualify No. 1, we did make the final,
and you always want to close the deal. This is not what we're going to be
satisfied with, but I'm happy that the NAPA car got its first win of the
year. And maybe more important we have three cars and three crew chief teams at Don Schumacher Racing working together. What makes that car better makes ours better, makes the DieHard car better. And going into the last six races (Countdown to 1 playoffs), that's when we gotta start banging out round wins.
"We want to get the trophy in Denver, we want to get the trophy in Brainerd,
and then we want to just make final rounds the last six races."
Next up is the final race of the Western Swing, the 31st annual Mopar
Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., July 23-25.
FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after 15 events:
1. John Force, 1114
2. Robert Hight, 1071
3. Jack Beckman, 1008 (runner-up today)
4. Matt Hagan, 994
5. Ron Capps, 959 (winner today)
6. Tim Wilkerson, 929
7. Bob Tasca III, 906
8. Ashley Force Hood, 905
9. Del Worsham, 839
10. Tony Pedregon, 699
Funny Car final round of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
today at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, and scored
his second runner-up finish of the year. He also clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 playoffs.
Facing his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, Beckman launched first with an .082 (of a second) reaction time to Capps¹ .106 - .000 is perfect - but couldn't hold off a hard-charging Capps, who took over the lead at the 60-foot mark and held it to the finish, snatching the victory by eight feet with a 4.169-second pass at 296.44 mph to Beckman's 4.210/298.93.
En route to the final round in the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge
Charger, No. 1 qualifier Beckman eliminated Jeff Diehl with a 4.257/287.41,
then second-in-points Robert Hight with a 4.252/292.96, and Bob Tasca III on
a holeshot win by two inches with a 4.221/298.73. The California native
moved into third in class points.
"I heard Capps talking in his interview with Gary Gerould (of ESPN) that in
these Dodge Charger bodies we sit back so far we can't see the car in the
other lane," said Beckman. "And, boy, those words couldn't have been more
true for me. We were getting down there, we were getting down there, we were getting down there, and when you're going 300 mph you're thinking, There ain't another car on the planet that's going to hang with this beast.
"And then his win light comes on, And I said, 'What the....' And then I look
over and see the nose of his car in the shutdown area. So, neither one of us
could see the other one. Seventeen thousandths (of a second) is pretty
gosh-darned close down there.
"I am frustrated for us because we did qualify No. 1, we did make the final,
and you always want to close the deal. This is not what we're going to be
satisfied with, but I'm happy that the NAPA car got its first win of the
year. And maybe more important we have three cars and three crew chief teams at Don Schumacher Racing working together. What makes that car better makes ours better, makes the DieHard car better. And going into the last six races (Countdown to 1 playoffs), that's when we gotta start banging out round wins.
"We want to get the trophy in Denver, we want to get the trophy in Brainerd,
and then we want to just make final rounds the last six races."
Next up is the final race of the Western Swing, the 31st annual Mopar
Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., July 23-25.
FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after 15 events:
1. John Force, 1114
2. Robert Hight, 1071
3. Jack Beckman, 1008 (runner-up today)
4. Matt Hagan, 994
5. Ron Capps, 959 (winner today)
6. Tim Wilkerson, 929
7. Bob Tasca III, 906
8. Ashley Force Hood, 905
9. Del Worsham, 839
10. Tony Pedregon, 699
