The victory was the first for Beckman at Indy in three final appearances, his sixth of the season and 21st of his career in 42 final rounds. It also marks the first NHRA U.S. Nationals win for a Mopar-powered machine in the NHRA Funny Car class since Mike Ashley scored the 2007 victory in a Dodge.
The new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car body ends the regular season with 14 wins in 18 events, and final round appearances in all but one race. Beckman heads into the six-race NHRA "Countdown to the Championship" playoffs, which begin in two weeks near Charlotte, holding a 30-point edge over the No. 2 spot, held by Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver Matt Hagan, and 40-point spread over yet another Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Dodge driver, Tommy Johnson Jr.
"On behalf of everyone at Mopar, I would like to congratulate Don Schumacher Racing and especially Jack Beckman for earning the prestigious U.S. Nationals title and his sixth win of the year with the new 2015 Dodge Charger R/T," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA. "The success the DSR team has had with the new body in the regular season is phenomenal and a testament to the investment and hard work that went into bringing to fruition the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car. We can't wait to see what our Mopar drivers can do with it in the Countdown in defense of the 2014 Funny Car Championship."
Driving his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T, Beckman started from the U.S. Nationals pole after setting both ends of the track record with a 3.936-second elapsed time at 323.74 mph, earning his fourth consecutive No. 1 of the year and first-ever at the "Big Go." He had the quickest car in the first round, using a 4.047-second elapsed time at 302.55 mph under hot, humid track conditions to eliminate No. 16 qualifier Bob Bode.
It was an all-Mopar Dodge matchup in the quarterfinals, with Beckman pitted against his DSR teammate, Ron Capps. The two Mopar drivers had nearly identical reaction times (Beckman's .060 to Capps' .062), but Beckman pulled away with a 4.057/311.41 (once again quickest of the round), and soon after Capps slowed to a 4.516/219.54.
In the semis, Beckman (4.058/307.72) took out Del Worsham (4.189/299.20), setting up a classic DSR vs. JFR fight against Robert Hight. Entering the final round, Beckman was 12-0 against JFR cars in 2015, but his previous two final round appearances at the U.S. Nationals had ended in runner-up finishes to Robert Hight.
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