Beckman set for $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout in Texas and gaining ground in Countdown to the Championship

September 19

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 19, 2012) - Jack Beckman hopes the saying "good things come to those who wait" will come true this weekend during the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Texas Motorplex.

Beckman, who is considered a drag racing historian, was at the first NHRA event in 1986 at the track in Ennis, Texas, near Dallas and has been racing there since 1998.

"I have never won a trophy in Texas," Beckman said. "I raced there for the first time there in 1998 in Super Comp and Super Gas. I'm not saying Texas owes me, but I was in the stands at Texas Motorplex for the very first national event.

"I've been loyal, I've been good and I'd like to take advantage of that this weekend."

It could be a big weekend for the driver from Norco, Calif., with the rescheduled $100,000 Traxxas Funny Car Shootout set to take place on Saturday.

"I think we have a great chance of not only leaving with the trophy on Sunday but a really good shot with the Traxxas Shootout on Saturday," he said of what he expects from his Schumacher Electric/Valvoline Dodge Charger R/T. "We have a great car and we run well pretty much in all conditions."

Crew chief Todd Smith has tuned Beckman to six top-two qualifying efforts in a row.

"This is going to be unique because we are going to get two qualifying rounds on Friday but when we go into the first qualifying round on Saturday, that's also the first round for the Shootout.

"The philosophy is different from qualifying because you're trying to beat someone in the other lane rather than just beat the clock. It's going to be interesting and I feel confident."

Beckman will compete not far from where his father, Bob Beckman, lives.

And the younger Beckman will have had plenty of "seat time" since Sunday's event near Dallas when qualifying rolls around at 3 p.m. on Friday.

After returning home to Southern California Monday from the last event near Charlotte, he and his wife, Jenna, and two young children, Jason and Layla, started the journey to Texas.

"I'm getting a good warm up. We are driving 1,372 miles to get to Dallas. So I'm getting a lot of driving practice, and I've got the family."

The following are Beckman's stats and other notes.

Jack Beckman, Schumacher Electric/Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger R/T
2011 at Dallas: Qualified No. 6; lost in the second round (Jon Capps)
Career at Dallas: Wins 0; Runner-ups 1 (2009); Poles 0

2012 Pts Races Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
3rd 18 2 0 2 1 26-15
Career 151 2 15 6 6 194-131

NHRA FULL THROTTLE STANDINGS
Countdown to the Championship
(Thru Sept. 16, 2012; DSR drivers in CAPS)

FUNNY CAR
1. RON CAPPS, 2,230
2. Mike Neff, 2,157
3. JACK BECKMAN, 2,152
4. Robert Hight, 2,113
5. Cruz Pedregon, 2,087
6. JOHNNY GRAY, 2,081
7. Courtney Force, 2,074
8. John Force, 2,072
9. Jeff Arend, 2,064
10. Tim Wilkerson, 2,064

SCHEDULE:
Friday: 3, 6 p.m., qualifying Saturday: 12:45 Traxxas Shootout Round One, qualifying, 2:30 Traxxas Shootout Round Two, qualifying, 4 p.m. Traxxas Shootout Final Sunday: 11 a.m., eliminations

ON ESPN2 (times are ET) SUNDAY: Qualifying, 1 p.m.
SUNDAY: Eliminations, 8:30 p.m.

WEATHER.COM FORECAST
FRIDAY: High 89 degrees; 0 percent chance of rain
SATURDAY: High 89 degrees; 0 percent chance of rain
SUNDAY: High 80 degrees; 0 percent chance of rain


About Valvoline
Valvoline, a brand of Ashland Inc., has been serving American motorists longer than any other motor oil. The Valvoline family of products includes Eagle One™ appearance products, Car Brite™ car restoration products, Zerex™ antifreeze, SynPower™ performance products, MaxLife™ products created for higher-mileage engines and NextGen™ motor oil, created with 50 percent recycled oil.
With more than 820 locations throughout the United States, Valvoline Instant Oil Change™ is a leader in serving the quick lube market.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron's Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 192 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.


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