Beckman, the 2012 Funny Car world champion, qualified 10th that was his worst starting position through six events in this year's NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
It was a little disappointing after the team advanced to its first semifinals last Sunday near Houston.
"This is one of those examples where if you look at Houston, we had a car that went down the track every single run," he said. "Then we come here, we unload with a nice lap (on Friday) and got some qualifying bonus points. Then we smoked the tires on the next three runs. You think, OK, we've lost the handle on it but the reality is we made it far enough down track and have good data for tomorrow."
The Four-Wide Nationals is contested on the world's only four-lane dragstrip that pits up to four nitro cars abreast. Each team receive one chance to run in each lane during qualifying. In Sunday's championship eliminations, which are scheduled to start at noon (EDT), the first two to the finish line advance to the next round. The event winner will only need to be the first to the finish line in the last of three rounds to earn the Wally Trophy.
While Beckman and his team were focused on qualifying, DSR teammate Leah Pritchett and Papa John's Pizza founder and CEO John Schnatter competed in the second round of the Charity Challenge "grudge race."
While Pritchett drove to the victory, the big winner was the Infinite Hero Foundation that received a $20,000 donation with $10,000 each coming from Schnatter and DSR owner Don Schumacher.
The Charity Challenge has raised $40,000 this year to help Infinite Hero. The next Challenge will be July 8 at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.
"This is all because of Terry Chandler who funds the Infinite Hero and Make-A-Wish teams for DSR," Schumacher said. "She's a wonderful woman who makes these things happen."
FUNNY CAR
No. 1 qualifier: Courtney Force (John Force Racing) 3.851 sec.-track record, 323.27 mph
JACK BECKMAN, Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 10
SUNDAY
First round: BECKMAN, Tommy Johnson Jr., Robert Hight, Jim Campbell
QUALIFYING
FRIDAY: 3.970 sec., 323.12 mph, (Session 1); 4.379, 203.28, (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 4.725, 173.01, (Session 3); 4.384, 205.04, (Session 4)
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 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 302 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
