NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Event 4 of 24 (Las Vegas I)
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
April 5-7, 2019
DSR Las Vegas I Saturday Highlights:
Leah Pritchett picks up five points over the four qualifying sessions, including posting the fastest lap in Q3 on Saturday.
Antron Brown earned two points for his second fastest lap in Q3.
Ron Capps and Matt Hagan both finish within the top-five overall in qualifying, with Capps continuing to maintain his No. 2 position from Friday.
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information: Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 11
The Competition:
No. 3 Cruz Pedregon
No. 14 Phil Burkhart Jr.
No. 6 Bob Tasca III
The Results:
Q1: 3.956 E.T. at 321.27 MPH
Q2: 4.177 E.T. at 230.53 MPH
Q3: 3.967 E.T. at 318.92 MPH
Q4: 3.973 E.T. at 318.92 MPH
Quotable:
“We went three out of four in qualifying and have a consistent car. We may have to lean on it a little bit, or let this hotter weather come to this E.T. for the car. We did unload a brand new chassis this weekend at The Strip, and we feel, long-term, it’s the way to go. We’re just trying to get a handle on it right now. Four wide is a complete crap shoot. You can finish second twice and still leave with the trophy and that’s what we want to do.”
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Event 4 of 24 (Las Vegas I)
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
April 5-7, 2019
Noteworthy:
The Las Vegas Four-Wide race marks Tommy Johnson Jr.’s 450th event entered
Johnson celebrates a birthday on Saturday, April 6
DSR placed four cars in the final quad at the inaugural Las Vegas Four-Wide event in 2018
Top Fuel: Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher
Funny Car: Jack Beckman, Johnson
Beckman raced to a runner-up finish at the 2018 event
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.854 seconds, Jack Beckman (Las Vegas II, 2017)
Funny Car, speed: 335.57 mph, Beckman (Las Vegas II, 2017)
DSR Driver Information: Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Las Vegas I Event Highlights:
2018 event runner-up
2016 No. 1 Qualifier
Made his professional NHRA debut at the 2005 LV1 event while competing in Top Fuel
2018 Las Vegas I Recap:
Qualified sixth; Event runner-up (defeated Robert Hight, Ron Capps in E1, Jonnie Lindberg, Gary Densham in E2; defeated by J.R. Todd in E3)
Last Event (Gainesville):
Qualified sixth; Semifinal finish (defeated J.R. Todd in E1, Tommy Johnson Jr. in E2; defeated by Tim Wilkerson in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
Six round wins; Ranked second in points
Career Statistics:
303 races; 28 wins; 24 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Owns the Las Vegas Funny Car E.T. and speed records
E.T.: 3.854-secs, Las Vegas II, 2017
Speed: 335.57-mph, Las Vegas II, 2017
Career-best
Raced to his first professional victory (Funny Car) at the 2006 Fall event
Quotable:
“I’m really looking forward to Vegas. Twice a year we get a shot at a totally unique format. I’ve won a four-wide event a couple of times and I enjoy being taken out of our element and getting thrown a little bit of a curveball. Plus, I just love Vegas. My first-ever nitro win was there and I haven’t been back to the Vegas winner’s circle since then. It’s been over 12 years so I’d like to end that drought this time at Vegas.”
50th annual NHRA Gatornationals
Event 3 of 24 (Gainesville)
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 15-17, 2019
DSR Gainesville Elimination Highlights:
Leah Pritchett departs Gainesville sitting second in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship Top Fuel rankings
DSR Dodge Hellcats occupy three of the top five spots in the Funny Car point standings with Jack Beckman leading the way in second
Beckman powered to a semifinal finish
Driver Information: Funny Car:
(Excerpt)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 6 (3.900 E.T. at 323.74 MPH)
The Results: E1: 3.905 E.T. at 326.79 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 4.353 E.T. at 255.53 MPH E2: 3.898 E.T. at 329.67 MPH defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. 3.892 E.T. at 327.03 MPH E3: 4.211 E.T. at 267.27 MPH defeated by Tim Wilkerson 3.896 E.T. 329.02 MPH
Race Recap:
Defending Gatornationals Funny Car champion Jack Beckman was looking to become the seventh driver to win back-to-back at Gainesville Raceway, but he was knocked out in the semifinals by Tim Wilkerson.
Behind the wheel of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Beckman earned the No. 6 position on the elimination ladder with his qualifying run in Saturday’s final session. He continued his quest for history at the 50th annual Gatornationals by defeating reigning Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd with a pass of 3.905 seconds. In round two, it was a duel of Hellcat Funny Cars with Beckman scoring a narrow win with his pass of 3.898 seconds at 329.67 to defeat his teammate Tommy Johnson Jr., who posted a run of 3.892 seconds at 327.03-mph. Beckman’s six-round win streak at the Gators came to a halt in the semifinals when Tim Wilkerson raced away with his pass of 3.896 to best Beckman’s run of 4.211.
Quotable:
“There is no Don Schumacher Racing driver that says we had a great weekend if you are not holding the trophy. We had a good weekend. It didn’t start off that way. We struggled the first three qualifying runs and finally got to the finish line on the last qualifying run. I think that’s all the guys needed. For (co-crew chiefs Dean) Guido (Antonelli) and John (Medlen), now they had data. We stepped on it. We had a great running car. I don’t know if we stepped on it too far in the semifinals. We’ll have to look at the data. Tim Wilkerson was running phenomenal. We had to go up there and turn all the screws up. The upside is that we leave here in a good position with points, but the downside is you want every single trophy you can get your hands on. We’ll see if we can get that trophy in Las Vegas.”
50th annual NHRA Gatornationals
Event 3 of 24 (Gainesville)
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 15-17, 2019
DSR Gainesville Saturday Highlights:
The DSR Top Fuel dragsters will start race day at the 50th running of the NHRA Gatornationals seeded in the top five
The four-car DSR Funny Car squad qualified in the top-half of the field with Tommy Johnson Jr. leading the way in third
Both Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett made top three runs in Q3 to earn bonus points
Johnson powered to the quickest run of Q3 and earned three bonus points
Matt Hagan banked a point when he clocked the third quickest pass of the final Funny Car qualifying session
Driver Information: Funny Car:
(Excerpt)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 6 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 11 J.R. Todd
The Results: Q1: 5.075 E.T. at 147.46 MPH Q2: 7.996 E.T. at 89.17 MPH Q3: 14.702 E.T. at 44.17 MPH Q4: 3.900 E.T. at 323.74 MPH
Quotable:
On his Q4 pass:
“I picked up 180-miles per hour for the first time here at Gainesville and it felt good. We struggled. I screwed up the first run. We were too aggressive on one run. We were too soft on one run. Man, going into Sunday, we knew we were going to qualify with only 16 cars. We are the defending event champions. You don’t want to go in with a whimper. We went in with some authority.”
50th annual NHRA Gatornationals
Event 3 of 24 (Gainesville)
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 15-17, 2019
Noteworthy:
Jack Beckman returns to Gainesville as the defending Funny Car event champion after racing to victory from the No. 1 spot in 2018
Matt Hagan enters the race weekend as the most recent Funny Car victor on tour with his recent Phoenix win
The DSR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak duo piloted by Mark Pawuk and Leah Pritchett return for the season-opening SAM Tech Factory Stock Showdown Series event
Pritchett, who will pull double-duty by also competing in the Top Fuel category, kicks off her Factory Stock Showdown Series title defense campaign
Antron Brown made his NHRA debut at the 1998 event, competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle
At age 15, Tommy Johnson Jr. became the youngest driver to enter a national event when he competed in the 1984 Gatornationals in the Super Gas category
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.682 seconds, Tony Schumacher (2017)
DSR Driver Information: Funny Car:
(Excerpt)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Gainesville Event Highlights:
2018 event champion
Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2016, 2018)
2018 Gainesville Recap:
Qualified No. 1; Event champion (defeated Jim Campbell in E1, Del Worsham in E2, Shawn Langdon in E3, Matt Hagan in E4)
Last Event (Phoenix):
Qualified fourteenth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Tim Wilkerson in E1; defeated by Bob Tasca III in E2)
2019 Season Statistics:
Four round wins; Ranked third in points
Career Statistics:
302 races; 28 wins; 24 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Returns to Gainesville as the defending Funny Car event champion
Quotable:
“The last time I sat in our car was on a Monday when we stayed to test after the Phoenix race. On the third run we launched the body off the race car and blew it into about 50 pieces so I can’t wait to get back in the car and knock the rust off. I also can’t wait to get back to Gainesville for several reasons. We’re the defending event champions and as a 50th anniversary race, it’s going to have a whole lot of extra things going on around it. There’s no trophy that isn’t special, but the 50th anniversary ones come around once in a lifetime and I’d love to bag this one.”
Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 2 of 24 (Phoenix)
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Arizona
February 22-24, 2019
DSR Phoenix Elimination Highlights:
Matt Hagan raced to victory for the 30th time in his Funny Car career and third time at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Hagan’s Arizona Nationals triumph secured Funny Car win No. 150 for DSR
Hagan became the first MOPAR-powered driver to park the new Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat body in the winner’s circle
By winning the Phoenix race, Hagan advanced to second in the Funny Car point standings
Leah Pritchett advanced to the Top Fuel final round and propelled to third in the Top Fuel rankings
Pritchett’s final round appearance was her third Phoenix final in four years
Driver Information: Funny Car
(EXCERPT)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 14 (5.022 E.T. at 159.80 MPH)
The Results: E1: 3.901 E.T. at 327.03 MPH defeated Tim Wilkerson 4.736 E.T. at 168.41 MPH E2: 3.963 E.T. at 321.73 MPH defeated by Bob Tasca III 3.950 E.T. at 321.96 MPH
Race Recap:
Fresh off a runner-up finish at the NHRA season-opener, Jack Beckman was looking to retain his top-tier points standing at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The three-time Phoenix champ found himself starting race day from an unfamiliar position – the No. 14 spot. While the Infinite Hero Foundation team struggled to make a full pull during qualifying, their troubles seemed to be behind them as they unleashed a 3.901 E.T. during the first round of eliminations to claim the upset win over No. 3 qualifier Tim Wilkerson.
In the quarterfinals, Beckman and opponent Bob Tasca III were nearly even leaving the starting line, but Tasca nabbed the lead early and held on for the win. Despite the quarterfinal exit, Beckman leaves Arizona ranked third.
Quotable:
“Losing is always frustrating. I feel like we have the better car and we lost to Tasca by half a car length out there. The silver lining is, we didn’t have the better car going into first round, and our guys put their heads together and came up with a great tune-up and we went right down the less-preferred lane and got a win light against Tim Wilkerson. At the end of the day, you take your lessons, you take your lumps and you move on. We’re going to unload our brand-new car tomorrow, we’ll test it. The plan is if that car tests well, it will become our new primary, and our ‘old reliable’ we won’t touch. We’re going to stick it upstairs and if we ever need a race car, it will be our backup car. I’m hoping we might have lost the battle here, with the testing, and unloading the new car. We’re heading into the 50th annual Gatornationals as the defending champion, hopefully that will help us win the war.”
Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 2 of 24 (Phoenix)
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Arizona
February 22-24, 2019
DSR Phoenix Saturday Highlights:
The DSR dragster duo will start race day from the top half of the field and with the advantage of lane choice
Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified in the top half of the Funny Car field
Hagan earned bonus points during all three qualifying sessions for making a ‘top three’ pass during each round
Antron Brown powered to the second quickest pass of Q4 and earned bonus points
Note:
Friday’s second qualifying session was cancelled due to inclement weather
Driver Information: Funny Car:
(EXCERPT)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 14
The Competition: No. 3 Tim Wilkerson
The Results: Q1: 6.594 E.T. at 107.30 MPH Q3: 8.115 E.T. at 88.46 MPH Q4: 5.022 E.T. at 159.80 MPH
Quotable:
“We ran on Friday and like everyone else with the exception of one team, we didn’t make it down the track, so we had no data to tune off of. We went out there for the first qualifying session today and the car shook the tires and we really weren’t sure why. It was weak shake. Came back to the pit and started inspecting things and found the bellhousing was cracked. Maybe that had something to do with it, but maybe not. We kind of had to split the difference and assume that it was partially to blame but also not make the car too aggressive. Well, it went out there and shook again during Q4. I pedaled it and got us in the show. Fourteenth isn’t where we thought we’d qualify but I think we have a smart group of people and enough data to go back on, that we should be able to put our collective minds together and come up with a car that can win some rounds tomorrow.”
Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 2 of 24 (Phoenix)
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Arizona
February 22-24, 2019
Noteworthy:
Tommy Johnson Jr. made his professional debut at the 1989 event (competing in the Top Fuel category) and celebrates his 30th anniversary behind the wheel of a fuel car this weekend
Johnson returns as the NHRA Arizona Nationals Funny Car runner-up
Leah Pritchett won her first Top Fuel title at the 2016 Phoenix event
All current DSR drivers have been to the Phoenix winner’s circle at least once
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.649 seconds, Tony Schumacher (Phoenix 2018)
Top Fuel, speed: 336.57 mph, Tony Schumacher (Phoenix 2018)
DSR Driver Information: Funny Car
(EXCERPT)
JACK BECKMAN Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Phoenix Event Highlights:
Three-time event winner (2008, 2010, 2011)
2018 Phoenix Recap:
Qualified third; First round exit (defeated by Richard Townsend in E1)
Last Event (Pomona I):
Qualified second; Event runner-up (defeated Phil Burkhart Jr. in E1, Cruz Pedregon in E2, Tommy Johnson Jr. in E3; defeated by Robert Hight in E4)
2019 Season Statistics:
Three round wins; Ranked second in points
Career Statistics:
301 races; 28 wins; 24 No. 1 qualifiers
Quotable:
“I actually wish we had three or four races in a row right now. After skipping pre-season testing, I thought we did an outstanding job at Pomona considering we changed some of the fuel system and all but one of our clutch discs, and we’re heading to Phoenix in second place. We came seven-thousandths away from leaving Pomona with the trophy, so I think we have one of the best cars out there right now. It’s going to force me to drive at a higher level. With two new guys on the team, I think we jelled super quick, so I am totally looking forward to getting to Phoenix. That track has been super good to me in the past and I’d love another trophy from Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.”
News: DSR
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
