Charlotte: Jack Beckman Sunday report
NOTE: The final rounds have been postponed until Monday because of rain. BECKMAN MAKES IT THROUGH ONE ROUND OF FOUR-WIDE RACING IN CONCORD CONCORD, N.C. (March 28, 2010) - Jack Beckman, driving the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger ...
NOTE: The final rounds have been postponed until Monday because of rain.
BECKMAN MAKES IT THROUGH ONE ROUND OF FOUR-WIDE RACING IN CONCORD
CONCORD, N.C. (March 28, 2010) - Jack Beckman, driving the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car, advanced into the second round of three in eliminations at the Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, posting a 4.068-second elapsed time at 312.06 mph. He outran second-place John Force by 20 inches at the finish line, as both Force and Beckman advanced into the second round. Bob Tasca III and Tony Pedregon were sent home.
Under cool and nearly ideal conditions, Beckman was then dismissed in the next stanza by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps and John Force with a tire-hazing 4.505/199.73. Both Capps and Force moved into the final round to face Matt Hagan and Ashley Force Hood.
"I have got the fastest race car I've had relative to the other hot cars since 2007," said Beckman who leaves this historic event either third or fourth in the point standings (depending on Monday’s outcome). "I've had a great race car every year I've driven for Don Schumacher, but we're now as quick as anybody out there.
"That's what happens. When you are running this quick with the conditions that are almost optimal, and you know they're optimal for the other cars too, and you know you're running three other cars, there's no such thing as a safe tune-up. You've got to take these cars up there on one of those kill runs, almost like a national-record run, and at that point it becomes really critical.
"You have got to keep it in the groove, and I think I let the left tire get out of the groove to the point where we just overpowered our lane. It's a shame because I think our early numbers show we would have run a 4.06 also (to match both Capps' and Force's 4.064s), and we would have probably just barely been second on that run, but that's all right.
"We're done with four-wide racing and we'll go to Houston. I can't wait. I can't tell you how exciting it is to know how great a race car and team you've got. We knew that after we won Phoenix, and now our car is as fast as anybody else's."
-source: dsr
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