The segments featuring Beckman were filmed this summer at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md., in which Beckman presented the Valvoline Coveted Spot Award, and was invited by the show to present a $10,000 check to the winner of the event in the winner's circle.

An estimated 12,000 fans were on hand in the grandstands to watch the event, at which Beckman signed hundreds of autographs.

Beckman was asked to interview the drivers in the pits and in the staging lanes. He also interviewed the Valvoline Coveted Spot Award winner and was filmed in several segments with the PINKS hosts talking about a variety of subjects, including safety and how the show works in general. During eliminations, Beckman, always wearing his instructor's hat as a former Frank Hawley Drag Racing School instructor, gave advice to the drivers to help pump them up for the race.

"We got there at 9:20 in the morning, and they ran the final at 12:15 the following morning, because there were two lengthy rain delays, so it was a long and wonderful day," said Beckman, who will start the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoffs next week in Charlotte from the fifth position.

"I have to tell you, everybody on the staff and everybody on the crew was phenomenal to me. You don't know going in how it all is going to work out, as I was kind of a third wheel. I was just a guest appearing on the show. (IHRA and NHRA Top Fuel racer) Clay Millican is a regular on the show and to say he was gracious is an understatement.

"As a professional racer they included me in their deliberations for pairings, and which cars to choose for the race. It was great. It wasn't that I showed up and got to spend five minutes on a segment and then left. They actually made me an integral part of the show and the strategy.

"Honest to God, it was really cool," he added. "I was warmly surprised at how great everybody was."

The Valvoline Coveted Spot program offers racers one final opportunity to obtain a competitor slot in a PINKS All Out field. Once pre-event sign-up is complete, and the dust settles after each host track's qualifying races, the Valvoline Coveted Spot is the last opportunity to obtain one of the hottest and most competitive tickets in town. Racers interested in signing up for a chance to win The Valvoline Coveted Spot enter into a random drawing which takes place two weeks prior to an upcoming PINKS All Out live production.

Courtesy of Hulu: Hundreds of the best drag racers in the country bring their game to the track in search of glory and their share of $18,000 in cash and prizes in PINKS All Out. Host Rich Christensen hosts the all-day shootout that pits egos and cars against one another on the quarter mile. It's pedal-to-the-metal action from the start line until the last car crosses the finish line. Every driver thinks he or she has the stuff it takes to win, but only the top 16 make it to the finals where it's heads-up racing with no negotiations and no tomorrows.

Courtesy of Judy Stropus