BROWNSBURG, Ind. (May 31, 2016) – Jack Beckman enjoyed a perfect afternoon Tuesday as he prepared to pack for his trip this week across the country to drive his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car beginning Friday in the NHRA New England Nationals at Epping, N.H.
Beckman was watching his son Jason’s hockey practice. He found the sheet of ice especially enjoyable because it wasn’t in a bag on his elevated left ankle.
Beckman injured the ankle at the top-end of the track at Topeka, Kan., in a minor mishap that a couple decades ago likely would have kept him out of his racecar.
“My ankle hurt a little on the burnouts, but when I got to the line it never bothered me,” he said, adding focus and adrenaline likely killed the pain.
“This cars are so advanced and sophisticated that I didn’t have any problems operating the clutch. Several years it would have been a lot different.”
It was a nagging memory of a weekend that could have been perfect.
The Infinite Hero team produced Beckman’s career best elapsed time (3.866 seconds) and speed (332.59 mph) en route to qualifying second and advancing to the final round for the second straight race.
Unfortunately for his Infinite Hero team sponsored by Terry Chandler and led by crew chiefs Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham, their teammate Matt Hagan was just a little bit quicker (3.862), faster (335.57) and for the second straight event beat Beckman to the NHRA Wally trophy.
Beckman lost his NHRA elapsed time record to Hagan.
“You just never know when you’re going to win again,” said Beckman, who has not won an event title through this year’s eight Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events but ranks second in points and only 12 out of first.
Beckman and the Infinite Hero team reached into the 3-second zone on each of its first seven Topeka runs and another in the final would have be a first in the NHRA Funny Car category.
But like the other three finalists in Top Fuel and Funny Car, Beckman lost traction soon after the track was prepared for the championship rounds.
“We have a car that made seven 3-second runs consecutively. Nobody has ever done that.
We had every reason to think going up there for the final that we’d get our eighth with a good shot to get the trophy.”
The race at Epping marks the first of four races in four weekends.
“We’ll pick up the pieces and be ready for four in a row. We really feel like we have something to prove when we get to Epping.”
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