NHRA NEWS: Mopar Motorsports Season Preview

Mopar Ready to Defend Championships 

as 2013 NHRA Season Launches in Pomona

• Mopar looks to defend two NHRA Championship titles won in 2012 with Johnson (Pro Stock) and Beckman (Funny Car)
• A total of eight full-time Mopar-powered entries in Pro Stock (4) and Funny Car (4) classes
• Johnson looks to build on career season that saw him earn his first Pro Stock World Championship with 7 wins, 11 final round appearances, and 10 No. 1 qualifying positions
• Jack Beckman looking to defend Funny Car Championship; Matt Hagan working to steal it back
• Mopar will celebrate 25 consecutive years as title sponsor of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, Colo. this July

Pomona, Calif. (Thursday, Feb 14^th) – This weekend’s Winternationals at the historic Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., marks the start of the 2013 National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and Mopar is ready to pick things up right where it left off in 2012. Defending the two championships earned last season in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes is at the top of that list.

“After earning two NHRA Championship titles, our Mopar drivers have set the bar high for this new season,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We are looking forward to an exciting and competitive year watching our Mopar drivers and teams highlight the strength of our HEMI®-powered Dodge entries in both Pro Stock and Funny Car, and ultimately battle for win titles at every race event in defense of both championships.“

There will be a total of eight full-time HEMI-powered Dodge entries competing in the NHRA pro classes in 2013.

In Pro Stock, Allen Johnson and Jeg Coughlin Jr. will fly the Mopar banner on their Avengers with Vincent Nobile completing the trio of teammates, and Vieri Gaines rounding out the HEMI-powered entries.

In Funny Car, all four Don Schumacher Racing entries will run the Dodge Charger R/T and iconic HEMI engine, with Matt Hagan sporting the special Mopar scheme at seven events throughout the year.  Hagan, winner of the 2011 world title, along with current champ Jack Beckman and fellow teammates Ron Capps and Johnny Gray will attempt to defend Mopar’s World Championship for a third consecutive year.

Pro Stock Rewind and Fast Forward

In the last season’s NHRA finale, Allen Johnson not only earned his first NHRA Pro Stock World Championship, Mopar’s first since 1994, but he did it in commanding fashion with a title win, his first at Pomona, to cap off a career season.  Johnson won seven race titles in 2012, led all pro-category drivers in round wins, battled his way to 11 final round appearances including five of six in the Countdown to the Championship, and posted a class-best 10 No. 1 Qualifier positions. Now his Johnson & Johnson Racing team’s goal is to carry that consistency and momentum into the new season starting this weekend at Pomona.

“We just need to maintain the same consistency we had last year, continue to make good decisions, and maintain strong engine and drivetrain reliability,” says Johnson who will sport the No. 1 decal on his Mopar Dodge Avenger this season as defending champion. “The addition of Jeg (Coughlin Jr.), along with Vincent Nobile, will certainly be an extra challenge for me, since all of us will be getting good horsepower from my dad (Roy Johnson). Our goal is to have all three Dodges in the top-five, maybe even in the first three positions, at every event. It will be up to the drivers to determine in which order. I will just have to do the best I can behind the wheel and work hard on earning another championship for Mopar.”

Joining Johnson in that quest is four-time Pro Stock World Champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who has 52 career victories. Coughlin is looking to improve on a disappointing ninth-place finish in the last year’s standings without a win the JEGS Mail Order team driver knows that is about to change.  

“The stage is set and the time has come to perform and I can tell you that I have not been this excited for a season opener in years,” says Coughlin who partnered with Johnson starting this off-season, sharing data and HEMI engines built by Roy Johnson. “Our JEGS.com Mopar Dodge Avenger has been making great laps in testing and we are stoked to showcase this J&J Racing/Roy Johnson HEMI horsepower.”

Finishing third in the standings with two wins in 2012, Mountain View Racing’s Vincent Nobile is also part of the contingency running under HEMI power supplied by Johnson’s team, adding to expectations that the trio will be both formidable teammates and competitors in the battle for another championship.

V. Gaines rounds out the number of full time HEMI-powered Dodge Avengers after finishing a career best seventh in 2012 with a win in Reading, Pa., where he also recorded the ninth quickest pass in Pro Stock history with a 6.489 second run.

Mopar’s Funny Car Battle No Laughing Matter

The battle for the Funny Car World Championship came right down to final eliminations in the 2012 season finale with Jack Beckman taking the honors over Ron Capps by just two points after an extremely competitive battle between the DSR teammates, including Johnny Gray, in the NHRA Countdown. This season, the competition is expected to be just as fierce throughout the field, making the defense of a championship, especially two in a row for Mopar with Beckman in 2012 and Matt Hagan in 2011, more challenging. But after missing out on the Countdown and winner’s circle, Hagan is approaching the task at hand with renewed confidence after reaching the semi-finals or finals at seven of the final 10 events in 2012 and posting some good results in off-season testing.

“Our season has great potential and that showed at testing last month in Florida when we ran a 4.03,” says Hagan who is in his fourth season flying the Mopar colors on his Dodge Charger R/T. “As long as we stay focused and work hard we have a lot we can accomplish this year. We still have a lot to prove to ourselves but we have all the great tools that Don Schumacher Racing provides.”

“We plan to run up front for Mopar and get back to where we were in 2011 when we won the Funny Car world championship,” adds Hagan. “We know how to do it, we’ve done it before. There’s no reason why we can’t get back to that.”

Tuning It In 

This weekend’s season-opener at drag racing’s birthplace at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona is the first of 24 events on the schedule for the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Feb. 16 and on Sunday, Feb. 17, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 8 p.m. (ET).

Will you be my Valentine?

While the Mopar team will be in Pomona this Valentine’s Day, plans are already underway to mark a milestone in a love affair with the Mile-High city.  This July, Mopar will celebrate its 25th anniversary as title sponsor of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, near Denver, Colo. Mopar will return to the venue as defending title winners after Allen Johnson posted his fourth win at the scenic track in 2012.

Stay up to speed by following @OfficialMopar on twitter and join Mopar friends at https://www.facebook.com/mopar.  Press releases and multimedia for media can be found at http://media.chrysler.com

TRIO OF NHRA FUNNY CAR DRIVERS HEAD TO LAS VEGAS WITH FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE WITHIN THEIR GRASP

One of the most intriguing battles for an NHRA world championship title this season is unfolding in the Funny Car division. Three drivers head to the penultimate race of the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a first world championship trophy up for grabs. For each of them, this finally could be the year.

One driver finished second last season, just missing the opportunity by the narrowest of margins.

Another has come agonizingly close on three separate occasions, finishing second each time.

A third driver has won multiple championships as a crew chief, but none from behind the wheel.

Series points leader Jack Beckman, second place Ron Capps and third place Mike Neff head to the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Oct. 25-28, each with an excellent opportunity to become a part of NHRA history and to lift the season champion Wally trophy that only 13 drivers have claimed since NHRA started crowning Funny Car world champs in 1974.

“You know, it’s an exciting time right now,” said Neff, who guided Gary Scelzi and John Force to separate series titles as a crew chief, but has never claimed one as a driver.

Neff, who serves as both crew chief and driver of his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, won the circuit’s most recent event in Reading, Pa., and is riding a bit of momentum, but sits in third place in the standings and trails Beckman by 54 points. He is 31 back of Capps.

“This is why you put all that work in over the last winter and go through this whole season to come to the very end here, and you just want to have a shot,” Neff said. “We’ve been running better here lately and I’m just happy to be in contention, and definitely these last two races out west are going to be exciting for everyone.”

Capps, who got hot after an early season crew change and raced to six consecutive final rounds in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger, was the top seed heading into the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He and tuner Rahn Tobler built a sizeable lead after winning the first playoff race in Charlotte, N.C.  and advancing to the semifinals in round two at Dallas. However, the veteran driver has seen leads come and go, especially at crunch time over the years. With 37 career victories and three second place points finishes, Capps is one of the winningest drivers in the sport not to own a championship ring. He hopes to change that stat this season.

“I've said this before, we had a lot of people talking about the championship was going to be wrapped up by us when we had that 100-something points lead going into St. Louis, and it almost irritated me every time somebody would say something, whether it was media or just fans, because I think they forget how quickly things can turn around,” said Capps, the defending winner of this event who heads to Vegas 23 points behind Beckman. “I just had a hunch that was the way it was going to go. It wasn’t going to be an easy championship run for anybody. There are just too many good cars.”

Beckman emerged into the title conversation with a victory at St. Louis and a national record performance and semifinal finish at Maple Grove Raceway two weeks ago. The driver of the Valvoline/NextGen Dodge Charger pushed Matt Hagan to the wire last season in an incredibly close championship battle, so this is certainly not new territory for him.

He says nothing short of perfection over the next two events will get the job done.

“With only eight rounds left and in a sport where when you lose you don’t get those next few rounds, if somebody goes out second round at Vegas, they lose out on three rounds,” Beckman said. “I think we all want to be able to contest all eight rounds to have a legitimate shot for the championship, so you can’t have any screw-ups, mechanical issues, or tune-up question marks.”

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown holds a 104-point lead over teammate and series rival Spencer Massey. Tony Schumacher, Shawn Langdon and Brandon Bernstein are all still mathematically alive for the title.

Allen Johnson leads Pro Stock into Las Vegas with an 82-point lead over second place driver and defending champ Jason Line. Four-time season winner Erica Enders is third in the standings and also still in the title mix at 125 points back.

The Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson tandem of Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines are one-two in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points standings and before they settle anything regarding the Las Vegas event they will need to decide the rain-delayed final round from the Reading, Pa. That final round will be run on Saturday afternoon during the day’s second qualifying session. The winner of the Reading final will be the points leader in the two-wheel class heading into Sunday's eliminations at The Strip at LVMS.

* SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for noon and 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28.

* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals. Please call The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at (800) 644-4444 or visit www.lvms.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 4 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Oct. 28, preceded by one hour of coverage at 1:30 a.m. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three-hours of eliminations coverage at 8 p.m. (ET), also on Sunday, Oct. 28.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on Oct. 25 and continue through Oct. 26. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on Oct. 27.

* NHRA PRO MOD SERIES PRESENTED BY PROCARE RX: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will make its final start of the 2012 season at the 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals. The first two qualifying sessions will be Oct. 26 at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Qualifying will continue on Saturday, Oct. 27 with a session at 10:30 a.m. and will be followed by the first round of eliminations at 4 p.m. Eliminations will continue Sunday, Oct. 28 at approximately 2:30 p.m.

* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

* * *

BIG O TIRES NHRA NATIONALS FACT SHEET

WHAT: 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, 22nd of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the fifth of six playoff races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. The top 10 drivers in four categories - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - earn points leading to 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships.

WHERE: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas. Track is located approximately 15 miles north of Las Vegas off I-15.

WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 25-28.

SCHEDULE:

THURSDAY, Oct. 25- LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying at 8 a.m.

FRIDAY, Oct. 26– LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying at 8 a.m.

PRO MOD SERIES PRESENTED BY PROCARE RX qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at noon and 3 p.m.

SATURDAY, Oct. 27– LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations begin at 8 a.m.

PRO MOD SERIES PRESENTED BY PROCARE RX qualifying at 10:30 a.m.; first round of eliminations at 4 p.m.

FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

SUNDAY, Oct. 28- Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.

FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

PRO MOD SERIES PRESENTED BY PROCARE RX second round at approximately 2:30 p.m.

TELEVISION:

Sunday, Oct. 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 1:30 a.m. (ET).

Sunday, Oct. 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 4 p.m. (ET).            

Sunday, Oct. 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of coverage starting at 8 p.m. (ET).

SATELLITE (Digital HD feed):

Friday, Oct. 26, 9 - 9:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 01C

Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 - 9:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 01C

Sunday, Oct. 28, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 01C

(3720 MHz, horizontal; Data Rate: 40.461470554 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 29.27 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 36 Mhz)

Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.             

2011 EVENT WINNERS: Del Worsham, Top Fuel; Ron Capps, Funny Car; Mike Edwards, Pro Stock; Eddie Krawiec, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

MOST VICTORIES: Greg Anderson, PS, 4; Tony Schumacher, TF, 4; Ron Capps, FC, 3; Andrew Hines, PSM, 3.

TRACK RECORDS:            

Top Fuel - 3.779 sec. by Antron Brown, April ’12; 326.08 mph by Brown, April ’12

Funny Car - 4.030 sec. by Matt Hagan, Oct. ’09; 315.49 mph by Ron Capps, Oct. ’11

Pro Stock - 6.594 sec. by Mike Edwards, Oct. ’11; 208.84 mph by Edwards, Oct. ’11

PS Motorcycle - 6.879 sec. by Hector Arana Jr., Oct. ’11; 196.56 mph by Eddie Krawiec, Oct. ’11

NATIONAL RECORDS:

Top Fuel - 3.701 sec. by Antron Brown, Oct. ’12, Reading, Pa.; 332.18 mph by Spencer Massey, April ’12, Charlotte, N.C.

Funny Car - 3.986 sec. by Jack Beckman, Oct. ’12, Reading, Pa.; 320.58 mph by Beckman, Oct. ‘12, Reading, Pa.

Pro Stock - 6.477 sec. by Jason Line, Oct. ’11, Reading, Pa.; 214.35 mph by Line, Oct. ’12, Reading, Pa.

PS Motorcycle - 6.728 sec. by Andrew Hines, Oct. ’12, Reading, Pa.; 199.26 mph by Eddie Krawiec, March ’11, Gainesville, Fla.

TICKETS: For tickets call The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at (800) 644-4444, or visit www.LVMS.com online.

* * *

NHRA FULL THROTTLE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS

GLENDORA, Calif. -- Point standings (top 10) following the 21st of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the fourth of six races in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, NHRA's playoffs -

Top Fuel: 1.  Antron Brown, 2,491; 2.  Spencer Massey, 2,387; 3.  Tony Schumacher, 2,355; 4.  Shawn Langdon, 2,351; 5.  Brandon Bernstein, 2,314; 6.  Morgan Lucas, 2,267; 7.  Doug Kalitta, 2,228; 8.  Steve Torrence, 2,212; 9.  David Grubnic, 2,193; 10.  Bob Vandergriff, 2,149.

Funny Car: 1.  Jack Beckman, 2,437; 2.  Ron Capps, 2,414; 3.  Mike Neff, 2,383; 4.  Johnny Gray, 2,246; 5. Cruz Pedregon, 2,244; 6.  John Force, 2,217; 7.  Courtney Force, 2,216; 8.  Robert Hight, 2,211; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 2,207; 10.  Jeff Arend, 2,180.

Pro Stock: 1.  Allen Johnson, 2,502; 2.  Jason Line, 2,420; 3.  Erica Enders, 2,377; 4.  Vincent Nobile, 2,325; 5.  Greg Anderson, 2,272; 6.  V. Gaines, 2,235; 7.  Mike Edwards, 2,214; 8.  Jeg Coughlin, 2,187; 9.  Ron Krisher, 2,161; 10.  Larry Morgan, 2,157.

Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1.  Eddie Krawiec, 2,523; 2.  Andrew Hines, 2,506; 3.  Hector Arana Jr, 2,384; 4.  Hector Arana, 2,326; 5.  Karen Stoffer, 2,282; 6.  Michael Ray, 2,251; 7.  Scotty Pollacheck, 2,209; 8.  Matt Smith, 2,192; 9.  LE Tonglet, 2,182; 10.  Shawn Gann, 2,177.

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.

BROWN, BECKMAN, ENDERS AND KRAWIEC WIN AAA INSURANCE NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS AT GATEWAY MOTORSPORTS PARK

Antron Brown raced to his sixth Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park and in the process increased his championship points lead.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners of the event, the first race for NHRA in the St. Louis area in more than two years.

Brown defeated championship rival Spencer Massey in the final round and moved 21 points ahead of the Texas driver as only three races remain in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Brown, who battled side-by-side with Massey all weekend, took the victory with a final round performance of 3.766 seconds at 325.22 mph in his Matco Tools/Aaron’s dragster, while Massey trailed with a 3.812 at 324.05 in his FRAM/Prestone dragster.

“Our team hit a grand slam here this weekend,” Brown said. “We qualified No. 1 and took it one round at a time. It was a great weekend, but it’s always a struggle. This class is very competitive, and these guys aren’t playing anymore. You have your struggles here and there, and you have to keep on overcoming them. I’m just so happy for our Aaron’s/Matco guys.”

Brown beat Bruce Litton, Steve Torrence and Brandon Bernstein in early rounds before unleashing his quickest run of the day in the final against Massey. 

“It was a stressful day where we matched up against some great competition,” Brown said. “Matching up against my teammate [Massey] in the final was big – we’ve been back and forth in the points.  It’s great to have six wins, but right now they’re all in the past.  We need to go back to the shop and get focused on these last three races. It’s just so competitive out here and this points race is going to go down to the last race.”

Beckman moved to within 30 points of Funny Car points leader Ron Capps by racing to his third victory of the season. He took the final round win in his Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger over Matt Hagan, who fouled at the start in his DieHard Dodge Charger.

“It’s nice to know that we have a car that can challenge for the championship,” said Beckman, who beat Alexis DeJoria, Jeff Arend and Tony Pedregon to advance to the final round. “This wasn’t do-or-die, but it’s getting pretty close. I’m not saying we counted points, but we had a tablet going with a lot of cross marks and updated math. Losing to Capps by four-thousandths in Dallas hurt a lot, but today went a long way towards healing that. It’s awesome to know that we have three races to go and are only 30 points back. All we want is a fighting chance going into Pomona."

Points leader Capps lost in the second round to Hagan, a non-Countdown performer and the defending world champ who has now advanced to back-to-back final rounds in the playoffs. Beckman was surprised when he saw Hagan blast away from the line so early in the final.

“From my perspective, you’re ready to go up there and squeeze the trigger if anything happens,” Beckman said. “I heard noise, saw the red light come on, and saw the big DieHard logo from Matt’s car. We have a big respect for that car. Over the last four races, it might be the best-running car on average.”

In Pro Stock, Enders earned her fourth victory of the season and first ever in the playoffs by using a reaction time advantage to defeat series points leader Allen Johnson in the final round. She powered her GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt to a 6.540 at 211.79 to finish just inches in front of Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger, who posted a quicker, but losing run of 6.538 at 212.13.

“This is the win I wanted to get in Texas last week, but I’ll take it,” Enders said. “We were definitely consistent this weekend and that’s why we got to the final so I could race my bud [Allen Johnson] and get to the winner’s circle.”

Enders outran Shane Gray, teammate Dave Connolly and event top qualifier Jason Line to advance to her second straight Countdown final round appearance.

“It is a total team effort every week,” she said. “My team is the reason why I get to do this. They’re great. They helped me get down a tricky track when other guys were getting in pedal-fests. We were a little behind performance-wise in the final, but we made a good run and I did my job.”

With the runner-up finish and third straight final round appearance in the Countdown playoffs, Johnson increased his series lead to 109 over Line, while Enders moved to third in the standings, 126 back of Johnson.

Krawiec claimed his seventh Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of the season and increased his points lead to 33 over his final round opponent and teammate, Andrew Hines. Krawiec took his 18th career victory when Hines fouled on his identically-prepared Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

Krawiec took three of his round wins via red-light starts by his opponents, including his first round win over Steve Johnson and second round win over Chip Ellis. Krawiec used a strong performance on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson to outrun Hector Arana Sr.’s Lucas Oil Buell in the semifinals.

“Andrew and I were lucky to take out the Hectors in the semis and that really helped us in the points,” Krawiec said. “I lost in Dallas due to rider error. I had a .066 light which is unacceptable. This week I was good on the tree and had a good bike which is what it takes to win some rounds. Yes, I had three red-lights against me here but I did well and all my runs were good. I pushed it a little in the final but I know the potential of what he [Andrew] has. He crushed me in Charlotte.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs continues with round four of six, Oct. 4-7 with the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pa.

* * *

MADISON, Ill. -- Final finish order (1-16) at the Inaugural AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.  The race is the 20th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1.  Antron Brown; 2.  Spencer Massey; 3.  Brandon Bernstein; 4.  David Grubnic; 5.  Tony Schumacher; 6.  Khalid alBalooshi; 7.  Steve Torrence; 8.  Shawn Langdon; 9.  Doug Kalitta; 10. Bob Vandergriff; 11.  Larry Dixon; 12.  Clay Millican; 13.  Morgan Lucas; 14.  T.J. Zizzo; 15. Terry McMillen; 16.  Bruce Litton.

FUNNY CAR:

1.  Jack Beckman; 2.  Matt Hagan; 3.  Tim Wilkerson; 4.  Tony Pedregon; 5.  Ron Capps; 6.  Dale Creasy Jr.; 7.  Mike Neff; 8.  Jeff Arend; 9.  Johnny Gray; 10.  Jim Head; 11.  Alexis DeJoria; 12. Robert Hight; 13.  Cruz Pedregon; 14.  John Force; 15.  Bob Tasca III; 16.  Courtney Force.

PRO STOCK:

1.  Erica Enders; 2.  Allen Johnson; 3.  Vincent Nobile; 4.  Jason Line; 5.  Greg Anderson; 6. Buddy Perkinson; 7.  Dave Connolly; 8.  Mike Edwards; 9.  V. Gaines; 10.  Larry Morgan; 11.  Chris McGaha; 12.  Jeg Coughlin; 13.  Shane Gray; 14.  Greg Stanfield; 15.  Ron Krisher; 16.  Warren Johnson.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1.  Eddie Krawiec; 2.  Andrew Hines; 3.  Hector Arana; 4.  Hector Arana Jr; 5.  Karen Stoffer; 6. Chip Ellis; 7.  Scotty Pollacheck; 8.  Shawn Gann; 9.  Matt Smith; 10.  Michael Ray; 11.  John Hall; 12.  Jim Underdahl; 13.  Jerry Savoie; 14.  Mike Berry; 15.  LE Tonglet; 16.  Steve Johnson.

Beckman stays busy prior to NHRA drag racing event at Brainerd, cautiously optimistic with revamped Valvoline NextGen Funny Car

It's that time of the season when even if Beckman's Goodyear tires aren't revolving, Beckman never stops moving.

Following NHRA's three-race "Western Swing," Beckman has been a busy man, juggling his time between family and sponsor responsibilities.

"It's been non-stop since the Swing," Beckman said. "After Seattle, I went to the world's largest, by sales volume, Harley-Davidson dealership to do an appearance for Valvoline signing autographs. 

"We were probably about 25 miles from Sturgis (S.D.) so after the signing I hopped on a Harley and went to Sturgis and did a lap there just to say that I've been there and crossed it off my bucket list now. I didn't want to be that close and not do it, so it was cool," he said of annual motorcycle rally.

Beckman is not the only one that hasn't stopped working since the last NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event two weeks ago in Seattle. His Valvoline NextGen team has been hard at work at the Don Schumacher Racing headquarters outside of Indianapolis.

"We've been running well on a consistent basis and we made a decision to front half our chassis," he said. "Typically we would like to take it out and test it one time and right after the Brainerd race we are going to have a two-day test session in Indianapolis. We just don't have the time with all the other teams in the shop to get the front half put on our car after Brainerd."

Beckman is looking forward to seeing how his Valvoline NextGen Funny Car performs at the upcoming event 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis. 

"I'm cautiously optimistic going into Brainerd," he said. "It basically just kind of sets everything back to zero runs on the car. There shouldn't be any sort of surprises on it though. 

"Our goal is to win a championship so we feel like doing it now and running this chassis throughout the rest of the year gives us the best chance to do that."

 

Beckman is also looking forward to the cooler weather that is forecasted for Brainerd.

"We're going to actually have a race where it's less than 100 degrees for all three days," he said. "It looks like it's going to be cool weather. It should be enjoyable for the fans and a reprieve for the crews and the drivers to not have it that hot."

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.

Beckman gets nostalgic about competing at Route 66 and could be candidate for next Funny Car time traveler

If Jack Beckman could pick any car to drive this weekend at Route 66 Raceway it would be a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 instead of his Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.

Instead of nitromethane helping to produce 8,000 horsepower, the fuel source would be plutonium producing 1.21 gigawatts of power. A supercharger would be replaced by the "flux capacitor."

Sadly, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals near Chicago is not a science fiction movie like "Back to the Future" in which Doc's DeLorean was the star of the time-travel saga.

That car's lure for Beckman wouldn't be speed as much as it would be the ability to travel back in time to the glory days of Funny Car racing in the late 1960s.

"Southern California was the hotbed for Top Fuel but Chicago and the Midwest was the hotbed for Funny Cars," said the Southern California native. "Chicago was the mecca. Guys could live there and be within half of a day from five tracks."

One of the Funny Car pioneers is Don Schumacher, who lists Beckman's Schumacher Electric Corp. Dodge as one of seven cars he campaigns in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

"Just think about it: Back in the early seventies Don ran three Funny Cars out of dad's garage. You hope to last long enough to win a Wally (trophy) at every NHRA track, but Chicago is high on my list because it's in Don's backyard and it always will remind me of all the Funny Car history of that area."

Beckman and crew chief Todd Smith only need to improve a little on what the team accomplished a year ago at Joliet when it qualified fourth and advanced to the semifinals.

The duo also did well two weeks ago at Bristol, Tenn., where it qualified third and advanced to the semifinals in the event won by Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps.

After a weekend off, Beckman and the NHRA pro tour gird for two consecutive weekends of racing. That alone makes him appreciate what the Funny Car pioneers did to create one of the most popular divisions in all of motorsports.

"Sometimes we complain about racing back-to-back weekends but think about what Don and team's like the Chi-Town Hustler or 'Jungle Jim' Liberman did. In the summer they'd race three or four days a week and at three different venues.

"And there were only a few NHRA national events for them to go to, and they'd go there hoping if they won it would increase their booking value for match-races.

"It's always nice to wax nostalgic, but we probably wouldn't have jobs today were it not for what real racers like Don did 40 years ago.

"And I bet they had a heckuva time doing it."