By John Sturbin | Raceday San Antonio
ENNIS – Jack Beckman and his No. 1 fan are poised to reprise a Texas Motorplex family moment _ and delay Matt Hagan’s bid for a fifth Nitro Funny Car championship – during Sunday’s 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals.
Beckman secured his fourth pole of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season via the 3.852-second/330.13 mph lap he recorded during optimum weather conditions Friday night. Fourth in the Countdown to the Championship point standings through three of six national events, “Fast Jack” closed-out Saturday afternoon’s time trials with a similarly stout 1,000-foot pass in 3.855-seconds/337.13 mph.
Trailing Hagan by 120 points with 12 rounds of eliminations remaining, Beckman suggested that while he’s in the midst of a long-shot bid to overhaul Hagan, he’s nevertheless in a great place to score his second career victory at Hall of Famer Billy Meyer’s Motorplex.
On Friday, “Fast Jack” recounted how he posted his breakthrough Funny Car victory on The Plex’s famed all-concrete surface at this event in 2020 with his then-83-year-old father in attendance. Now 89, Robert Thomas Beckman has been on the premises this weekend as a fan, and perhaps, an inspiration.
“Yeah, my dad…sometimes you don’t realize what a great parent or parents you had until you’re in your 30s. And you look back and you’re like, ‘Wow,’^” Beckman, 60, said in the track’s Media Center. “My parents divorced when I was pretty young, but they both did all the right things for my brother and me.
“I was truly gifted with two excellent parents. And to have my dad around at 89 means a lot. I lost my mom when she was 50. To have my dad able to come out to the racetrack means a lot. He lives out here (Dallas area), so he doesn’t do a whole lot of traveling. He loves to drive; his wife doesn’t like him to drive. You probably don’t want to be in the passenger seat when he’s driving right now.
“But, you know, if he’s up to it, we’ll go have some dinner. And if he’s up to it, he’ll be out here tomorrow. And I’d love nothing more than to celebrate in the Winner’s Circle with him tomorrow.”
Point-leader Hagan – a four-time race-winner this season – qualified second at 3.855-seconds/334.80 mph. Two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon finished third via Friday’s run of 3.855-seconds/323.83 mph in his Snap-on Tools Dodge SRT Hellcat.
Professional eliminations are scheduled to begin at noon (CDT). Beckman, the 2012 Funny Car world champ, will begin chasing his third win of the season and second at the Motorplex against No. 16 qualifier Terry Haddock. A resident of New Braunfels, Haddock qualified his red, white and blue Circle Racing Wheels/Concho Supply Ford Mustang at 4.033-seconds/310.97 mph. Primary sponsor Concho Supply, Inc., is based in San Angelo.
Beckman agreed that two of his four laps during qualifications sent messages to the camp of Hagan, driver of the Direct Connection Dodge/SRT Hellcat fielded by Tony Stewart Racing. Hagan began the weekend with a 72-point lead over Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS of JFR; a 106-point advantage over two-time/reigning Funny Car world champion Austin Prock in the Motorcraft Ford Mustang Dark Horse fielded by Bob Tasca Racing and 123 over Beckman.
“So, the runs you make are always relative to conditions,” said Beckman, noting Round 4 Saturday was run with the ambient temperature at 64 degrees and track temp of 108. Round 2 at 8:15 p.m. Friday was run in an ambient temperature of 58 degrees and track temp of 77.
“So, today’s run on a 105-probably degree racetrack, pound-for-pound was the run of the weekend,” said Beckman, who bagged his 37th career pole. “Like the one last night was three-thousandths quicker, but the racetrack was 20-something degrees colder, almost 30 degrees colder.
“Today’s run was outstanding. And it probably gives us data for two of the four runs (Sunday). And Q3, where we overstepped a bit, sometimes that’s exactly what you need to know – what too far is. So I feel good. And that (winning the race) is the reason we show up.”
Beckman reiterated he and veteran JFR crew chiefs Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi will need Hagan and his tuners to stumble beginning here and/or during the final two Countdown races. Next up is the 26th annual Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from Oct. 29-Nov. 1. NHRA’s 75th anniversary season will end Nov. 12-15 at the 61st annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.
“Yeah, we put ourselves in a position where we have to depend on them going out early,” said Beckman, driver of the 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS fielded by John Force Racing. “And that’s always a difficult situation.”
Beckman noted that Austin Prock, the two-time/reigning Funny Car World champ, has suffered a first-round Countdown loss. “We’ve had a first-round loss in the Countdown,” Beckman said. “I’m going to talk to Matt and try to convince him he needs one or two first-round losses in the Countdown. Because if they don’t do that, we’re going to have a tough time getting around him.
“We can’t control who races him. We can’t control what his car does. We’ll just have to manage that Peak Chevy. And I’m so confident in the crew and Dan and Tim and making fantastic calls. I just have to drive the best I can, but I’m not going to change the way I drive. I’m gonna stay (stage) shallow, I’m gonna get the best possible ET, I’m gonna race to protect lane-choice.
“You pretty much go numb when these things are running. The first time you truly get a gauge of how quick the cars are running is at about 300-feet. Because the launch is relatively hard almost all the time. So at 350-foot, if it’s shoving you back in the trunk and it keeps doing that, you’re on a good run.
“I thought somebody could run a 3.86 on that last qualifying session. I thought a perfect run would be that. And Dan and Tim exceeded that. I mean, that thing’s just on me. You have no idea how much confidence it instills in you when you drive a car that even if you miss it on one run, they’ll figure it out, turn the knobs right to go straight down the track. We missed it on Q1 and Q3. But I think Q3 might have been one of those ‘oops runs’ that helped us tune the car to a race-run.
“The (cooler) weather didn’t hurt, right? Like, this is Chamber of Commerce weather. Great performance, no humidity. Days like today are wonderful.”
Ron Capps completed a shakedown run during Round 4 of qualifications Saturday afternoon, approximately two hours removed from a blower explosion that shattered the bodywork of his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car.
A three-time Funny Car world champion and owner of his team, Capps qualified eighth at 3.899-seconds/324.61 mph. He will face Chad Green and his Bond Coat Ford Mustang in Round 1 of eliminations after his best lap at 3.910-seconds/330.32 mph.
Now, back to the aforementioned detonation. “I hate watching replays like this,” Capps deadpanned as he reviewed NHRA-supplied footage for the first time. “It started just on the left a little bit down there. I wasn’t sure maybe it (the engine) had a hole (cylinder) out. It didn’t feel like it did. Yeah, it seemed like it was running fine. But it was one of the biggest concussions I’ve had in a while and I ‘m shocked it didn’t do more damage.”
As the footage continued, Capps saw the spinning rear wheels of his hot rod lifted several feet off the ground for a lengthy portion of the 1,000-foot distance. “That’s…oh my God, look at that!” said Capps, 61. “That’ll make the highlight reel. That’s crazy. And it just kept going. And I was trying to keep it in the groove.
“They come as a shock like that. And then the concussion sometimes is so violent. It’s knocked me out in the past. That’s how violent it can be. I just wanted to keep it off the wall. It steered fine afterwards. Didn’t touch the wall. I think the chassis is fine. And we got another body to put on there. Got a couple in the trailer thanks to our great partners. All the NAPA people, but Carlisle Tools especially. We got a good group with us and a lot of friends flew in for this race.”
Capps is a two-time Motorplex event winner (2021-2022) and a five-time runnerup who has witnessed similar explosions involving, most notably, 16-time Funny Car world champion John “Brute” Force on The Plex’s famed all-concrete surface.
“I’m sorry to make you nervous like that,” said Capps, addressing his family and corporate partners. “Made me nervous.”
ENNIS – Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, the 18th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based upon results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel – 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.648-seconds, 340.39 mph vs. 16. Jake Sanders, 3.844, 319.78; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.668, 343.70 vs. 15. Spencer Massey, 3.758, 327.80; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.668, 338.80 vs. 14. Tony Schumacher, 3.755, 336.68; 4. Antron Brown, 3.677, 335.32 vs. 13. Dan Mercier, 3.748, 329.89; 5. Leah Pruett, 3.691, 336.05 vs. 12. Billy Torrence, 3.730, 335.35; 6. Maddi Gordon, 3.701, 333.43 vs. 11. Shawn Reed, 3.727, 333.78; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.713, 335.80 vs. 10. Clay Millican, 3.716, 332.45; 8. Josh Hart, 3.714, 337.64 vs. 9. Will Smith, 3.714, 335.80.
Did Not Qualify – 17. Lee Callaway, 3.863, 308.77; 18. Charles Loftin, 3.926, 281.51; 19. Cameron Ferre, 4.021, 301.45.
Funny Car – 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.852, 330.13 vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Ford Mustang, 4.033, 310.97; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.855, 334.80 vs. 15. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.985, 321.31; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.855, 323.83 vs. 14. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.930, 300.20; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.873, 333.09 vs. 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.925, 333.68; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.874, 337.13 vs. 12. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.922, 323.93; 6. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.881, 333.83 vs. 11. Blake Alexander, Toyota Supra, 3.914, 327.92; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.896, 329.98 vs. 10. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.912, 328.37; 8. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.899, 324.61 vs. 9. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.910, 330.32.
Did Not Qualify – 17. Chris King, 4.038, 311.22; 18. Jeff Arend, 4.050, 315.99; 19. Jim Campbell, 4.083, 311.18; 20. Jeff Diehl, 4.331, 214.65.
Pro Stock – 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.434, 213.50 vs. 16. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.495, 211.26; 2. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.443, 213.42 vs. 15. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.473, 213.03; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.447, 213.63 vs. 14. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.472, 212.21; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.449, 211.95 vs. 13. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.471, 211.69; 5. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.452, 213.76 vs. 12. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.469, 212.59; 6. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.457, 213.95 vs. 11. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.468, 212.01; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.458, 213.37 vs. 10. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.464, 211.67; 8. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.459, 212.91 vs. 9. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.460, 212.80.
Did Not Qualify – 17. Shane Tucker, 6.502, 213.44; 18. Mason McGaha, 6.514, 212.30; 19. Cliff Mayes, 6.621, 210.41.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.651, 203.05 vs. 16. Hector Arana Jr., EBR, 6.880, 198.00; 2. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.653, 202.89 vs. 15. G.T. Tonglet, Buell, 6.873, 196.63; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.659, 204.18 vs. 14. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.867, 194.12; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.689, 201.53 vs. 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.809, 196.09; 5. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.692, 202.07 vs. 12. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.803, 198.46; 6. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.718, 201.58 vs. 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.789, 200.60; 7. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.733, 201.13 vs. 10. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.753, 199.21; 8. John Hall, Buell, 6.735, 201.72 vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.750, 199.17.
Did Not Qualify – 17. Hector Arana, 6.969, 197.19; 18. Blaine Hale, 7.624, 176.88.
