Wed, 26 Oct 2011, 02:54 PM Beckman in Funny Car Driver's Seat with Two Races to Go

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Will Try to Build His Lead with Strong Showing in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -

Jack Beckman Photo copyright 2011 NHRA

NHRA Funny Car driver Jack Beckman has issued a quick reminder to his fellow opponents and NHRA fans everywhere that contrary to the many rumors of his great demise, that he's still, in fact, here and gunning for a world championship title as intensely as ever.

Following a few early race struggles in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship - including a first round loss at Reading, Pa. - Beckman faded to fifth in the point standings and was nearly forgotten as NHRA fans were busy trying to decide whether Matt Hagan or Mike Neff had the better chance of winning the Funny Car world championship crown.

However, following a "Rocky" style performance at Phoenix when series leaders Hagan and Neff lost dramatically in early rounds, Beckman now finds himself perched atop the standings with two races to go.

Beckman will try to increase his series lead with another strong performance at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Oct. 27-30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship event, which will be televised on ESPN2HD.

In jeopardy of seeing his championship dreams fully extinguished after less than stellar performances at the first three Countdown playoff events, Beckman realized that a strong effort was needed in Phoenix to keep his title hopes alive heading into the season's final two events.

The Lombardi speech he gave to motivate his Aaron's/Valvoline Dodge Charger crew must've worked.

"I said before the race (in Phoenix) we were three rounds back with 12 rounds left - and we really needed to win this one to put us in a good position in the Countdown," Beckman said. "Obviously, we did our part and our main competitors had their issues, so we did even better than just improving our position. I'm not so gratified that I'm the points leader; I'm gratified that we got ourselves back into the championship hunt. It's going to be interesting."

Jack Beckman Photo by: Auto Imagery, Inc.

Beckman had some huge round wins in Phoenix en route to moving up four spots in the points order. He beat Force in the first round, Robert Hight in the second round and then outran Jeff Arend in the semis before beating teammate Johnny Gray in the final.

"You always hear a round win is a round win; they're all equal, but that's not true in the Countdown," Beckman said. "When you race someone you're fighting with, like we raced Robert in the second round, it's really a potential 40 point swing - the 20 you get for winning and the 20 you deny him. Those are must wins."

With eight rounds of racing left and an extremely close pack of racers all separated by a few points, first-time points leader Beckman realizes he will need to be on his game if he's going to collect his first professional world title. DieHard Dodge Charger driver Hagan is five points behind in second place, and regular season leader Neff is 22 points back in third place. Two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon is lurking in his Snap-on Toyota in fourth place and 2009 champ Robert Hight is less than three rounds back and still a threat in fifth in his Auto Club Ford.

"I've always said I wanted to be able to control our destiny," said Beckman, who won the 2003 Super Comp world championship in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. "I'm happy to be the points leader, it's a testament to the excellence of my Aaron's/Valvoline crew led by Rahn Tobler (crew chief) and John Collins (assistant crew chief), but the reality is with two races left and the points so tight we are definitely back in the hunt. My goal was to go into Pomona (last race of the season) within a round or two of the lead - we might be even better than that."

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown leads the series standings, 20 ahead of defending world champ Larry Dixon who won two weeks ago in Phoenix. Brown took the lead after Spencer Massey failed to qualify and watched on the sidelines as the 65-point lead he built with three consecutive final rounds to open the playoffs evaporated in the Phoenix heat on Sunday. Massey is now third and more determined than ever to return to the top as he is 25 points behind Brown. Regular season leader Del Worsham is fourth overall, 51 points behind the leader. Seven-time series champ Schumacher, who has won this event four times in his U.S. Army dragster, sits 91 points back in fifth place.

Jason Line is in the championship driver's seat in Pro Stock, 188 points up on second place and defending world champ Anderson, who is also Line's teammate. Rookie Vincent Nobile moved to third with a victory in Phoenix and is only five points out of second place. Summit Racing Pontiac driver Line will clinch his second world championship title (also 2006) in Las Vegas if he can leave the event with at least a 151-point lead. However, to do it Line will need to hold off Anderson, who has won at Las Vegas seven times during his career, including four times in the fall event. Others to watch in the 200 mph category include Erica Enders, who is trying to become the first female to win a Pro Stock race in NHRA history, 2009 world champ Mike Edwards, who has shown he still has a fast hot rod by qualifying No. 1 at Phoenix, and non-Countdown competitor Kurt Johnson, who has two wins in Las Vegas and advanced to the first two finals of the Countdown, winning in Charlotte.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, rookie rider Hector Arana Jr. is continuing a late season surge which has placed him in contention for the $20,000 Auto Club Road to the Future Award and more importantly a serious threat for the world championship title as he trails series leader Eddie Krawiec by 10 points with two races to go. Arana Jr. has been hot since the Countdown playoffs began, advancing to five final rounds in the last six races and grabbing three victories, including a win at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil in Indianapolis. He's also qualified No. 1 at the last three events on his Lucas Oil Buell. Krawiec, the 2008 world champ, also has three victories on the season and will try to hold onto his series lead with a strong showing on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. His teammate, Andrew Hines, is a three-time winner of this event and is currently fifth in points. Another former world champ, Matt Smith, is third on his Buell and GEICO Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer is fourth overall and still mathematically alive in the championship hunt.

• SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12:15 and 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, and for 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.

• TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals. Please call The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at (800) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Oct. 29. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise a three-hour eliminations show at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Oct. 30.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Big O Tires NHRA Nationals also will feature competition in six categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on Oct. 27. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on Oct. 28 and continue Oct. 29 and 30.