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NORTH HILLS, Calif. (June 25, 2008) - As a cancer survivor, Jack Beckman has endured challenges in his life. As an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car driver, he has enjoyed both victory and defeat on the nation's most famous quarter-mile tracks.
Last Sunday, Beckman wasn’t able to make a fourth qualifying attempt to get into the Funny Car field because of the fatal crash in front of him that took fellow driver Scott Kalitta's life as Beckman waited his turn in the staging lanes. That session was cancelled and Beckman failed to qualify for the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., but, for the driver of the Vavoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, that was OK.
"I am still one of the biggest drag race fans," said Beckman, who is in only his second full season of Funny Car competition. "If we don't do good and I have to leave early on a Sunday I am always calling from the airport to find out who won. We TiVO all the races so I can come home and watch them.
"I didn't even know who won on Sunday," said Beckman, who left early on race day to return to his wife Jenna and son Jason Russell in North Hills, Calif. "And it's the first time that I could ever think of in my racing career where it didn't actually seem all that important.
"After what happened on Saturday - we were the car behind Scott in the staging lanes - it just didn't seem to matter. I'm sure for everybody who had to suit up, they still had a job to do, but it just didn't feel the same.
"I'm sure everybody is going to be doing a lot of grieving this weekend in Norwalk, and it's not going to go away by next week, but it might be a chance to kind of get back to a little bit of rhythm,” he added, as he prepared to compete in this weekend’s Second Annual NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
"It's never going to be the same. It's not like one day we went, OK, well, we're over that. You'll never get over it. There is a time frame when it hurts almost constantly. And then when you get past that it's a memory and a tugging at the heart when you think of the people we have lost.
"In some regards I almost wish we had another week off to grieve, but I also think it might not be a bad thing if we all get back in the race cars this weekend and start the healing."
As for the performance of the Valvoline/MTS Dodge, "We pretty much have our backs up against the wall now," he said of getting into the top 10 from the 13th spot for the Countdown to the Championship which begins following the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. “I remember when John Force was struggling early last year. Somebody asked me how many more races do you think they can afford to not perform well. And I said, Well, by two more races if he hasn't won a couple of rounds he's going to be out. And sure enough, he came on strong after that and started doing better. Well, I think I can say the same for us right now. In the next two races we need to start performing well.
"It's not for lack of consistency that we've struggled. We have to take advantage of the qualifying session where the conditions are quickest. A lot of these guys take home-run swings in these good cool-air sessions and it puts them high up in the field. We just haven't been able to do that," added Beckman. There have been as many as 21 cars this season vying for 16 spots in the field.
"So far so good," he said of the new DSR1 chassis he is running. "It drives well. They all kind of have their own personality and like different things. (Teammate Gary Scelzi's crew chief) Todd Okuhara is going through that with the Hadman chassis on the Mopar/Oakley car and our crew chiefs Johnny West and Tommy DeLago need to figure out what specific changes to the tune-up this new car will respond to. And that takes runs down the race track. But, unfortunately we're running out of runs down the race track.
"It's not that we didn't do good in Englishtown, it's that we didn't do good enough in the first three runs. We actually ran a 4.89 (-second elapsed time). It just ended up being one spot outside the field of Friday's 12-car cutoff.
"Norwalk is a great facility, and we feel confident we'll get back on track this weekend."
JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 13 in 2008 Funny Car points after 11 events (one victory-Phoenix)
* No. 5 qualifier in Norwalk in 2007, lost second round to Cruz Pedregon
* 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.
* Had back-to-back 2007 season victories in Denver and Seattle, in three final rounds
* Also in 2007 had three semifinal finishes, seven quarterfinal finishes and two DNQs, and a round win-loss record of 24-19
* In his 51 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won four times in six final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 42-42
* Set national elapsed-time record of 4.662 seconds and national speed record of 333.66 mph 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)
* Residence: North Hills, 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.
* Serves as instructor 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 FC elapsed time: 4.662 seconds (Pomona 2 '06)
* Career-best FC speed: 333.66 mph (Pomona 2 '06)
* Career-best TF elapsed time: 4.563 seconds (TF, Brainerd 2005)
* Career-best 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
* Is tied in round wins against 14-time NHRA champion John Force: 4-4
BECKMAN REFLECTS, PREPARES FOR NORWALK
NORTH HILLS, Calif. (June 25, 2008) - As a cancer survivor, Jack Beckman has endured challenges in his life. As an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car driver, he has enjoyed both victory and defeat on the nation's most famous quarter-mile tracks.
Last Sunday, Beckman wasn’t able to make a fourth qualifying attempt to get into the Funny Car field because of the fatal crash in front of him that took fellow driver Scott Kalitta's life as Beckman waited his turn in the staging lanes. That session was cancelled and Beckman failed to qualify for the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., but, for the driver of the Vavoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, that was OK.
"I am still one of the biggest drag race fans," said Beckman, who is in only his second full season of Funny Car competition. "If we don't do good and I have to leave early on a Sunday I am always calling from the airport to find out who won. We TiVO all the races so I can come home and watch them.
"I didn't even know who won on Sunday," said Beckman, who left early on race day to return to his wife Jenna and son Jason Russell in North Hills, Calif. "And it's the first time that I could ever think of in my racing career where it didn't actually seem all that important.
"After what happened on Saturday - we were the car behind Scott in the staging lanes - it just didn't seem to matter. I'm sure for everybody who had to suit up, they still had a job to do, but it just didn't feel the same.
"I'm sure everybody is going to be doing a lot of grieving this weekend in Norwalk, and it's not going to go away by next week, but it might be a chance to kind of get back to a little bit of rhythm,” he added, as he prepared to compete in this weekend’s Second Annual NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
"It's never going to be the same. It's not like one day we went, OK, well, we're over that. You'll never get over it. There is a time frame when it hurts almost constantly. And then when you get past that it's a memory and a tugging at the heart when you think of the people we have lost.
"In some regards I almost wish we had another week off to grieve, but I also think it might not be a bad thing if we all get back in the race cars this weekend and start the healing."
As for the performance of the Valvoline/MTS Dodge, "We pretty much have our backs up against the wall now," he said of getting into the top 10 from the 13th spot for the Countdown to the Championship which begins following the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. “I remember when John Force was struggling early last year. Somebody asked me how many more races do you think they can afford to not perform well. And I said, Well, by two more races if he hasn't won a couple of rounds he's going to be out. And sure enough, he came on strong after that and started doing better. Well, I think I can say the same for us right now. In the next two races we need to start performing well.
"It's not for lack of consistency that we've struggled. We have to take advantage of the qualifying session where the conditions are quickest. A lot of these guys take home-run swings in these good cool-air sessions and it puts them high up in the field. We just haven't been able to do that," added Beckman. There have been as many as 21 cars this season vying for 16 spots in the field.
"So far so good," he said of the new DSR1 chassis he is running. "It drives well. They all kind of have their own personality and like different things. (Teammate Gary Scelzi's crew chief) Todd Okuhara is going through that with the Hadman chassis on the Mopar/Oakley car and our crew chiefs Johnny West and Tommy DeLago need to figure out what specific changes to the tune-up this new car will respond to. And that takes runs down the race track. But, unfortunately we're running out of runs down the race track.
"It's not that we didn't do good in Englishtown, it's that we didn't do good enough in the first three runs. We actually ran a 4.89 (-second elapsed time). It just ended up being one spot outside the field of Friday's 12-car cutoff.
"Norwalk is a great facility, and we feel confident we'll get back on track this weekend."
JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 13 in 2008 Funny Car points after 11 events (one victory-Phoenix)
* No. 5 qualifier in Norwalk in 2007, lost second round to Cruz Pedregon
* 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.
* Had back-to-back 2007 season victories in Denver and Seattle, in three final rounds
* Also in 2007 had three semifinal finishes, seven quarterfinal finishes and two DNQs, and a round win-loss record of 24-19
* In his 51 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won four times in six final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 42-42
* Set national elapsed-time record of 4.662 seconds and national speed record of 333.66 mph 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)
* Residence: North Hills, 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.
* Serves as instructor 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 FC elapsed time: 4.662 seconds (Pomona 2 '06)
* Career-best FC speed: 333.66 mph (Pomona 2 '06)
* Career-best TF elapsed time: 4.563 seconds (TF, Brainerd 2005)
* Career-best 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
* Is tied in round wins against 14-time NHRA champion John Force: 4-4
