Last year, the Winternationals were a nightmare for nitro Funny Car driver Jack Beckman.
The 2012 NHRA world champion failed to qualify.
Beckman is on the opposite end of the spectrum in 2016.
Beckman clocked a 3.888-second lap at 326.16 mph to capture the No. 1
qualifying spot at the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.
“It didn’t affect us at all last year,” said Beckman, who drives the
Infinite Hero Dodge for Don Schumacher Racing. “With the Countdown
format you were going to erase that deficit and we wound up finishing
first in the first part of the season anyway. It literally didn’t affect
us, it just hurt our pride. As a hometown guy, man, it’s tough to come
out to the first race of the year. I have lots of friends, relatives,
high school people and I ran into a gal from junior high I had not seen
in 30 something years. There’s a little bit of extra pressure to do well
and it’s a little bit more embarrassing if you don’t qualifying, but we
are over that now.”
FULL ARTICLE
