BECKMAN SETS NATIONAL RECORD, LANDS NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION; GRUBNIC, LINE AND KRAWIEC ALSO TOP QUALIFIERS HEADING INTO SUNDAY’S ELIMINATIONS

Funny Car title contender Jack Beckman set a national record en route to his fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

David Grubnic (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the fourth of six playoff events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.

After a dominating performance during Friday’s qualifying runs, Beckman powered his Schumacher Electric Dodge Charger to a time of 4.003 seconds in Saturday’s first qualifying attempt, which was quick enough to certify his 3.989 effort from Friday as an NHRA national record.  Beckman, who now trails series points leader Ron Capps by only 17, will earn a 20-point bonus if he hangs onto the record following the completion of Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.

"We want to win the championship,” said Beckman, who will face Mike Smith in the opening round of eliminations. “Some people would tell you they want to win at all costs and I’m not one of those people. We want to win because we did everything right out there and we want the other cars to be at their prime. We’d like to do it the right way.” 

Cruz Pedregon was second with a performance of 3.997 at 320.58 in his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry while Mike Neff was third in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang with a 4.017 at 318.84. Points leader Capps will start eighth in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger after qualifying with a performance of 4.055 at 317.64. Countdown contender Tim Wilkerson, who had charged from 10th to fifth in the points standings during the first three playoff races, failed to qualify for eliminations in his Levi Ray & Shoup Shelby Ford Mustang.

In Top Fuel, Grubnic drove his Rocky Boots dragster to a performance of 3.728 at 327.11 mph to earn his first No. 1 qualifying position this season and first since 2008. His time tied the quickest Top Fuel run in history, and he could certify it as a national record during Sunday’s eliminations when he opens against Canadian driver Ike Maier.

“It’s good to be back in the No. 1 spot,” Grubnic said. “When I started with Connie [Kalitta] in 2004, we were No. 1 qualifier five times that year, and so it’s great to be back in that position. Not only that, but [teammate] Doug Kalitta running 331 miles per hour side-by-side with me. It’s great for the team, great for Connie, great for all the guys that work on the car, and great for our sponsors.”

Morgan Lucas, who qualified second with a 3.733-second effort in his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster, set the Top Fuel national elapsed time record on that run. Series points leader Antron Brown was 11th in his Matco Tools dragster with a 3.758 at 325.14 while Spencer Massey, currently second in the standings, was eighth with a 3.763 at 321.12. Four-time Maple Grove winner Tony Schumacher qualified third  in the U.S. Army dragster with a 3.736 at 325.14.

In Pro Stock, defending world champion and event winner Jason Line raced to his seventh No. 1 qualifying position of the season, 31st of his career in his Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro with a time of 6.515 at 212.36. Line will race Shane Gray in the opening round.

“Tomorrow should be interesting, and fun to watch,” Line said. “Especially if it’s cold out and we could set a new national record. Those 20 points could really come in handy.”

Pro Stock points leader Allen Johnson was sixth with a 6.545 at 211.49 in his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger and title challenger and St. Louis winner Erica Enders was second in her GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt with a 6.538 at 211.30.

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Eddie Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to his fourth No. 1 of the season with a performance of 6.821 at 196.19, bringing his career total to 13.

“I have a good race day bike,” said Krawiec, who will meet veteran rider Craig Treble in the first round. “I think it’s just consistently getting it down the track, getting it off the starting line and going. I’m going to do the best I can. I am just going to look for good green lights and I think the rest will come.”

Krawiec’s teammate Andrew Hines was second on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson with a 6.824 at 195.85, while the father and son Lucas Oil Buell duo of Hector Arana Sr. and Hector Arana Jr. head into eliminations third and fourth.

Hagan vows Aaron's team 'will never quit' as round two of NHRA Western Swing moves to Northern California

A first-round loss Sunday near Denver nearly wiped out the chances for Matt Hagan and crew chief Tommy DeLago to defend the NHRA Funny Car championship they won last season for Don Schumacher Racing.

But that doesn't mean the Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T team is throwing in the towel.

"You know, it is what it is," Hagan said. "This season so far has been disappointing but it isn't for a lack of trying by our Aaron's team. Sometime you just don't get the breaks."

That was apparent when Hagan lost in the opening round Sunday of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in the Rocky Mountains.

He lost by a few inches at the end of the 1,000-foot race when Kalitta Motorsport's Jeff Arend's time of 4.320 seconds (293.41 mph) edged Hagan's 4.327 (286.38)

Arend's margin of victory was 0.0004 - that's four ten-thousandths of a second that translated to only a few inches on the track.

"That was soooo close," Hagan said. "It would have been fun if I was watching in the grandstands or if our Mopar won, but losing a race like that is not fun."

The team has moved on to Northern California for this weekend's NHRA Sonoma Nationals near San Francisco for the second stop on the grueling Western Swing that encompasses three straight weekends of racing and four in five weeks. After Sonoma, the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads north to Kent, Wash., then after a one-week break races at Brainerd, Minn.

"Three weeks on the road is tough," said Hagan, who opted to remain with the team instead of flying cross country each week to his home in Christiansburg, Va. "It's hard enough if you're winning rounds, it's even harder when you aren't."

Hagan's team fell to 4-12 in championship eliminations and hasn't gotten past the first round for three consecutive races. The team remains 13th place in Full Throttle standings and 152 points outside of the 10th position, which is held by John Force.

The top-10 drivers after the 17th event, which is the Aug. 29-Sept. 3 U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis, advance to the six-race Countdown to the Championship that closes the season.

"We won't give up on the Countdown until somebody tells me it's impossible for us to get into the top-10," Hagan said. "And even then our Aaron's team will never quit trying to get better and win.

"We have 10 more Full Throttle races left and that means we have a shot at winning 10 trophies. That's our goal. We don't give up; we never will."

Round wins, consistency on Torrence’s Norwalk to-do list

A cautiously optimistic Steve Torrence said five months ago that he hoped his new Torrence Racing Top Fuel team would be able to run with the best teams in NHRA’s Full Throttle series and, perhaps, be in the top five when the last cars go down the track on November 11.

Eleven races into the 17-event regular season, the driver from Kilgore, Texas is one of the hottest on the circuit.  He has been to three final rounds in the last five races, winning at Atlanta and Englishtown, N.J.  His runner-up finish last Sunday at Joliet, Ill. put him a solid fourth in points going into the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, Friday through Sunday, in Norwalk, Ohio

“It’s always a good weekend when you make the final round,” said Torrence.  “The car was consistent and crew chief Richard Hogan and the guys were great.  But that race is over, now we are concentrating on Norwalk.

“We want to keep everything going the way it has been.  Richard has been doing a good job tuning the car in the hot weather . . . and we hope to take advantage of that.  It looks like it will be hot and humid again in Norwalk.”

Although he prefers to not look too far into the future, Torrence realizes that – barring any unexpected incidents – he will be one of the 10 drivers to qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins Sept. 16.

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“We’re looking forward to that,” he commented,” but we want to see how well we can do in the next seven races (before the Countdown begins).  There are a lot of really good teams out there.”

He is one of only two-one car team drivers in the top 10 point standings.  Torrence has 775 points and Clay Millican is 10th with 490.

Torrence trails DSR teammates Tony Schumacher (879), Antron Brown (876) and Spencer Massey (868).

Beckman, crew chief Smith producing plenty of Funny Car noise as Schumacher Electric/Valvoline team move to third in points

Jack Beckman continues to climb up the NHRA Funny Car standings.

Beckman and crew chief Todd Smith speak the same language, although Smith does so at a much slower pace.

"I enjoy working with Todd. Just look at how our team has done since he took over with a crew and driver he had never worked with before. That says a lot for him as a person.

"It's obvious he's a very smart, talented man. Just look what we've been able to do on the track."

The duo produced the strongest performing Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing last weekend at Route 66 Raceway at Joliet, Ill.

The team, running a special Schumacher Electric Corp. paint scheme, advanced to the semifinals that enabled them to move up one spot to third in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series standings heading to this weekend's event at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

The track just south of Lake Erie and Sandusky has been good to Beckman. He won the Funny Car title there in 2009.

Smith joined as his crew chief after the third event this season and has progressed steadily. Other than the team's victory three events later at Topeka, Kan., the team might have had its most impressive showing at Joliet.

After qualifying third, Beckman and Smith produced the second quickest run in the first round of eliminations and then the quickest in the second round. In the semifinal, Beckman was edged by eventual event titlist Jeff Arend.

Brown, Matco Tools Top Fuel team serve up the icing on cake to celebrate Don Schumacher's Hall selection

Antron Brown is all about family whether its wife Billie Jo and their three beautiful children, or his "boys" on the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster team at Don Schumacher Racing. 

Brown, who has been blessed with a father and uncle who have served as lifelong role models, could consider Don Schumacher a godfather. 

And Brown provided a perfect end to a perfect day for Schumacher, who started the day by being surprised when he was told that he was selected to be a member in the 2013 class to be inducted into the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala. 

The Matco team, led by crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi along with assistant crew chief Brad Mason, won the NHRA Route 66 Nationals title Sunday night about an hour from where Schumacher grew up and 10 hours after he learned of his pending induction.

"Starting out the day by being told that I was elected into the International Hall of Fame was overwhelming," Schumacher said. "That was a big surprise.

"And then to have Antron win Top Fuel capped off a perfect day for me. It's like I said after Bruce (Ramey of the Hall) told me I made it in that I am going in because of our drivers and all the great people I'm surrounded by at DSR.

"It's a day I'll remember and for it to happen near where I grew up and started to race is more than I could ever have imagined."

It is the 33rd NHRA pro title in 250 NHRA events for Brown and one he'll never forget. And not just because it's the second of the season for his Matco team and moved him to second in points and just three points behind DSR teammate Tony Schumacher.

"It was very special to be able to be there this morning when Don was told he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year," Brown said. "Don has given me everything I ever could have wanted as a professional racer.

"He makes sure we have all the best people and parts and the safest race cars he can build. We are a big family over at DSR. Just look what happened after we blew an engine in the semifinals. A lot of our teammates on the U.S. Army car came over to help. I have great crew chiefs and great crew guys on our Matco Tools team but those Army guys were a big, big help."

Brown moved from third to second in the standings, passing teammate Spencer Massey who lost in the second round. Tony Schumacher held onto the points lead despite losing in the first round with a violent engine explosion.

Only 11 points separates Schumacher from Massey as DSR continues to hold the top three spots.

Don Schumacher honored Funny Car pioneer, owner of current NHRA 'super team' voted into prestigious International Motorsports Hall

The Chicago area was the perfect location for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame to inform Don Schumacher that he has been selected for induction into the prestigious body's 2013 class.

Bruce Ramey, manager of Hall in Talladega, Ala., told a very surprised Schumacher and members of the Don Schumacher Racing team, family and sponsors on Sunday morning before the start of the NHRA Route 66 Nationals near Chicago, where he grew up.

"It was such a great honor when Bruce told me I had been nominated," an emotional Schumacher said. "This is overwhelming. Wow."

Ramey traveled to Joliet to personally tell Schumacher of the honor and that he will be the 12th member of the drag racing fraternity to be inducted into the Hall that includes the biggest names in all motorsports from throughout the world.

Schumacher could have remained on the ballot for five years but adding to the prestige, he was inducted on a first-ballot vote by an international panel of 120 motorsports journalists.

Schumacher, 67, grew up near Chicago. In the late 1960s he began drag racing and became a pioneer in the experimental Funny Car category. He worked out of a garaged behind his parent's house and won five NHRA national event titles while campaigning up to three Funny Cars on match-racing circuits throughout the country.

In NHRA as a driver, he won five NHRA events, including the prestigious 1970 NHRA U.S. Nationals. He won about 70 percent of 560 races from 1968 to 1974, nine International Hot Rod Association event titles and the 1973 American Hot Rod Association World Championship. In 2007, he was inducted into the Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Today, he employs 120 at his 120,000-square-foot speed factory outside Indianapolis in Brownsburg, that includes shop space for 14 transporters - two for each team - and machine and fabrication shops, hospitality operation along with media, marketing, graphic design and merchandising departments.

DON SCHUMACHER: DRIVER/OWNER (1966-1974)
- 5 National Hot Rod Association national Funny Car event titles
- 9 International Hot Rod Association national Funny Car event titles
- Won about 390 of 560 Funny Car match races 
- 1970 NHRA U.S Nationals Funny Car champion 
- 1972 Coca-Cola Cavalcade of Stars Funny Car champion
- 1973 American Hot Rod Association Funny Car series champion
- 2007 Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee

DON SCHUMACHER: NHRA TEAM OWNER (1998-present)
In Don's first full season as a team owner in 1999, he won the NHRA Top Fuel season championship with son Tony Schumacher driving.- 9 NHRA Season Championships
- 7 in Top Fuel Dragster: 1999, 2004-09 (all with driver Tony Schumacher)
- 2 in Nitro Funny Car: 2005 (Gary Scelzi), 2011 (Matt Hagan)
- 183 NHRA Event Titles

SCHUMACHER LOOKING TO GO FROM WINLESS STREAK TO WINNING STREAK AT HOME TRACK, ROUTE 66

Seven-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ Tony Schumacher broke a 32-race winless streak at the most recent event at Bristol Dragway when he beat longtime on-track rival Doug Kalitta in the final round. As the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Chicago, where Schumacher resides, “The Sarge” looks to continue the success he had at Bristol Dragway. A win at Route 66 Raceway wouldn’t be his first; he has won three times at his home track.

Performance sprouts for Hagan, Mopar Funny Car team in time for young cattle farmer's hometown race at Bristol

Matt Hagan has been making hay, literally, and expects to plant that agricultural strategy onto asphalt as well as the fertile soil on his Christiansburg, Va., cattle farm that produced a bounty this spring.

The 29-year-old driver of the Mopar/Aaron's Dream Machine Funny Car with crew chief Tommy DeLago are cautiously optimistic approaching this weekend's NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee.

The Don Schumacher Racing team acknowledges this has not been the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season it expected after harvesting the prestigious NHRA Funny Car world championship last season.

But the Mopar Dodge Charger R/T has made steady progress over the past three events and no place would be better for the team to plow past the second round for the first time this year than at what Hagan considers his home track.

"I'm only about 100 miles from Bristol and I know I'm going to have some family and a lot of friends out there this weekend," Hagan said. "We just want to do good for them."

The phrase "making hay while the sun shines" refers to cutting hay when it's not saturated with rain and heavy. In drag racing parlance, for Hagan, this weekend is the time "to make hay" with another big move as the team continues to make progress with its performance.

Although Hagan's team failed to qualify for one of the first nine Full Throttle events and has advanced to the second round only three times, his qualifying time of 4.035 seconds two weeks ago at Englishtown, N.J., was his best of the season and earned the No. 5 qualifying position.

Hagan lost in the second round but for the first time this year he qualified in the top-seven three straight races.

"Folks might be getting tired of me saying this but we are so close to turning the corner," he said. "We still have a problem dropping (engine) cylinders, but on the 4.03 all eight kept firing and you can see what the result was.

"We're getting there. Tommy's closing in on it."