Beckman finishes Carolina Nationals in the quarters

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

BECKMAN FINISHES CAROLINA NATIONALS IN THE QUARTERFINALS

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2009) - After qualifying in the top half of the
16-car Funny Car field, in No. 8, Jack Beckman faced No. 9 Del Worsham in
the opening round, winning easily when Worsham's car broke at the starting
line.

Beckman's 4.673-second run at 275.56 mph in that match-up driving the
Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car didn't earn him lane
choice, however, for the second round against Cruz Pedregon, and after a
short delay for an oildown, Pedregon opted to switch lanes. Pedregon came
out the winner, recording a 4.155/306.53, while Beckman struck the tires
late in the run, slowing to a 4.424/219.40.

With a new points system in place for the Countdown to 1 playoffs, which
began this weekend for the top 10 in points for the final six races of the
season, Beckman dropped to sixth. Only four of the top 10 made it out of the
first round: Beckman, Ashley Force Hood, Robert Hight and Bob Tasca III.
After the quarterfinal, only two remained: Hight and Force Hood. The final
round saw Hight and Beckmanšs teammate Matt Hagan meet up, with Hight taking
the win.

"That one stings," said Beckman, who began the Countdown in fifth place. "We
had a great opportunity with six of the top 10 going out the first round. We
had a good chance to control our own destiny. Cruz has run the best all
weekend long and had lane choice going into that run and this might have
been one of those runs where lane choice meant something.

"We had a big oildown in front of us. I'll run on the Safety Safari's
cleanup any day of the week. But sometimes there's only so much you can do
with the lane and Cruz decided to swap lanes with us after that lane was
oiled down and we made it pretty far down the track and it just ripped the
tires loose.

"We're not sure if it was the race track, but it's kind of looking like it
might have been.

"We have four races in four weeks. We have definitely shown that we can get
down the race track quick now. We did it twice in a row here. We've got to
take this to Dallas and keep feeding on it. We have to keep running good on
Friday night, consistent on Saturday, and just go out there and wear them
out on Sunday like we did last year. It's going to be great.

"Ashley and Hight are making a move in the points, but nobody is going to
run away with this in the next few races. So, we will need to be sharp the
next three weekends in a row."

Next up is the NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Dallas, Sept.
25-27.

UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS after one of six events in the
Countdown to 1 playoffs (including qualifying bonus points):
1. Tony Pedregon, 2148
2. Ashley Force Hood, 2147
3. Robert Hight, 2120 (winner today)
4. Ron Capps, 2115
5. Bob Tasca III, 2112
6. Jack Beckman, 2103
7. Tim Wilkerson, 2076
8. John Force, 2070
9. Del Worsham, 2053
10. Mike Neff, 2045


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