Beckman Takes Two Of Last Three With NHRA Norwalk Win In Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car

June 26, 2017 by Dodge

•Jack Beckman wins 11th annual NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio

•Mopar HEMI®-powered Funny Cars have won 11 of 12 events this season

•Victory is 26th of Beckman's career, third at Norwalk and second in last three events

•Two Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) advance to semis, all four team cars go to second round

•Leah Pritchett puts Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel dragster in semifinal round

•Mopar holds top three spots in Funny Car point standings, second and fourth positions in Top Fuel

•Bob Marshall is awarded Dodge Top Finisher in Stock Eliminator, David Turner takes honor in Super Stock

June 25, 2017 , Norwalk, Ohio - Jack Beckman continued his stellar month of June in the 11th annual NHRA Nationals this weekend at Summit Motorsports Park, driving his Mopar HEMI®-powered Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T to the Funny Car winner's circle for the second time in the last three weeks.

Beckman also won two Sundays ago in Englishtown, and his Norwalk win was the ninth in a row overall for Mopar Funny Cars from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR), as well as their 11th in 12 races to date on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. In addition, the win meant that a Mopar Funny Car or Top Fuel dragster has claimed a win in a total of 13 consecutive races, dating to 2016.

With the conclusion of the Norwalk event, the current season has reached its halfway point and the end of a grueling four-race stretch.

Beckman turned in a pass of 4.073 seconds at 311.85 mph from the left lane in the final round, then provided some fireworks with an explosion just past the finish line. Beckman's lap bettered Robert Hight's 6.673 at 98.53, as Hight smoked the tires when the light turned green. Beckman's reaction time was .060, while Hight was .053 on the Christmas Tree.

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Beckman's Sunday began by powering past Cruz Pedregon to set up a second-round contest with DSR Mopar teammate Matt Hagan. 'Fast Jack' bested his in-house opponent on a clean run when Hagan suffered mechanical issues down track. The match-up evened the two Mopar drivers' head-to-head record at 19-19. Beckman then took on another teammate in the form of Tommy Johnson Jr. in the semis, where Beckman went straight down the track to set up his showdown with Hight while Johnson shook the tires and was forced to pedal.

The Norwalk win was the 26th Funny Car victory of Beckman's career, his third at Norwalk and his second of the season. Not only has he won two of the last three races, he also went to the final round last week at Bristol Dragway.

Mopar DSR driver Tommy Johnson Jr. also turned in a valiant effort as he advanced through the elimination rounds, driving his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T past J.R. Todd in round one to match up with teammate Ron Capps, who won last week at Bristol and is the current points leader. The two raced side-by-side for 1000 feet, with Johnson bettering Capps at the finish line by just .005. Johnson's day then ended in the semis with the loss to Beckman.

All of the Mopar Funny Car drivers from DSR advanced to at least the second round of the NHRA Nationals.

DSR's Matt Hagan set a track elapsed-time record in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T on Friday night to claim the No. 1 qualifying spot during eliminations, making a pass of 3.865 seconds at 333.33 mph. Hagan first bested Jeff Diehl on Sunday, who lost traction at the initial hit of the throttle. It was a lucky round for Hagan, as he had an issue with tire shake and needed to pedal near the finish. He then went out with the loss to Beckman.

Ron Capps and his Dodge Charger R/T team qualified 13th, but still drove past a tire-smoking Jonnie Lindberg in round one before the 2016 champion's day was ended by Johnson. It was only Capps' third defeat in the last eight races. He maintained the points lead, however, with a won-loss record on the year of 31-7.

In Top Fuel, HEMI-powered Leah Pritchett made two great initial passes, driving her Papa John's Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil dragster from DSR past Ike Maier in round one as Maier smoked his tires off the line, then defeated defending Top Fuel champion Antron Brown when he blazed the tires during his run in round two. Pritchett finally bowed out in the semis to No. 1 qualifier and event runner-up Doug Kalitta.

Tony Schumacher and the Mopar U.S. Army Top Fuel team from DSR first knocked out Mike Salinas to earn the right to race against Kalitta, where Schumacher was defeated in the second round after losing traction around the 330-foot mark.

The 11th annual NHRA Nationals were contested under pristine and sunny weather conditions on Saturday and Sunday in front of massive crowds full of die-hard fans. Rain delayed action throughout the day on Friday, but by the evening the skies had cleared enough to get in qualifying in all the Pro categories. Multiple track records were set during the first two qualifying sessions in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.