Defending champ Beckman bags No. 8 in Concord qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 1 of Countdown to 1 Playoffs (six in total)
Round 19 of 24 for season
NHRA CAROLINA NATIONALS
zMAX Dragway
Concord, N.C.
Sept. 18-20, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

DEFENDING CHAMP BECKMAN BAGS NO. 8 IN CONCORD QUALIFYING

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2009) - Winner of the inaugural event here in 2008,
Jack Beckman placed the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car in
the No. 8 position in qualifying for this yearıs NHRA Carolina Nationals at
zMAX Dragway, the first race of the six-event Countdown to 1 playoffs of the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

He recorded his quickest pass of 4.117 seconds at 305.70 mph in the final of
four attempts in the past two days. His other tries resulted in a
4.167/290.01 (No. 8), an unrecorded run in which the car stopped before the
finish beams (No. 13), and a 4.121/304.12 (No. 8).

The California native did not earn any of the bonus qualifying points NHRA
now awards to the top three qualifiers in each qualifying round (three, two,
one points respectively) during the playoffs.

"We got a couple of runs behind," said Beckman, a two-time winner this
season who is fifth in the Countdown standings but has been struggling the
last few races, "and I thought, Oh, no, here we go again. In the second run
we broke a clutch lever, didn't get down the track. That threw away our
chances in the optimal conditions.

"Fortunately, Saturday ended up overcast, so we got a couple more shots at a
good race track and we did everything correctly. We got in the show with a
good run, made some adjustments and we picked up on the next run, and I
think we're ready for tomorrow.

"Anything can happen. This field is as tight as I remember in any NHRA
national race. I think for the fans it's going to be an exciting race,
period. And I think, because it's the Countdown, it's going to be
hair-pulling for all the crews and drivers.

"There are so many cars that are running so fast here, I can't wait for
tomorrow to get here."

Beckman faces Del Worsham in the opening round of Sunday's eliminations.

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