Beckman first-round finisher in Texas Funny Car debut

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 19 of 23
O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
Texas Motorplex
Ennis, Texas
Race Date: Sept. 22-24, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

BECKMAN FIRST-ROUND FINISHER IN TEXAS FUNNY CAR DEBUT

ENNIS, Texas (Sept. 24, 2006) - NHRA Super Comp champion and former Top Fuel
racer Jack Beckman made his NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car debut
this weekend with Don Schumacher Racing at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
and came home a first-round finisher after qualifying No. 15 in the Matco
Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T.

Beckman squared off against Tommy Johnson Jr. in the opening round at the
Texas Motorplex, taking off at the starting lights with a very respectable
.097-of-a-second reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Johnson's .089. The two
were side by side through the 330-ft. mark until Beckman lost traction
mid-track, resulting in a 6.556-second elapsed time at 131.32 mph at the
finish line to Johnson's winning 4.826/308.71.

"If you look at the early numbers on that run, that probably was going
to be low ET of the round," said Beckman. "Todd (Okuhara, crew chief) thinks
it might have been a 4.75 or .76.

"But, we didn't have lane choice and we moved over a little to the
right part of the groove because we thought a few cars were having
problems in that (right) lane. I let it get a little too far over to the
right and as soon as it got out of the groove it overpowered the race
track," he added.

"The tune-up was there, the car had enough ET to win the round. It's
just a matter of keeping it in the part of the track where the
horsepower gets to the ground.

"I'm more disappointed in letting down the Matco Tools crew and all the
Matco Tools distributors who are supporting me. It might have been the
quickest car here this weekend. I know it's got to be disappointing for
the guys, but they've been more supportive than you could ever ask for.

"It wasn't the result I had hoped for," he said of his national-event debut
in the Funny Car class, "but the good news is we have two more races
over a two-week period. For me, it's a steep learning curve, and I have
to do what a Funny Car driver does.

"You always want to do the best that you can all the time. I'm excited
and upbeat, but I don't think anybody gets out of the car after a loss
and feels fantastic right away. There's always that disappointment
phase that takes a while to wear off.

"In a couple hours I'll be looking forward to next weekend at Maple
Grove (Raceway), and I'm sure that will be a fast one as well."

Next up for Beckman is the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove
Raceway (Reading, Pa.), Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

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