Bristol: Jack Beckman Saturday notes

BECKMAN SNARES NO. 2 IN BRISTOL QUALIFYING

BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 7, 2007) - "Fast" Jack Beckman recorded three of four solid passes in qualifying for the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, earning a No. 2 qualifying position, his highest of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.

Driving the Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, he delivered his quick pass in Friday night's cooler session, a 4.827-second lap at 319.67 mph. His other tries produced a 4.910/309.63, a surprising tire-smoking 10.303/81.14, and a 4.904/312.50 in the last round.

"We were third quickest first session, second quickest second session, and the quickest in the fourth session, which might be the more important one because that represents the hot conditions we expect for eliminations on Sunday," said Beckman, No. 8 in the points.

"The cool thing is we ran sizzling quick in good weather, and we were the quickest in hot weather. It's crew chiefs' Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler)'s great all-weather tune-up that gets the credit.

"It's the highest qualifying position we've had all year, and we're making a move in the points. I don't wish bad on any other driver out here, but it certainly didn't hurt us that Ashley (Force), Jeff Arend and Kenny Bernstein didn't qualify. Those are three of the cars that are in contention with us for a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

"So, maybe it's our weekend to start winning now. I think we're pretty close to not only our first win, but our first pole of this season."

As for his uncharacteristic tire-smoking run earlier today, "That was the first time in the last 15 rounds that we've smoked the tires," he said. "That's how consistent this MTS Dodge is. The funny thing is, as a driver, you should be prepared for all that, but when it lit the tires, it was Wow, that has not happened in a long time."

Beckman faces Gary Densham in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday.

-credit: dsr