Beckman Wins All-Mopar Final to Complete Dominating Performance at NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
NHRA fansfrom Setauket, Smithtown, Stony Brook, Coram, Wading River, Riverhead, and all over Long Island watched as Jack Beckman had a near perfect a weekend as a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racer could hope to have. Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Jack Beckman piloted his 2015 Dodge Charger R/T to five three-second runs, was quickest in three of four qualifying sessions, set a Funny Car national record for elapsed time with an extraordinary 3.921-second lap, earned the No.1 qualifier position, and then continued his impressive performance through eliminations to earn his place in winner's circle at the 28th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
"This is far and above my most dominating Funny Car win ever," said Beckman of his 20th career Funny Car victory. "Qualifying No.1 is a statistic, but getting that trophy at the end of the day is satisfaction that your team did everything better than anybody else that day. I'll take qualifying 16th if I can get that trophy. Since we got the trophy and qualified first and set the national record, it's icing on top of icing on top of the cake. It couldn't have been any better."
Beckman's national title win came against his DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. in what was the fifth all-Mopar final elimination showdown of the year.
"Congratulations to Jack Beckman for his dominating win at Sonoma and his fifth of the year at the wheel of the new 2015 Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA. "The success the DSR team is having with the new Mopar body is a source of pride for us. Having it drive to a 12th national title and advance to all but one final elimination this season to date is a tribute to the time and investment, as well as hard work and collaboration that was dedicated to designing and building the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car."
The new Mopar body has powered its way to 22 three-second passes so far this year. Seven of those came this weekend alone with contributions from Beckman, who added a pair of three-second runs in eliminations to the trio he posted in qualifying to bring his tally to 13 this season, and two from DSR teammates Matt Hagan and Ron Capps in qualifying.
On his first pass of the day against Tony Pedregon, Beckman put up a 3.993 second lap (314 mph) and then added a 3.979-second (319.67 mph) quarterfinal lap against Chad Head. He disposed of Robert Hight in the semifinal with a 4.037 /310.91 over his opponent's 4.095/311.27 to face Johnson Jr. in the final round. The driver of the Infinite Hero Mopar machine won that showdown with a 4.037/310.63 to beat his teammate's 4.073/308.99.
"Everything about this win makes it extra special but I haven't had a bad win this year," added Beckman whose five wins are the most he has collected in a single season. "If you look at the five wins they've been very, very different and all special. I don't know that this will sink in until I'm on an airplane flying to Seattle."
The win came on the heels of his victory last weekend at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver. Beckman's only previous back-to-back titles came in 2007, also during the NHRA's three-event "Western Swing" with wins in Denver and Seattle, and helps keep any hopes alive of becoming only the second Funny Car driver to accomplish the feat of sweeping the three-week marathon.
Seeded 10th for Sunday's eliminations, Tommy Johnson Jr. drove his HEMI-powered machine past Tim Wilkerson in the first round, won a side-by-side drag race against his DSR teammate and points leader Hagan's Mopar Express Lane 2015 Dodge Charger R/T, and then defeated Cruz Pedregon to advance to the final.
"I am happy with the way I drove and I am happy with the way the team performed," said Johnson who took his Make-A-Wish 2015 Dodge Charger R/T from sixth to fourth in the standings with the runner-up result. "I had good lights when I needed them, we ran as good as we could on the track without smoking the tires. The crew chief and I were in sync today. It usually leads to good things."