Beckman poised for accelerated performance in Phoenix
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2008 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 2 of 24 NHRA NATIONALS Firebird Raceway Chandler, Ariz. Feb. 22-24, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net BECKMAN POISED FOR ACCELERATED PERFORMANCE IN PHOENIX NORTH HILLS, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2008) - With the first of 24 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national events of 2008 in the books, "Fast" Jack Beckman is poised for an improved performance of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car he drives for Don Schumacher Racing in this weekend's second national event of the year. Beckman advanced to the quarterfinals at the season-opener in Pomona, Calif., and left tied in fifth place in the point standings with three other drivers. Not a bad way to start off a season, despite experiencing some new-car glitches. This weekend's NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway, just outside of Phoenix, should see a revitalized team effort. "We're a top-10 team right now," said Beckman, who still holds the national speed record of 333.66 mph he set in 2006. "We didn't run as well as we would have liked to have run in Pomona, which is the bad news. The great news is that before the Valvoline/MTS guys loaded the car to leave we found what the problem was in that second round. We had a fuel control valve that was sticking. We could make a good, hard, fast run and get good data on the computer, but in the next run it would go out and drop a cylinder, and the data wouldn't match. We trouble-shooted that with the help of the other DSR crew chiefs and the Valvoline/MTS guys narrowed it down. "So, we should be back in good shape for Phoenix. We've already had 12 runs there earlier this year in testing. During the tests, however, the track was not prepped by NHRA's outstanding Safety Safari, which preps the track for each national event. When the Safety Safari does its thing this week, this track is going to be great. Robert Hight reeled off the quickest run in history there last year (4.636 seconds). "We have a great opportunity with four cars on the DSR Funny Car team to stay at the head of the pack all year long," added Beckman, looking towards the rest of the season. "We started off very slow last year and came on like gangbusters. If we can gain some early-season momentum, especially with the different Countdown format this year, it should be pretty exciting. We want to be in a position in Indy (U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend) that we're solid in the top 10, not clinging to the top 10 and fighting our way back up like we did last year." Mail Terminal Services will continue its "Mail from Home" program in 2008. Fans at each NHRA national event will have the opportunity to sign special cards at the DSR hospitality area and at the U.S. Army Racing Zone in the midway area, which MTS will then ship, free of charge, to the troops in war zones overseas. JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS: * Tied in fifth in 2008 Funny Car points after one event * Finished 2007 season fifth in point standings * Qualified No. 9 in 2007 Phoenix event, lost first round to Eric Medlen * Was bumped out of the 2007 Countdown to Four playoffs standings at the Richmond, Va., event, after his teammates Gary Scelzi and Ron Capps reached the semifinal round. * Had back-to-back 2007 season victories in Denver and Seattle, in three final rounds * Also in 2007 had three semifinal finishes, seven quarterfinal finishes and two DNQs, and a round win-loss record of 24-19 * In his 41 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won three times in five final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 37-36 * Set national elapsed-time record of 4.662 seconds and national speed record of 333.66 mph at final 2006 event in Pomona, Calif. The ET record has since been eclipsed. Beckman still holds the speed record * As a Funny Car rookie in the last five races of 2006, he qualified No. 1 once (Pomona 2), reached two final rounds (Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2), won once (Vegas), and set both ends of the national record (Pomona 2) * Residence: North Hills, Calif. * Hometown: Granada Hills, Calif. * Date of birth: June 28, 1966 * Married, Jenna (wedding date 11/7/06), son Jason Russell (3/8/07) * Height/weight: 6'0", 185 lbs. * Serves as instructor at Frank Hawley's NHRA Championship Drag Racing School; former Sergeant in U.S. Air Force (1984-88); cancer survivor; licensed in nine different NHRA categories * First Start in TF: Las Vegas 1 2005 * First Start in FC: , Dallas, Texas, 2006 * Competed in only 12 TF events in 2005, ended season 15th in points * Career-best FC elapsed time: 4.662 seconds (Pomona 2 '06) * Career-best FC speed: 333.66 mph (Pomona 2 '06) * Career-best TF elapsed time: 4.563 seconds (TF, Brainerd 2005) * Career-best TF speed: 324.28 mph (TF, Brainerd 2005) * In 2003 won Super Comp world championship in Lucas Oil Series and Division 7 Super Comp championship * Has a round-winning record against 14-time NHRA champion John Force: 4-3 WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22. Qualifying continues at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 and final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24. ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise the race beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. ***