Beckman wins Vegas!

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 22 of 23
ACDELCO LAS VEGAS NHRA NATIONALS
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race Date: Oct. 27-29, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BECKMAN WINS VEGAS!

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 29, 2006) - Competing in only his fourth-ever NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series Funny Car race since joining Don Schumacher Racing after
the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day this year, Jack Beckman won his first NHRA
pro event today at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway.

It was an awesome result for the cancer survivor, former Air Force sergeant,
and Frank Hawley Drag Racing School instructor, as he defeated Gary Densham,
Del Worsham, Tony Bartone and finally Tommy Johnson Jr., to collect a
milestone victory in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.

No. 4 qualifier Beckman, 40, of North Hills, Calif., enjoyed lane choice for
every round, defeating his opponents with four consistent passes:
4.793/324.90, 4.825/322.88, 4.803/324.05 and a 4.783/327.19.

Don Schumacher Racing swept three of the four pro categories today, with
Richie Stevens Jr. winning Pro Stock and Tony Schumacher claiming the Top
Fuel title.

"Since Don Schumacher hired me, it's been a steep, steep learning curve,"
said Beckman in the winner's circle, "but I had a lot of help. Frank's
(Hawley) been working with me some, (Ron) Capps, (Gary) Scelzi, Mike Ashley.
We sit down and talk. I had a lot of help from my teammates at DSR. And it
really is a team. It's a business enterprise, but there really is a sense
that we're pulling for each other. When Richie won I couldn't jump up and
down (because) I was strapped in the Funny Car, and when Tony won, we were
all happy for him. To get to share the podium with two teammates up here
it's just an amazing culmination to the day.

"And, God, I'm looking over there at the Matco Tools Funny Car and that's
the baddest group of crew members over there. Those nine guys, they're the
ones that made that car run.

"One of the things about drag racing is it will eat you alive if you let the
lows be too low," Beckman continued in the press room. "So, you kind of have
to temper things a little bit, things like weather, track conditions,
scheduling, anything that burns nitro. Sometimes it doesn't go the way you
would like it to go. So, if the lows aren't quite as low, it means you kind
of clipped off a little bit of the highs. I think I just bypassed that when
I got out of the car down there.

"I've always kind of thought to myself, You want to be a dignified loser,
you want to be a dignified winner. It kind of went out the door when the
roof hatch opened down there at the other end. To do something like this has
been a dream of mine for 33 years, since I was 7 and I first got taken to a
drag strip. And it's something that you want very much.

"To come here to a track that I love to race at - I've had a lot of
successes here (in Sportsman racing) - and to be able to do it in Vegas in
front of a lot of my friends in an area close to my home, this is probably
as high as it gets."

Beckman was clearly grateful to his Matco Tools crew: "There are nine
gentlemen over there that are more responsible for this win than me. In my
opinion, a driver's job in a nitro car, especially in a Funny Car, is to let
the crew chiefs' number crop on the scoreboard. In other words, you gotta
leave on time, and you gotta keep the car in the groove so the tires stay
hooked up. And if the crew chiefs put a good tune-up in it, that big number
will crop up there.

"I think drag racing successes over the years are more based on chemistry
than intelligence, and we've got both over there (at DSR). Phil Shuler
(assistant crew chief) and Todd Okuhara (crew chief) - one's from South
Carolina, one's from Hawaii - are like brothers. There's no egos on that
team. They key ideas off of each other. They're just geniuses with this
stuff. 

"We had a broken fuel line on the warm-up before the final. Shut the car
off, nobody had to panic. We put another one on it, re-fired the race car
and went out there. The guys just have such good chemistry over there. For
them to be as accommodating to me as they are is more than I could ask for
coming into the team. I never got any of that razzing when I made mistakes,
let the car out of the groove, which maybe cost us some qualifying
positions. They were more than supportive. I hope today we gave them back a
little bit of that and a big thank you with that trophy.

"And this is for the 1500 Matco Tools distributors out there who have
supported this team for so many years."

Said team owner Don Schumacher: "A year ago in Reading three DSR teams won
(Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle), so this is the second time
my team has been able to do that, but it's the first time we've done it with
Pro Stock, Top Fuel and Funny Car. It's just a fantastic weekend here in Las
Vegas. Great race track, great teams, and the guys really deserve all of the
credit. And every driver, without a doubt."

Next up is the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona
(Calif.) Raceway, Nov. 9-12, 2006.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. John Force, 1520
2. Ron Capps, 1449
3. Robert Hight, 1447
4. Eric Medlen, 1373
5. Tony Pedregon, 1328
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1269
7. Gary Scelzi, 1172
8. Phil Burkart, 962
9. Whit Bazemore, 956
10. Cruz Pedregon, 946

***