CONCORD, N.C. (April 24, 2016) – Sunday might mark the most bizarre day in the racing career of Jack Beckman.
The driver of Don Schumacher Racing’s Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T
funded by Terry Chandler knows his team led by crew chief Jimmy Prock
are sticklers for details. Rarely does anything get past them, including
other Funny Cars.
But the team that won seven races last year in the NHRA Mello Yello
Drag Racing Series might have been sidelined in Sunday’s opening round
of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte Motor Speedway by an
errant rag.
After completing his burnout to kick off the unique four-wide race at
zMAX Dragway, Beckman backed up his Dodge and a crewman noticed
something was adhered to one of the massive rear racing slicks.
“Something stuck on a tire before that run and the frustrating thing
is we have no idea where it came from,” he said. “It didn’t look like it
came off the car that ran before us. It looked like one of the oil
absorbing cloths and it was stuck to our tire after the burnout. That is
the smoking gun about why it smoked the tires at the start.
“This is a sport where you can’t afford to give anything away. This
is the only race where we could have gotten to the finish line second
and still been able to advance to the next round. Even with all the
issues we had, we still almost finished second in that heat. It’s doubly
frustrating.
“I don’t think we’re far away from our first win of the year. And
boy, once the flood gates open. Look what happened to us last year,”
Beckman said of the team’s seven wins during last season.
The team heads to Baytown, Texas, near Houston for the SpringNationals next week.
“We’re not going to cry about it, just pack up and head to Houston.”
NHRA fans are invited to join Don Schumacher Racing and Pennzoil
representatives on Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. at Hermann Square Park
at City Hall in downtown Houston for NHRA Day.
The event is a celebration of the partnership between DSR and
Pennzoil that began one year ago. All seven DSR drivers will attend
along with several DSR Funny Cars and dragsters.
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