BROWNSBURG, Ind. (April 19, 2016) – Jack Beckman’s next career could
involve a reality show on HGTV, the Discovery Channel or another cable
outlet that features at-home, do-it-yourself projects.
And now the 2012 Funny Car world championship driver for the Infinite
Hero Dodge Charger R/T team funded by Terry Chandler is returning to
his mechanical roots with a very special automotive repair project
destined for reality TV.
Before becoming a full-time Funny Car pilot in 2006 for Don
Schumacher Racing, the Southern California resident was the primary
mechanic on the dragster he drove to the 2003 NHRA Super Comp world
championship.
After being featured in NHRA videos over the past years that have
chronicled construction of a garage at his home in Norco, Calif., that
project was sealed as he helped apply a high-tech epoxy coating to his
“man cave” garage floor.
And now it’s time for the 49-year-old father of two to put the space
to use as the headquarters for restoration of the 1968 Chevrolet El
Camino that he used to obtain his driver’s license when he was 16.
“My temporary driver’s permit is still in the glovebox.
“It’s been at least 15 years since I drove it,” said Beckman, who
clocked a time of 15.06 seconds at 90 mph on his first pass down a
dragstrip in the El Camino when he was 19 and stationed in the U.S. Air
Force at Clovis, N.M.
His father, Bob Beckman, bought it in 1979 and sold it to his son two years later when he was 15.
“In addition to all of my kids’ sporting and extracurricular
activities I decided to fill up the remainder of my free time with a hot
rod project.”
But don’t expect his Infinite Hero crew chief Jimmy Prock or
assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham to start asking Beckman to
do much more than drive the Funny Car.
“After I busted my pinkie trying to work on our racecar during the
test at Phoenix (in February) they won’t let me touch anything but the
steering wheel and parachute,” he said. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Beckman, whose team now owns nine NHRA track elapsed time records and
five speed marks, won’t have much time over the next two weeks to work
on his hot rod considering he’ll be racing in the NHRA Four-Wide
Nationals near Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend and a week later
near Houston.
The Infinite Hero team will start this weekend ranked fourth and 70
points out of first heading to the unique four-lane zMAX Dragway in the
sport’s only event that matches four Funny Cars at a time.
Results have been unpredictable through four events in the 24-race
Mello Yello Series with four different teams winning. That does not
include Beckman, who won seven times last year, although he has earned
three of this year’s four No. 1 qualifying spots and set the national
time record with a run of 3.879 seconds last month at Gainesville, Fla.
“I’d trade my three green hats (for winning those poles) for one
yellow one you get for winning the race,” he said. “I’m not tired of
winning those green hats because that’s worth (qualifying bonus) points,
but I’d rather qualify 16th and end up winning the trophy.”
A year ago in the Four-Wide, the Infinite Hero team won the title
that broke the longest non-winning streak of Beckman’s career at 54
races that dated to his 2012 championship season.
The race will be televised on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), with qualifying
highlights on April 23 at 10 p.m. and finals coverage on April 24 at
4:30 p.m.
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