BROWNSBURG, Ind. (April 19, 2017) - The Infinite Hero Foundation Funny Car piloted by Jack Beckman and sponsored by Terry Chandler want a long day on Sunday when they compete in the NHRA SpringNationals near Houston in the fifth race of the 2017 season.
"I wouldn't bet against our Infinite Hero Foundation team," Beckman said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we were able to take our first trophy from Houston. But I'm looking at this as a long process that's going to culminate at the Finals in Pomona. We're just going to keep picking away at this thing until we're satisfied by the predictability of the car."
Beckman, the 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champion with Don Schumacher Racing, has advanced to the championship round three times and most recently in 2015.
So far this season, the Infinite Hero Foundation team has been traveling on a learning curve with a newly assembled team led by crew chiefs Dean Antonelli, John Medlen and Neal Strausbaugh. After the national event in Las Vegas two weeks ago, the team stayed on Monday for a test sessions to get a better understanding of their hot rod.
"It's going to take us 30 more runs to truly get a good understanding on the clutch package and the tune-up changes that our car needs relevant to what we ran last year," Beckman said. "Now keep in mind, last year we won two races and were in contention for the championship and we still weren't as good as we were in 2015, when we won seven races.
"Sometimes it's just that little one-tenth of 1 percent that makes all the difference. I think that's what keeps fuel racing interesting from the driver and crew standpoint; it's that pursuit of perfect. You're never going to be perfect in a fuel car but our goal is to be close to that."
Beckman said the Infinite Hero Foundation team looks for a win in Houston as not only their first win of the season but also a win for their sponsor Terry Chandler.
"It's not like you ever need any extra motivation or incentive to win a race. It's not like you don't try your hardest every single time you go out there. But for our team, it's a bit bittersweet."
Chandler, who also funds DSR's Make-A-Wish Funny Car, is recuperating at home after surgery two weeks.
"This is going to be the second race in a row where Terry isn't going to be standing on the starting line. I know it must be tearing her apart to not be up there with her teams when her cars run. There's nothing that can make that better until the day when she's back out here on the starting line than to send her a trophy."
About Infinite Hero Foundation
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Infinite Hero Foundation combats the most difficult front line issues - mental and physical - facing returning military heroes and their families. The Foundation funds programs that drive innovation and the accessibility of effective treatments for military heroes and their families dealing with service-related mental and physical injuries. For more information, visit: www.infinitehero.org.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields eight professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown; the Papa John's Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett and 2013 Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon and in Funny Car, 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane 2015 Dodge Charger R/T, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.
DSR has won 300 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Wolf (wolfj@shoeracing.com), 702.524.1368
Leah Vaughn (vaughnl@shoeracing.com), 618.516.1988
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