DSR: Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge look forward to prestigious U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis this weekend

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 29, 2017) - Jack Beckman would prefer NHRA didn't enhance points values this weekend for the NHRA U.S., Nationals near  Indianapolis for the biggest event of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Points awarded for each round win during Monday's championship eliminations will be worth 30 points instead of the customary 20.

"I'm not in favor of the making the points one-and-a-half times the value that they usually are, but I understand they want to create more drama for fans," said Beckman, who won the Funny Car title at Indy in 2015 for Don Schumacher Racing in Terry and Doug Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T.

"Points should be absolute like they are in football and baseball: points and runs don't change all year. Let's not change our sport."

But the veteran driver, who also owns three all-star shootout titles at Indy, acknowledges when it comes to the 63rd annual "Big Go" points do not matter.

"Even without any points, you'd still do everything you could to win Indy," he said, "The proof is how many teams were at Indy to test for two days last week. These teams could have used a break and we didn't need to tear up any more parts. But we were there flogging our stuff making seven or eight runs to get ready for Indy.

"They could not offer any points at Indy and it would still be Indy. And we'd all still be there."

Beckman called his team's test last week one of the five best of his career. "And I've tested a lot."

One example was a Friday night run when he set unofficial Indy track records with a run in 3.827 seconds at 337.07 mph with crew chiefs Dean Antonelli, John Medlen and Neal Strausbaugh.

"I think if you go to a test session and your car goes to the finish line under power on every run, you're not pushing the envelope enough," Beckman said. "The whole point of a test session isn't to just go and make laps, it's not practice. It's trying things you think might work and they don't all work."

Beckman and the Infinite Hero Dodge has won two titles this year and will start Friday night qualifying ranked fifth in points behind DSR teammates Ron Capps (first), Matt Hagan (third) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (fourth).

The potential for a big points swing with 191 points up for grabs over Labor Day Weekend could allow Beckman to move up as high as second. Each position he can advance would pay dividends when the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff begins two weeks after Indy near Charlotte and the points for the top-10 drivers will be reset. The regular season points leader will start 20 points ahead of No. 2 with others set apart by 10-point intervals.

"Every spot you can advance could be instrumental when the Mello Yello championship trophy is handed out. It's important to move up in the standings this weekend but it's more important to win Indy. And if you win Indy, the points will take care of themselves."

JACK BECKMAN, Doug & Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Foundation 2017 Dodge Charger R/T                 Pts      Events   Wins      Rup      Semi      Qtr     1st rd      Poles      DNQ       W/L
2017          5th     17             2           2             3         8              2              0            0          27-15
CAREER           269           26         27           48         81           80            21           7      359-236
     
Career best time, speed: 3.825 sec., (2016 Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle 2016)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
Last event (Aug. 20), Brainerd, Minn.: Qualified No. 6, lost in second round to John Force
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 2, lost in first round to Dave Richards
Career at Indy: Wins 1 (2015); Runner-ups 2 (2008, 2013); Poles 1 (2015);
All-star/Invitational event titles 3 (2007, 2013, 2015)

2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR STANDINGS                          
(Official after Brainerd; 17 of 24 events: wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
FUNNY CAR                                                      
  1. RON CAPPS (6)                  1,383       ----
    2. Robert Hight (2)                   1,247     -136
  3. MATT HAGAN (3)                1,214     -169
  4. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1) 1,180     -203
  5. JACK BECKMAN (2)           1,160      -223
  6. Courtney Force                    1,012      -371
  7. John Force (1)                        954      -429
  8. Tim Wilkerson                         792      -591
  9. J.R. Todd (1)                           788      -595
10. Alexis DeJoria (1)                   664      -719

DSR OPEN HOUSE PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL TO BENEFIT RILEY HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN:  The 12th annual DSR Open House presented by Pennzoil to benefit Riley Hospital for Children is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday at Don Schumacher Racing headquarters (1681 E. Northfield Drive, Brownsburg) to kick off the U.S. Nationals held only 2 miles from DSR.

DSR's seven nitro drivers and team owner Don Schumacher will be on hand to sign autographs at noon after a performance by the Gordon Pipers bagpipe and drum corp. In addition to a silent auction (see early items at dsr17.auction-bid.org), the Open House features one of Indiana's biggest indoor car and bike shows organized by the Indy Hi-Winders Car Club, nitro Cacklefest, various displays and vendors and some of the area's most popular food trucks and Papa John's pizza.

COUNTDOWN TO THE COUNTDOWN:  Many drivers consider the U.S. Nationals to be the "first" race of the Mello Yello Series Countdown to the Championship six-race playoff that begins two weeks after Indy near Charlotte.

Although Indy is the last of 18 regular season events, it will finalize the top-10 drivers who qualify to contend for their respective world titles, and points are reset after Indy for the Countdown.

This week offers drivers a chance to earn a maximum of 191 points compared to 130 offered at the previous 17 races. Indy is the only Mello Yello event with five qualifying sessions instead of four.

The quickest driver in each session earns four bonus points, second quick gets three, third quick gets two and fourth quick gets one. Each round win on Monday pays 30 points instead of 20. Each driver making a qualifying attempt earns 15 and added points are issued for the final qualifying order: 10 for first, nine for second, eight for third, seven for fourth, six each for fifth and sixth, five for seventh and eighth, four for ninth through 12th and three for 13th through 16th.

$100,000 TRAXXAS TOP FUEL NITRO SHOOTOUT: All three DSR nitro teams are qualified for the $100,000-to-win Traxxas Top Fuel Nitro Shootout. One spot in each category will be determined by a fan vote and lottery drawing on Wednesday during Fanfest at Monument Circle in downtown Indy.

The top seed for Saturday's Top Fuel Shootout is DSR's three-time and reigning world champion ANTRON BROWN, who will race the lottery winner in the first round. Other first-round matchups are: LEAH PRITCHETT vs. Doug Kalitta, TONY SCHUMACHER vs. Brittany Force and Steve Torrence vs. Clay Millican.

The top-seed for Sunday's Funny Car Shootout is DSR's reigning world champion RON CAPPS, who will race the lottery winner in the first round. Other first-round matchups are: MATT HAGAN vs. John Force, TOMMY JOHNSON JR. vs. JACK BECKMAN and Robert Hight vs. J.R. Todd.

U.S. NATIONALS ON FOX: FOX national broadcast and FS1 will televise coverage of the U.S. Nationals, starting with qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 3 on FS1 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. (EDT). The broadcasts continue on FS1 with two hours of live coverage of eliminations on Monday, Sept. 4 starting at 11 a.m., continuing live on FOX at 1 p.m.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.

DSR has won 314 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

NHRA: FORMER CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS WINNER BECKMAN LEADS FUNNY CAR TESTING AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY AT INDIANAPOLIS

(BROWNSBURG, Ind.) Jack Beckman led the Funny Car category during the second and final day of testing for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Tony Schumacher improved upon his time from Wednesday to lead Top Fuel.

Beckman, the 2015 event winner, ran a time of 3.827 seconds at 337.07 mph in his first run of the day. Beckman has two wins, two runner-up finishes on the season, and is using the test to prepare his Infinite Hero Foundation Charger R/T for the coming event.

“I think if you go to a test session and your car goes to the finish line under power on every run, you’re not pushing the envelope enough,” Beckman said. The whole point of a test session isn’t to just go and make laps, it’s not practice. It’s trying things you think might work and they don’t all work.”

Robert Hight in his Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro had the second best lap during the session with a run of 3.842 at 330.88. He has three wins at ‘The Big Go’, his last coming in 2013. His win total ties him for fourth on the all-time Funny Car event win list and one more would put him into a tie with his boss John Force and legendary racer Don Prudhomme. Hight and his team had consistent runs during the day and will bring favorable tune-up into the race.

“We’ve made about seven runs and all of them have been in the 3.80’s,” Hight stated. “We failed to go one time but we were trying some crazy stuff. I wish Indy started tomorrow. It’s a big week and I can’t wait.”

In Top Fuel Tony Schumacher again led the field with his time of 3.702 at 332.34 in his U.S. Army dragster. Antron Brown was in second at 3.722 at 330.72.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series teams that participated in the test were all preparing for the world’s biggest drag race, the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, unleashing the thrilling, 10,000-horsepower action of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Drag racing’s grandest event marks the end of the NHRA regular season and is the 18th of 24 races in the 2017 season. With teams battling for top 10 spots in the six-race Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship and with an increased amount of points in play via the point-and-a-half system for this event (150 points to the winner), the stakes will be high at the event know as the Big Go.

In all, during the course of six days, nearly 1,000 drivers competing across 12 categories have the goal of holding the Wally trophy on Labor Day Monday and expanded prize money, the prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals the most-coveted victory in drag racing. Winning the event has become a necessity for drivers, who say that no career is truly complete without a win at drag racing’s biggest race.

The top drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will compete for their place in Indy history. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of a race that will be broadcasted on the FOX national broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including a live broadcast of Monday’s finals on both FOX and FS1 on Monday, Sept. 4.

The first of five Mello Yello Series qualifying sessions is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. Two more sessions will take to the track on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., and the final two qualifying sessions will take place on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 11:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 4. The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Top Fuel will be contested Saturday, Sept. 2 with rounds at 3:45 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Funny Car takes place on Sunday, Sept. 3 for the eight qualified drivers, with rounds at 12:45 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:40 p.m.

FOX national broadcast and FS1 will televise coverage of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, starting with qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 3 on FS1 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. EST. The broadcasts continue on FS1 with two hours of live coverage of eliminations on Monday, Sept. 4 starting at 11 a.m. EST, continuing live on FOX at 1 p.m. EST.

Tickets for the world’s most prestigious drag race can be purchased by calling the NHRA Ticket Sales Center at (800) 884-NHRA (6472), or online at www.NHRA.com/tickets. Kids 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. To honor the Salute to First Responders, military and first responders can save 20 percent on general admission tickets at the gate. For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com.

Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher: 3.702, 332.34
2. Antron Brown: 3.722, 330.72
3. Billy Torrence: 3.775, 292.08
4. Shawn Langdon: 3.817, 259.41
5. Wayne Newby: 3.840, 306309.91
6. Ashley Sanford: 3.848, 302.48
7. Troy Coughlin Jr.: 3.882, 258.07
8. Brittany Force: 4.599, 163.12

Funny Car
1. Jack Beckman: 3.827, 337.07
2. Robert Hight: 3.842, 330.88
3. Ron Capps: 3.863, 330.72
4. Tommy Johnson Jr.: 3.864, 311.63
5. Courtney Force: 3.868, 332.18
6. John Force: 3.868, 292.14
7. J.R. Todd: 3.899, 308.71
8. Johnnie Lindberg: 3.935, 296.63
9. Alexis DeJoria: 3.946, 286.13
10. Cruz Pedregon: 4.761, 167.18

DSR: Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge leave Brainerd No. 5 in NHRA points, ready to test this week near Indy to prepare for U.S. Nationals

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20, 2017) - After getting a fortuitous break in Sunday's first round, Jack Beckman's luck went up in smoke in the second round of the NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

"A lot of times you have race weekends where from the moment you unload the car on Friday morning until the moment you put it back in the trailer after the winner's circle Sunday night, everything goes right. This was not one of those weekends for the Infinite Hero team," Beckman said of Terry and Doug Chandler's Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team.

"We had an air-line leak on our first qualifying run. I have never done a burnout where the thing stuck the tire and yanked the front end. After that, we made three solid runs, he said of qualifying sixth.

"Went to load the car Saturday night and it wouldn't steer. A chunk of metal had come loose in the steering box and we thought, 'well, we're really being watched over right now.' Then we go up there in this morning and dodged a huge bullet when Brian Stewart redlights before we overpowered the track."

Beckman qualified with a time of 3.886 seconds at 333.25 mph on Friday night. He lined up with the No. 11 qualifier Stewart and went up in smoke and coasted to a 4.290 (207.56) while Stewart's disallowed time was quicker.

In the second round, Beckman smoked the tires against John Force.

"We thought we made the proper adjustments, we took what we thought was going to be a really quick racecar up there second round and it literally did not go one foot before it smoked the tires," Beckman said.

In two weeks, the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series heads to Indianapolis of the prestigious U.S. Nationals. The points standings will then be reset for the NHRA's version of the playoffs. Beckman and the Chandlers' Dodge dropped one spot to fifth in points.

"We're OK, we're solidly in the Countdown (to the Championship) and we want to win Indy. We still have a chance to move up a position or two before they reset the Countdown points."

This week, the Infinite Hero team will join other top nitro teams for testing Wednesday and Thursday at Indy.

"We will work our tails off Wednesday and Thursday, and flog this car, and make sure we exorcise our demons. I am not superstitious, but we just had a whole bunch of dumb racing luck here at Brainerd. We'll get that out of our system and move forward."



JACK BECKMAN, Doug & Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Foundation 2017 Dodge Charger R/T
Crew chiefs: Dean Antonelli, John Medlen, Neal Strausbaugh
SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BECKMAN (4.290 sec., 207.56 mph) def. Brian Stewart (4.083, 247.25-DQ/redlight)
Second round: John Force (3.896, 335.48) def. BECKMAN (9.505, 72.67)

QUALIFYING RESULTS
Qualified: No. 6
FRIDAY: 6.535 sec., 129.18 mph, (first session); 3.886, 333.25, (second session)
SATURDAY: 3.931, 326.87, (third session); 3.914, 329.83, (fourth session)
BRAINERD  BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Brainerd: Qualified No. 4, lost in second round to DSR teammate Ron Capps
Career at Brainerd: Wins 0, Runner-ups 2 (2008, 2010), Poles 3 (2012, 2013, 2012)
              Pts      Events       Wins      Rup      Semi      Qtr     1st rd      Poles      DNQ      W/L
2017          4th       16             2           2             3           7            2          0            0          26-14

CAREER              268          26           27         48          80         80           21         7      358-235
Career best time, speed: 3.825 sec., (2016 Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle 2016)

2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR STANDINGS             
(Official after Brainerd; 17 of 24 events; wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
  1. RON CAPPS (6)                  1,383       ----
  2. Robert Hight (2)                   1,247     -116
  3. MATT HAGAN (3)                1,214     -149
  4. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1) 1,180     -183
  5. JACK BECKMAN (2)           1,160      -203
  6. Courtney Force                    1,012      -351
  7. John Force (1)                        954      -409
  8. Tim Wilkerson                         792      -571
  9. J.R. Todd (1)                           788      -575
10. Alexis DeJoria (1)                   664     - 699

12th annual DSR Open House for Riley Kids presented by Pennzoil set for 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Friday Sept. 1 to during U.S. Nationals

Don Schumacher Racing will host its most special day of the year on Sept. 1 (Friday) when it opens its doors to the public to support Riley Hospital for Children with its 12th annual Open House presented by Pennzoil from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as the nitro kickoff for the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

The DSR Open House presented by Pennzoil attracted more than 4,000 fans last year to DSR's 145,000-square-foot facility and raised a record $65,000 that pushed DSR's total contributions to over $500,000 for the Riley Hospital for Children.

Open House activities include:
- A meet and greet with DSR's seven winning drivers (Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr.) along with hall-of-fame owner Don Schumacher;
- Expansive silent auction courtesy of DSR with racing memorabilia, products and services donated by friends and sponsors;
- Behind-the-scenes access to the DSR drag racing facility including tours of its fabrication and machine shops;
- One of the largest indoor car shows in Indiana featuring 200 of the Midwest's best custom and muscle cars, and motorcycles;
- Cacklefest featuring nostalgia dragsters that will delight fans with the sounds of vintage nitro horsepower;
- Papa John's Pizza will be selling pizza with all proceeds going to Riley Kids; Food trucks also will be on site with a portion of sales going to Riley;
   
A new feature this year will be a performance by the Gordon Pipers bagpipe and drum marching band that features Scottish/Celtic culture and music. The Gordon Pipers have been one of the most popular elements of Indy 500 pre-race festivities and perform at Indianapolis Colts games and other major Indy events.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.
DSR has won 314 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.

Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing. 

DSR: Beckman counting down to championship playoff with Chandlers' Infinite Hero Dodge as he heads for third NHRA Mello Yello title this weekend in Northern Minnesota

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 16, 2017) - Jack Beckman returned to his drag racing roots last weekend with a trip to near Boise, Idaho, to compete in NHRA Sportsman competition during the Nightfire Nationals at Firebird Raceway.

The 2003 NHRA Super Comp world champion drove Dick VanderMeer's 180-mph Top Dragster and realized to stay on top of the Sportsman game you had better race in it more than once a year.

"It was a great weekend even if I could have done better in Dick's dragster," said Beckman, who returns to his full-time job driving Terry and Doug Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny for Don Schumacher Racing this weekend in the NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in North Minnesota.

He spent several days in Idaho with his family but is eager to get back to work when qualifying begins Friday at Brainerd, where he has advanced to two final rounds, won three poles but has yet to add a Brainerd Wally Trophy to his collection of 26.

Brainerd marks the 17th of 18 events in the Mello Yello regular season, and after this weekend only the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals two weeks later near Indianapolis over Labor Day Weekend left before points are reset to begin the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff for the top-10 drivers who qualify to contend for the world title. The regular-season points leader will have a 30-point lead over No. 2 and others will be separated at 10-point increments to open the Countdown at Charlotte.

Beckman and his Dodge Charger R/T team led by crew chiefs Dean Antonelli, John Medlen and Neal Strausbaugh will start the Brainerd race ranked fourth in Mello Yello points. Beckman is 68 points out of second place but only 23 ahead fifth-ranked DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr.

"We dropped from third to fourth after the last race (two weeks ago at Seattle), and a couple drivers behind us close to catching us," Beckman said. "We can get up to second before the Countdown.

"This is the time of the year when teams contending for the championship are going to raise their hands and notify everyone else of what they can do. We'll be smart and keep picking away at stuff at Brainerd."

BY THE NUMBERS FOR DSR AT BRAINERD                                                                                   
                Pts      Events       Wins      Rup      Semi      Qtr     1st rd      Poles      DNQ           W/L
2017        4th               16             2           2             3         7             2              0         0          26-14
CAREER                     268           26         27           48       80           80            21      7        358-235          
Career best time, speed: 3.825 sec., (2016 Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle 2016)
Last event (Aug. 6), Seattle: Qualified No. 5, lost in second round to Courtney Force
A year ago at Brainerd: Qualified No. 4, lost in second round to DSR teammate Ron Capps
Career at Brainerd: Wins 0, Runner-ups 2 (2008, 2010), Poles 3 (2012, 2013, 2012)

2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR STANDINGS          
(Official after Seattle; 16 of 24 events: wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
  1. RON CAPPS (6)                   1,330       -----
  2. MATT HAGAN (3)                 1,172      -158
  3. Robert Hight (2)                    1,164      -166
  4. JACK BECKMAN (2)            1,104       -226
  5. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1)  1,081       -249
  6. Courtney Force                        951       -379
  7. John Force (1)                         877       -453
  8. Tim Wilkerson                          759       -571
  9. J.R. Todd (1)                            756       -574
10. Cruz Pedregon                         601       -729

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.

DSR has won 313 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

DSR: 12th annual DSR Open House for Riley Kids presented by Pennzoil less set for Sept. 1

All for Riley Kids

Sept. 1 set for 12th annual DSR Open House

to benefit Riley Hospital for Children 

 

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug.14, 2017) - Don Schumacher Racing, the biggest and most successful team in professional drag racing, will host its most special day of the year on Sept. 1 (Friday) when it opens its doors to the public to support Riley Hospital for Children with its 12th annual Open House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as the nitro kickoff for the NHRA U.S. Nationals at nearby Lucas Oil Raceway over Labor Day Weekend.
   

2016 Riley Kids at DSR

The DSR Open House presented by Pennzoil attracted more than 4,000 fans last year to DSR's 145,000-square-foot facility and raised a record $65,000 that pushed DSR's total contributions to over $500,000 for the Riley Hospital for Children.

Open House activities include:

A meet and greet with DSR's seven winning drivers (Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr.) along with hall-of-fame owner Don Schumacher

Expansive silent auction courtesy of DSR with racing memorabilia, products and services donated by friends and sponsor;
     

Behind-the-scenes access to the DSR drag racing facility including tours of its fabrication and machine shops;

One of the largest indoor car shows in Indiana featuring 200 of the Midwest's best custom and muscle cars, and motorcycles;

Cacklefest featuring nostalgia dragsters that will delight fans with the sounds of vintage nitro horsepower;

Papa John's Pizza will be selling pizza with all proceeds going to Riley Hospital; Food trucks also will be on site with a portion of sales going to Riley;
   
A new feature this year will be a performance by the Gordon Pipers bagpipe and drum marching band that features Scottish/Celtic culture and music. The Gordon Pipers have been one of the most popular elements of Indy 500 pre-race festivities and perform at Indianapolis Colts games and other major Indy events.
 

2016 Open House Cacklefest

Riley Children's Foundation
Riley Children's Foundation is the fundraising arm of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and the founding organization that opened Riley Hospital in 1924. Today Riley Hospital is recognized as one of the best children's hospitals in the nation and is the only comprehensive children's research hospital in Indiana. Our mission is to raise funds statewide to support Riley Hospital funding priorities: pediatric research and patient care, maternity and newborn health and family support programs. Riley Children's Foundation also funds Camp Riley and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Billie Lou Wood Visitor Center. For more information: RileyKids.org

Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered near Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the three-time and reigning NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Mello Yello dragster driven by Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett in the Papa John's Pizza dragster.

In Funny Car, the Riley Kids 2017 Dodge Charger R/T driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., reigning world champion Ron Capps and  NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge, two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th Anniversary Mopar/Express Lane Dodge and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in Doug and Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge.

DSR has won 313 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing

 FOR MEDIA INFORMATION:

Jeff Wolf

wolfj@shoeracing.com - 702.524.1368

Leah Vaughn

vaughnl@shoeracing.com

Allie Bland

blanda@shoeracing.com

#WeAreDSR

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jeff Wolf (wolfj@shoeracing.com), 702.524.1368

Leah Vaughn (vaughnl@shoeracing.com), 618.516.1988

DSR: Doug Chandler will continue to back 'giving cars' for DSR through 2020 to honor late wife Terry's commitment to race to help great causes

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 8, 2017) - The late Terry Chandler's dream of having a "giving car" in the NHRA Funny Car category will continue through 2020 after her husband, Doug Chandler, agreed to continue her mission and fund two Funny Cars with Don Schumacher Racing.

The Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars will continue to be driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and will continue to benefit worthwhile non-profit organizations. Since Terry began funding the teams in 2014, they have donated branding space to the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero foundations.

She started a tradition in 2013 using Johnson's team to promote Riley Hospital for Children's Riley Kids program during the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day Weekend near Indianapolis, and that will continue at this year's event.

Terry was diagnosed with advanced brain cancer early this year and lost her valiant fight against the disease on July 4. She was 65.

"Terry loved her teams and I saw how much she looked forward to going to the races and help the children of Make-A-Wish and our soldier heroes who gave more than anyone could have asked and were helped by Infinite Hero when they came home," said Doug, who was married to Terry for 49 years.

"Terry lives on in so many people's hearts and mine. I don't want to see her dream end."

Terry, who was presented with the NHRA Blaine Johnson Award in 2015 for her dedication to helping others, was a mainstay at the starting line when her Funny Cars raced, and also was there for Pro Stock competition to support her nephew Shane Gray and his son, Tanner Gray.

Terry, and now Doug, will use the "giving racecars" as platforms to continue promoting awareness for great causes.

"Terry is just an incredible lady, and we'll never know how many lives she impacted and how many will continued to be helped with Doug continuing what she started," said Don Schumacher, owner of DSR and close friend of the Chandlers. "We miss her every day, but we'll never forget her smile and her big heart.

"Doug could have walked away from NHRA drag racing and it wouldn't have done anything to lessen Terry's legacy. His decision to continue what she started for the next several years shows his love and admiration for what she accomplished.

"Everyone at DSR couldn't be prouder of how Terry and Doug will continue to be part of our sport and help countless of people over at the least the next three years."

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.

DSR has won 313 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

DSR: Beckman advances to quarterfinals at Seattle, team returns from Western Swing to regroup for final push toward Countdown

SEATTLE (August 6, 2017) - Jack Beckman and Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Foundation Funny Car closed out the NHRA Western Swing Sunday with a quarterfinal appearance in the 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle.

"Twenty-four races are important to us," said Beckman, the 2012 Funny Car world champion. "There's never a race weekend you go into and you say, 'well, we'll experiment, we'll throw this race away, it doesn't matter if we do good.' You want to win every weekend."

Unfortunately, the Infinite Hero team will have to wait two weeks for the NHRA Nationals at Brainerd to try and win their third title of the season.

"Earlier in the year we won two races before we had reached our prime. Really, we just kind of wore everybody out there and had a few lucky breaks. Lately, our car has become much more consistent and we're well on the road to where we want it to be and we've had a litany of parts breakage. So, we've lost a lot of rounds with stuff breaking on the car.

"Seattle 2017 is going to go down as the race where our championship form showed up. I don't think I did a good enough job driving against Courtney (Force) in the second round. I think I let the car move over too much and that might've been what did us in."

Beckman faced former Top Fuel and Funny Car Champion Del Worsham in the opening round on Sunday's race day. Beckman clocked a lap of 3.926 seconds at 325.69 mph to get the win.

During the second round, Beckman went into tire smoke midtrack as Courtney Force of John Force Racing drove around him.

"We've cured our parts breakage and the car is doing what we tell it to do every time. That smoke in the second round is on me, that's not on the crew chiefs.

"I cannot wait for the rest of the season, we're peaking at the perfect time, we're doing everything right for the soldiers with the Infinite Hero fundraisers and we're going to make Mopar proud at the end of the year."

The team will return to Don Schumacher Racing's home base in Brownsburg, Ind., near Indianapolis, after three weeks on the road for the Western Swing.

JACK BECKMAN, Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Foundation 2017 Dodge Charger R/T        
Crew chiefs: Dean Antonelli, John Medlen, Neal Strausbaugh
SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BECKMAN (3.926 sec., 325.69 mph) def. Del Worsham (4.033, 319.52)
Second round: Courtney Force (3.959, 317.27) def. BECKMAN (4.037, 287.66)
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Qualified: No. 5
FRIDAY: 4.133 sec., 301.87  mph, (first session); 3.983, 322.88, (second session)
SATURDAY: 4.466, 191.87, (third session); 3.943, 323.35, (fourth session)
SEATTLE  BY THE NUMBERS
Last event (July 30), Sonoma, Calif.: Qualified No. 3, lost in semifinals to J.R. Todd
A year ago at Seattle: Qualified No. 4, lost in second round to Matt Hagan
Career at Seattle: Wins 2 (2007, 2015); Runner-ups 1 (2011); Poles 2 (2013, 2015)


2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR STANDINGS  
(Official after Seattle; 16 of 24 events: wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
  1. RON CAPPS (6)                   1,330      -----
  2. MATT HAGAN (3)                 1,172     -158
  3. Robert Hight (2)                    1,164      -166
  4. JACK BECKMAN (2)            1,104      -226
  5. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1)  1,081      -249
  6. Courtney Force                        951      -249
  7. John Force (1)                         877       -453
  8. Tim Wilkerson                          759       -571
  9. J.R. Todd (1)                            756       -574
10. Cruz Pedregon                         601      -729

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.
DSR has won 313 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

Infinite Hero Foundation receives $3500 donation

How about a hand for Chuck Bryant and his friends for stepping up to donate $3500 to the Infinite Hero Foundation! Thank you! Every donation to Infinite Hero goes back to the veterans and helps change lives.

DSR: Beckman, Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge continue to climb upward in NHRA Mello Yello standings, ranked No. 3 heading to Pacific Raceways

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 2, 2017) - There isn't much Jack Beckman doesn't remember about the history of professional drag racing or his career. But there is one moment he'd like to forget and there will be reminders when he returns to Pacific Raceways near Seattle this weekend.

A year ago in the Northwest Nationals, he recorded one of the very few redlight disqualifications in eliminations since he began racing.

"It's bitterly disappointing," the 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champion said after that second-round loss. "There's no excuse, there's no way to spin it. I absolutely made a mistake up there. But it doesn't matter. Our job is to react when the tree comes on."
On Sunday at Sonoma, Calif., in the second event of the three-week Western Swing, he did his job at the starting line in the semifinals and left with a substantial lead over eventual Sonoma winner J.R. Todd, who instantly smoked the tires off the line.
Beckman and Terry Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Dodge Charger R/T built a seemingly unbeatable lead a few hundred feet from the finish line, but an engine problem led to a safety system shutting off the engine. Meanwhile, Todd had quickly recovered and edged the coasting Beckman to advance.
"Our car just quit running at 200 feet," Beckman said. "I was dead in the water and we were coasting. It's a helpless feeling to know that that car's coming up on you and going 150 miles an hour faster than you're going. You're hoping you're going to get to the finish line first, and we weren't able to do it."

Despite the disappointment at Sonoma, Beckman and his Don Schumacher Racing team were able to move up one spot to third in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings and only 44 points out of second. Three events remain in the 18-race regular season after which only the top-10 in points will be able to compete for the world title in the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff that begins after Labor Day.

Beckman has been impressed how his virtually new team has been able to climb that high in the standings and win two event titles this year despite starting the season with only one crewmember remaining with the team, veteran crew chief John Medlen. The Infinite Hero team has done well with three crew chiefs consisting of veteran and DSR newcomer Dean Antonelli and rookie crew chief Neal Strausbaugh, formerly assistant with the U.S. Army team, joining Medlen.

Beckman expects continued improvement this weekend at Seattle where he has advanced to three final rounds and won titles in 2007 and 2015.

JACK BY THE NUMBERS FOR SEATTLE                                                            
               Pts      Events       Wins      Rup      Semi      Qtr     1st rd      Poles      DNQ       W/L
2017          3rd        15             2           2             3          6            2              0            0          25-13
CAREER               267           26         27           48        79           80            21           7      357-234

Career best time, speed: 3.825 sec., (2016 Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle 2016)
SEATTLE  BY THE NUMBERS
Last event (July 30), Sonoma, Calif.: Qualified No. 3, lost in semifinals to J.R. Todd
A year ago at Seattle: Qualified No. 4, lost in second round to Matt Hagan
Career at Seattle: Wins 2 (2007, 2015); Runner-ups 1 (2011); Poles 2 (2013, 2015)

2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR STANDINGS
(Official after Sonoma; 15 of 24 events: wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
  1. RON CAPPS (6)                   1,276    -----
  2. MATT HAGAN (3)                1,093    -183
  3. JACK BECKMAN (2)            1,049    -227
  4. Robert Hight (1)                    1,035    -241
  5. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1)     982    -294
  6. Courtney Force                        874    -402
  7. John Force (1)                         821    -455
  8. Tim Wilkerson                          727    -549
  9. J.R. Todd (1)                            724    -552
10. Cruz Pedregon                         570    -706

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven 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 and the Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both of which are funded by the late Terry Chandler.
DSR has won 312 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.