Beckman grabs No. 8 in one round of Pomona qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Round 1 of 24
NHRA Winternationals
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Pomona, Calif.
Feb. 5-8, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BECKMAN GRABS NO. 8 IN ONE ROUND OF POMONA QUALIFYING

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2009) - After rain washed out Thursday's and
Friday's qualifying runs, Saturday's limited dry conditions produced the
completion of just one round of qualifying for the NHRA Winternationals, the
season opener of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Jack
Beckman, driving the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car,
pulled out a 4.197-second pass at 289.14 mph to claim the No. 8 spot.

"Craziness," said Beckman, who will face reigning Funny Car champion Cruz
Pedregon in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. "You know, you spend
this whole off season getting parts, pieces, getting new people together,
getting the bodies painted, then you come out here and sit in the rain for
three days. And it's fair for everybody, but it's going to be an interesting
scenario.

"We went out there and made what, by our standards, would be a poor run, and
it landed us in the top half of the field. And we have to face the reigning
world champ first round, who obviously struggled a little bit (No. 9
qualifier). It's going to be a crazy day tomorrow.

"I think this is one of the things that the fans pay to see, where you've
got a lot of underdogs, especially in Top Fuel, who are qualified well, and
in Funny Car you have a lot of heavy hitters and some of them aren't running
the way they're used to running. With one session each, I think it's equal
parts crew chief and driver tomorrow. The crew chiefs have to try to figure
out the track and the drivers have to be prepared to save the run if they
have to."

***