This victory is the team’s second win of the season and Beckman’s second win at Gateway Motorsports Park. However, the win on Sunday was not an easy feat.
“When you look back at all your wins, you never look back and say, ‘Well that one wasn’t fun.’ Every one of them is special for one reason or another,” Beckman said.
The Infinite Hero team, led by Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham, have not won an event since their victory in Chicago in July.
In qualifying, the Infinite Hero Foundation team struggled to make passes down the racetrack. Their only clean lap came on Friday night with a 3.907-second pass at 325.22 mph to seed them No. 2.
They faced Dale Creasy Jr. in the opening round of competition on Sunday. Beckman dropped a cylinder but still turned on the win light with a 4.042 at 309.27.
The big match up came in the second round when Beckman rolled up next to John Force. Beckman won the round with a holeshot victory with a 3.978 to Force’s quicker 3.961.
“Beating John Force is always huge,” Beckman said. “To the average fan, they don’t necessarily understand reaction times and ET and how you can manipulate those numbers and a lot of guys do it on race day.
“They just roll the car in deep. And for me, I just want to race smart and try to reserve lane choice for the team. You really have to be up on your toes and leave on time.
Beckman then faced his Don Schumacher Racing teammate and current NHRA Mello Yello points leader, Ron Capps in the semifinals.
Beckman ran a 3.954 to send him into the final round where he met another DSR teammate: Tommy Johnson Jr.
Beckman and Johnson’s Dodge Charge R/T Funny Cars are both funded by Chandler, making the two teammates in a very special way.
As the two Funny Cars rolled up, Chandler stood in the center to see both of her teams race for the event title. The final was even more special because next week is her birthday.
In the final round, Beckman made a stellar pass at 3.928 and 324.51 mph as Johnson went into tire smoke.
“I’ve had some pretty mediocre outings as a driver the last few races,” Beckman said. “You want to be there with your driving in case the car is not dead-on and the car saved me a couple of times too.
“The car was smoking the tires and I think my confidence was down. I’m not quite sure what changed but I think I had a good outing as a driver today and I’ve had a few of those that don’t end up in the winner’s circle. The guys tuned smart, I did my job as a driver and we turned on the win light every time.”
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