Beckman qualifies No 7 in Concord

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 19 of 23
Round 2 of six in Countdown to the Championship
Third annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals
zMAX Dragway
Concord, N.C.
Sept. 17-19, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BECKMAN QUALIFIES NO. 7 IN CONCORD

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 18, 2010) - "Fast" Jack Beckman drove the
Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car into No. 7 during
qualifying for the third annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals, posting a
4.123-second run at 305.36 mph during the cooler Friday night session. He
earned two qualifying bonus points for his efforts but slipped to third
place in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs rankings. His Don
Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan moved into second.

Del Worsham also clocked a 4.123-second lap, but earned No. 6 position
because of speed (306.67 mph). Non-Countdown-contender Cruz Pedregon grabbed
the pole with a 4.078/303.57 and earned nine bonus points.

Beckman's other laps this weekend were a 6.440/99.77 on Friday (No. 13), and
a 4.153/303.71 (second quickest of the round) today, followed by a
4.760/169.44.

"I want to hit the fast-forward button and get to noon tomorrow," said
Beckman, winner of the inaugural 2008 event in Concord. "I can't wait.
Sometimes when you look at the numbers after qualifying you don't get the
whole picture.

"We knew we were going to be a top-half car after the first few pairs ran
the last qualifying session, so we leaned on it and it hauled early. We were
over-tuned and it smoked the tires. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
We've already gone up there conservative this weekend. Now we know how much
we can back it down and be good for tomorrow."

As for having to race his other DSR teammate Ron Capps in the opening round,
"Don't like to race teammates early," he said. "Don Schumacher's goal is to
have us on opposite corners of the ladder so we don't face until the semis.

"But, right now, it's the Countdown and there are no teammates. We need to
win this deal for Valvoline and MTS. The match-ups tomorrow look phenomenal.
It's going to be exciting from a fan standpoint and I think we have the car
that can do this again."

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