[coverattach=1]NORCO, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2009) - Jack Beckman is still in the running for his first Funny Car championship as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series comes down to its final event of 2009 at this weekend's 45th annual NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.
The driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car stands fourth in the rankings, 114 points behind first-place Robert Hight. And, while mathematically it appears doable, it's a high mountain to climb and he admits it.
"It's not over for the championship, but I think the fat lady is warming up her vocal chords," said Beckman, a two-time national-event winner this season. "We would pretty much have to have an act of Congress and God would need to be a member of Congress right now for us to win the championship.
"I think the realistic goal for us is to get right back into the final round and this time get the win," he said, referring to his runner-up finish at the last event in Las Vegas. "And if we win the final round, unless somebody sets an elapsed-time record (for 20 bonus points), we're going to finish second.”
"I think that is a very attainable goal for us,” added Beckman, who is nine markers out of second place. “And to close the year out on a positive note just makes the off-season go so much better for everybody on the Valvoline/MTS team.
"If we can win in Pomona I know the Valvoline/MTS guys are going to be champing at the bit to go out and test for next year. It's been a very interesting season. You look at the guy who is most likely going to win the championship (Robert Hight), and he was in 12th place going into the last race before the Countdown (the final six races of the year for the top 10).
“But nobody really made a run this year like a couple of the cars including ours did at times during last year. Last year you saw Tim Wilkerson surge at one point, we surged at one point, and Cruz Pedregon surged at one point, which gave him the championship. We never really saw that this year. Hight did do well once the Countdown started, but nobody truly dominated and had a strong overall season like we've seen in years past.
"So, I think if we can win Pomona then the writing's on the wall. I think that everybody does know that we will be listed as one of the contenders for next year. If we can win, it will make us a favorite for 2010 going into the off-season."
Mail Terminal Services continues its popular "Mail From Home" campaign in 2009, supporting the U.S. troops serving in the war zones. In the past two NHRA seasons the campaign has sent over 195,000 post cards overseas signed by fans and supporters at each NHRA national event with messages of support for the troops, along with numerous NHRA National Dragster issues and other automotive magazines. Photos of cars and drivers were also included.
In 2009 the "Mail From Home" program has been challenged to exceed the previous records of cards distributed to hit a 125,000-card record for one season.
JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in Countdown to 1 playoffs standings, after five of six events
* 114 points out of first place, nine points short of second place
* No. 5 in 2009 Funny Car "regular season," after two victories (Atlanta; Norwalk, Ohio), one runner-up, three semifinal, five quarterfinal and seven first-rounds in "regular season"
* Pomona 2 runner-up in 2006; also Pomona 2 low qualifier in 2006
* His 2009 round win-loss record is 29-21
* Qualified No. 10 at 2008 Pomona 2, lost semifinal to Ron Capps
* 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
* In his 87 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won eight times in 17 final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 98-74
* 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)
* 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.
* 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 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: 9-5
SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, Nov. 12 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, Nov. 13 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Nov. 14 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Nov. 15 – Pre-race ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Nov. 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Nov. 13, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 9:30 – 10 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Nov. 15, 10:30 - 11 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
The driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Funny Car stands fourth in the rankings, 114 points behind first-place Robert Hight. And, while mathematically it appears doable, it's a high mountain to climb and he admits it.
"It's not over for the championship, but I think the fat lady is warming up her vocal chords," said Beckman, a two-time national-event winner this season. "We would pretty much have to have an act of Congress and God would need to be a member of Congress right now for us to win the championship.
"I think the realistic goal for us is to get right back into the final round and this time get the win," he said, referring to his runner-up finish at the last event in Las Vegas. "And if we win the final round, unless somebody sets an elapsed-time record (for 20 bonus points), we're going to finish second.”
"I think that is a very attainable goal for us,” added Beckman, who is nine markers out of second place. “And to close the year out on a positive note just makes the off-season go so much better for everybody on the Valvoline/MTS team.
"If we can win in Pomona I know the Valvoline/MTS guys are going to be champing at the bit to go out and test for next year. It's been a very interesting season. You look at the guy who is most likely going to win the championship (Robert Hight), and he was in 12th place going into the last race before the Countdown (the final six races of the year for the top 10).
“But nobody really made a run this year like a couple of the cars including ours did at times during last year. Last year you saw Tim Wilkerson surge at one point, we surged at one point, and Cruz Pedregon surged at one point, which gave him the championship. We never really saw that this year. Hight did do well once the Countdown started, but nobody truly dominated and had a strong overall season like we've seen in years past.
"So, I think if we can win Pomona then the writing's on the wall. I think that everybody does know that we will be listed as one of the contenders for next year. If we can win, it will make us a favorite for 2010 going into the off-season."
Mail Terminal Services continues its popular "Mail From Home" campaign in 2009, supporting the U.S. troops serving in the war zones. In the past two NHRA seasons the campaign has sent over 195,000 post cards overseas signed by fans and supporters at each NHRA national event with messages of support for the troops, along with numerous NHRA National Dragster issues and other automotive magazines. Photos of cars and drivers were also included.
In 2009 the "Mail From Home" program has been challenged to exceed the previous records of cards distributed to hit a 125,000-card record for one season.
JACK BECKMAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in Countdown to 1 playoffs standings, after five of six events
* 114 points out of first place, nine points short of second place
* No. 5 in 2009 Funny Car "regular season," after two victories (Atlanta; Norwalk, Ohio), one runner-up, three semifinal, five quarterfinal and seven first-rounds in "regular season"
* Pomona 2 runner-up in 2006; also Pomona 2 low qualifier in 2006
* His 2009 round win-loss record is 29-21
* Qualified No. 10 at 2008 Pomona 2, lost semifinal to Ron Capps
* 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
* In his 87 national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car, he has won eight times in 17 final rounds (all in Funny Car), and has a career round win-loss record of 98-74
* 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)
* 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.
* 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 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: 9-5
SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, Nov. 12 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, Nov. 13 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Nov. 14 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Nov. 15 – Pre-race ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Nov. 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Nov. 13, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 9:30 – 10 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Nov. 15, 10:30 - 11 p.m. (ET), AMC 16 / Transponder 14K (11980 MHz, horizontal)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
