Jack Beckman collected his first career NHRA Full Throttle championship Sunday at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals with a second-round victory. Beckman, who entered the event first in points ahead of teammate Ron Capps, won the championship in the semifinals when Capps fell to Courtney Force. Beckman, who also had reached the semifinals, then lost to Cruz Pedregon, making the final margin of victory for Beckman just two points.
After a somewhat quiet but solid start to the year that included six round-wins in the first four races, Beckman got thrust into the headlines following the spring Las Vegas race when team owner Don Schumacher decided to do a team swap between Beckman and Capps. That gave Beckman Capps’ old crew plus new crew chief Todd Smith, most known for his success in the dragster ranks and somewhat of an unknown when it came to tuning a Funny Car.
The pair came out strong in Charlotte, qualifying fifth and advancing to the second round, but the new-team blues struck the next two events when Beckman DNQ’d in Houston and lost in the first round in Atlanta. Beckman rebounded in a big way in Topeka, outlasting Capps for the Wally, Beckman’s first of three victories this season (Denver, St. Louis). From that point forward, Beckman not only consistently put round-wins on the board but also established himself as having one of the class’ best cars, qualifying in the top three every race from Denver through Reading.
Beckman entered the Countdown third and remained there the first couple of races, but a win in St. Louis lifted him to second in the order, just 30 points behind Capps. Beckman then put together a near-dream weekend in Reading, resetting the national e.t. record and finishing in the semifinals, including defeating Capps in a crucial second-round match, to move to the top of the points. Though Capps defeated Beckman in the final round in Las Vegas, Beckman was able to maintain a slim four-point advantage entering the season finale. (NHRA)
