NHRA Nationals
Event 17 of 24 (Brainerd)
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 16-18, 2019
Highlights:
- Jack Beckman returns as the defending Funny Car event champion
- The 2018 Brainerd Funny Car final marked the first time the Chandler family’s ‘giving cars,’ piloted by Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr., went head-to-head in the finals
- Antron Brown has been to the Brainerd final round the past three years, earning a runner-up finish in 2016, 2017 and 2018
- Johnson has competed in the final round three out of the last four years, finishing as the runner-up in 2015, 2017, 2018
- Brown has been victorious in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories in Brainerd
- Matt Hagan recorded the first 3.8 second Funny Car pass during the 2015 Brainerd event (3.879 seconds)
Note: Ron Capps will be on-site at the Baxter Walmart store (7295 Glory Rd. S.) today, August 14, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. CT. The Mello Yello Meet & Greet is free and open to the public.
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel E.T.: 3.640 seconds, Leah Pritchett (2017)
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Brainerd Event Highlights:
- 2018 event champion
- Two-time runner-up (2008, 2010)
- Three-time No. 1 qualifier (2012, 2013, 2015)
2018 Brainerd Recap:
Qualified 14th; Event champion (defeated Matt Hagan in E1, Shawn Langdon in E2, Courtney Force in E3, Tommy Johnson Jr. in E4)
Last Event (Seattle):
Qualified eighth; Semifinal finish (defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in E1, Bob Tasca III in E2; defeated by John Force in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
24 round wins; ranked fifth in points
Career Statistics:
316 races; 28 wins; 24 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Returns as the defending Funny Car event champion
The 2018 Funny Car final marked the first time the Chandler family’s ‘giving cars,’ piloted by Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr., went head-to-head in the finals
Quotable:
“Except for that 400-acre campground they call ‘the Zoo’ and all of the craziness that goes on there, Brainerd almost seems like the race that gets forgotten. It’s right before Indy and Indy is points-and-a-half and the last race before the Countdown, and, it’s Indy. But, I’ve got to tell you, all of the event trophies are the same size and I want one sooner rather than later, and I want one at Brainerd.”
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) is the winningest team in NHRA Drag Racing history, having claimed more than 330 NHRA national event titles and 17 world championships since opening its doors in 1998.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields seven professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the MOPAR/Pennzoil/Sparkling Ice dragster driven by Leah Pritchett and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher’s machine. In Funny Car, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driven by 2016 world champion Ron Capps, the Mopar Express Lane/Pennzoil/Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat piloted by Matt Hagan, and in Terry and Doug Chandler’s ‘giving cars,’ 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and Tommy Johnson Jr. behind the wheel of the Make-A-Wish Dodge.
DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pritchett, the 2018 Factory Stock Showdown Series champion, and former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.