Beckman braces for points battle in Reading
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 21 of 23 Round 3 of 6 in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs 26th annual NHRA Nationals Maple Grove Raceway Mohnton, Pa. Oct. 8-10, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net BECKMAN BRACES FOR POINTS BATTLE IN READING MOHNTON, Pa. (Oct. 5, 2010) - With just three national events remaining in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, the rankings in the run for the Funny Car championship have tightened. Only 68 points separate the top four in the standings, and Jack Beckman, in third, is braced for the battle to win his first class crown. Racing the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing, Beckman is just 45 markers behind leader John Force and 20 back of his DSR teammate Matt Hagan in second. This weekend's 26th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, outside of Reading, Pa., is pivotal in everyone's quest for the championship. "I don't feel that our backs are against the wall," said Beckman, who suffered defeat in the second round to fourth-place Ashley Force Hood at the last event in Dallas when a freak fire erupted in the car, "but we're not far away from the wall right now. We are in a position where we find ourselves a little more than two rounds out with 12 rounds to go. And if we can win at Reading we will absolutely be at least one round closer to the points lead. "We had a fuel system malfunction that the Valvoline/MTS guys think they have a handle on in the second round of Dallas. Actually, it had been rearing its head since the last qualifying run and we were changing parts trying to keep up with it. Obviously, we didn't find it and it caused us problems with the fire in the second round. "The guys completely stripped the car down to the bare chassis, and they replaced anything that was a question mark. So, we should have our car back this weekend for Maple Grove. "When you have nitromethane in the tank sometimes these cars can give you question marks," added Beckman, who's won once this year in five final rounds. "It's not like Pro Stock where, if you enjoy a performance advantage, you're almost a shoo-in for the final round. In nitro racing anything can happen and, if you've watched the last coupe of races, that's exactly what has transpired. "We realize that we are one of the top cars, there is not a dominant car right now, and we're going to have to enjoy a little bit of racing luck. We can start making that Friday on our first qualifying run. If we can start qualifying near the top we'll automatically give ourselves a better chance first round (of eliminations). "The three of us behind John Force are chasing him, and the way it's shaping up right now it looks like it might be a showdown between two Force cars and two DSR cars. "There's also a couple of teams outside of the top four that could jump back in with a good showing this weekend, but all we've ever asked for is a chance at this championship, to roll into Pomona (Calif., season finale) with a legitimate shot. And the way I'm looking at this thing right now, that means not necessarily that we must win in Reading, but we have to get this Valvoline/MTS car into the final round. "I've won there before (in 2008), I've had great luck there before, and there's definitely a comfort zone at Maple Grove for me." Mail Terminal Services continues to send boxes of post cards of support and encouragement, along with hand-out cards of DSR drivers, National Dragster and Drag Racing Action magazines to soldiers overseas. This year the program expands the opportunity to participate beyond just the NHRA fans and includes schools and service organizations. If a school or organization would like to write post cards of encouragement to the U.S. troops, the request should be sent to mts.mfh@gmail.com. MTS will be pleased to send post cards for the project and signed handout cards from Funny Car driver Jack Beckman and a Certificate of Service for the school or organization. To find out more about Mail Terminal Services go to www.mailterminals.com JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS: * Residence: Norco, 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. * No. 3 in 2010 Funny Car points after three of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs (semifinalist, runner-up, quarterfinalist) * Is just 45 points out of the lead (John Force), and 20 out of second place (Matt Hagan) * Entered the Countdown in No. 3 after 17 events of the "regular" season: five semifinal finishes, a victory in Phoenix and three runner-ups (St. Louis, Sonoma and Brainerd) * Maple Grove Raceway winner in 2008 (Frank Hawley) * Qualified No. 3 here in 2009, lost first round to Jerry Toliver * Has 34-19 round-win record for 2010 * In his 108 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won nine times in 22 final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 132-94 * Ended 2009 No. 5 in point standings, winning two events in five final rounds (Atlanta; Norwalk, Ohio) * Entered 2009 Countdown to 1 in fifth place * His 2009 round win-loss record is 29-22 * No. 3 in 2008 Funny Car point standings, with three victories - Phoenix, Reading, Concord - in seven final rounds * 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. Ended the season No. 5 in points * Is the 2007 U.S. Smokeless Showdown winner ($100,000 bonus event held at U.S. Nationals) * Set national elapsed-time record of 4.662 seconds and national speed record of 333.66 mph (on quarter-mile) 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 2), and set both ends of the national record (Pomona 2) * Former instructor and current consultant 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 elapsed time racing to 1000 feet is 4.040 seconds (Concord 1 '09) * Career-best speed racing to 1000 feet is 314.61 mph (Chicago '10) * Career-best FC (quarter-mile) elapsed time: 4.662 seconds (Pomona 2 '06) * Career-best FC (quarter-mile) speed: 333.66 mph (Pomona 2 '06) * Career-best TF (quarter-mile) elapsed time: 4.563 seconds (TF, Brainerd 2005) * Career-best (quarter-mile) 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 * Leads 14-time champion John Force in head-to-head round wins: 12-6 (2-1 in final rounds) - DOES NOT INCLUDE CONCORD FOUR-WIDE EVENT SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, Oct. 8 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 1:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. SATURDAY, Oct. 9 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. SUNDAY, Oct. 10 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, Oct. 9, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 10:30 p.m. (ET). Sunday, Oct. 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 10 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Oct. 10ESPN3.com will televise of coverage of eliminations starting at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Oct. 10, ESPN and ESPNHD will televise two and half hours of coverage starting at 9 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE (Digital SD feed): Friday, Oct. 8, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Saturday, Oct. 9, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Sunday, Oct. 10, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 21K (12111 MHz, horizontal; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 18 Mhz) Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners' interviews on Sunday. ***