Beckman and 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Unleash (Another) Record Run to Earn No.1 Qualifier at Brainerd
· Jack Beckman takes the 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for another record elapsed time pass at a third straight NHRA event
· Beckman set quickest run in Funny Car history with a 3.901-second pass with a record setting speed of 325.69 mph to earn his third consecutive pole position
· Mopar’s Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Matt Hagan among nine drivers with sub-four second runs in qualifying at Brainerd International Raceway
· Ron Capps looks to take Dodge Charger R/T to winner’s circle for a fourth consecutive year at Brainerd
· Allen Johnson puts “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart fourth on the eliminations ladder with three top-3 qualifying runs
Brainerd, Minnesota (Saturday, Aug 22, 2015) – For a third consecutive National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event, “Fast Jack” Beckman lived up to his moniker by driving his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to another record-setting elapsed time run and the No.1 spot in qualifying for this weekend’s 34th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, held at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. Beckman drove his Infinite Hero 2015 Dodge Charger R/T to the quickest Funny Car pass ever by posting an incredible 3.901-second run and this time also added the fastest speed ever recorded for the class at 325.69 miles per hour (mph) to earn his fourth pole position of the season.
Beckman first broke the elapsed time record earlier this month in California at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals by running a 3.921-second lap, and then bettered that mark with a 3.912-second pass the following week in Seattle, Wash., before lowering the mark even further in the third qualifying session of this weekend’s event.
After running three sub-four second qualifying passes in a row, Beckman earned enough bonus points (nine) to take over the lead in the standings from his DSR teammate and defending NHRA World Champion Matt Hagan. He was deprived, however, of a chance to back-up his record run to earn the national record and the accompanying 20 bonus points, when the fourth and final qualifying session was cancelled due to persistent rain.
The HEMI-powered pilot will get another chance to reset the national record to 3.901-seconds if he is able to post a lap-time at or under 3.940-seconds in an elimination round on Sunday. Beckman will get his first chance at it against Bob Bode in their opening round match-up.
“No. 1 qualifier should give you an easier first-round match-up but with nitro Funny Car it doesn’t always work that way,” said Beckman who will be working towards adding to the class-leading five national titles he has earned this year to date. “I bet a lot of teams must have left a little something on the table. I saw John Force run that 3.93 right in front of us. When I went past the scoreboard and saw that 3.90 I thought, well, there goes (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock), (assistants) John (Medlen) and Chris (Cunningham) again. It’s so interesting when you see a car that’s this unbelievable; it’s like everything becomes believable.”
There were no less than nine Funny Car drivers to qualify with laps in the sub-four second range. Among that group was the winner of the NHRA Northwest Nationals two weeks ago in Seattle, Tommy Johnson Jr., who posted a 3.974/ 319.60 lap in Q2, marking a personal best, to earn a bonus marker with the third quickest run of the session. Johnson Jr.’s Make-A-Wish Mopar machine ended up fifth overall in qualifying and will see Cruz Pedregon in the first round of eliminations.
Included in the list of drivers with sub-four second passes in qualifying was Hagan, whose stout 3.984-second run at 324.83 mph not only put the Rocky Boots/Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T surprisingly ninth on the timing sheets, but also robbed him of lane choice for his first round match-up against Del Worsham.
“It puts it in perspective just how hard everybody is pushing out here,” Hagan said. “A lot of guys are stepping up and running 3.93s, 3.94s and then you have Jack (Beckman) over there. There isn’t a crew chief out here that doesn’t want to do what they’re doing. It’s just about finding how to do that and how to make that happen.”
For Hagan however, the goal on Sunday is to turn on four win lights, add to the four Wally trophies he has collected this year in defense of his 2014 championship, and regain the points lead ahead of the NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series.
“It’s like anything,” Hagan added. “We just have to stay focused on going down the racetrack and race our race car and see what happens.”
A five-time winner at Brainerd, Ron Capps, who qualified his DSR 2015 Dodge Charger R/T 11th with a 4.048/ 319.98 mph, will attempt to earn his fourth consecutive national title at the track. He’ll start his day against Robert Hight.
In Pro Stock action, Allen Johnson secured a playoff spot just by making a qualifying run in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart. He ran three solid passes, first posting a 6.616/208.20 lap to take second spot in provisional qualifying and then adding a 6.620/208.20 for the third quickest run of Q2, then once again clocking the second quickest pass at 6.616-seconds at 207.43 mph in Q3.
The 20-year Mopar veteran earned a total of five bonus points and put himself fourth on the final timing sheets behind pole sitter Shane Gray (6.607/208.88). Johnson, who sits fifth in the points, will start his Sunday off against competitor Dave River.
HEMI-powered Dodge Dart pilot V. Gaines qualified 12th after his best run of 6.669/206.04 and will meet Jason Line in the first round of eliminations. The Mopar of Deric Kramer ran a 7.069/156.72 to take the 14th spot on the eliminations ladder and will stage next to Chris McGaha.
Three hours of eliminations coverage from the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, the 17th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, will air on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD on Sunday, August 23, starting at 9 p.m. ET.