E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals
Event 3 of 24 (Indy 1)
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
July 11-12, 2020
DSR Qualifying Highlights:
- Tommy Johnson Jr. rocketed to the top spot during Q1 and captured his 19th No. 1 qualifier
- Johnson, the most recent Funny Car winner on tour, will square off against teammate Ron Capps in round one of eliminations
- Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan join Johnson in the top half of the Funny Car field
- After being sidelined for more than a year-and-a-half, Top Fuel veteran Tony Schumacher came out swinging. He laid down the second-quickest pass of Q2 and ultimately earned a spot in the top half of the field
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information:
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 3 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 14 Mike McIntire
The Results:
Q1: 4.972 E.T. at 153.49 MPH
Q2: 4.050 E.T. at 298.47 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: Two
Quotable:
“I felt like I’ve had the emotions of four races in one day here. Now that we’ve lost the first two qualifying runs, and the fact that 18 cars showed up, we knew qualifying was going to be a nail-biter. We just didn’t think it would be for us. We made two test runs and then when we go out there for the first qualifying run, it just wore a ton of clutch early. Every once in a while, these cars will reach up and bite you. Now, not a big deal if you have three more qualifying runs. Huge deal for us because we weren’t sure if that run was a fluke or if we needed to address something and the guys kind of split the difference. We limped it down there and wound up being second-low E.T. of the second session, and that tells you that you’ve got a good combo because even when you miss it, you still can run quick enough to be second-low. We ‘front halved’ the car during the downtime, so we are listening to what it is telling us. It’s going to be a little bit different until we get more runs on that tubing. If we get four more runs tomorrow, we’ll all be happy. I always think we have a car good enough to win the race. Qualifying third kind of underscores that for me.”
About Don Schumacher Racing:
Established in 1998 as a single-car Top Fuel team, Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) has grown to become the winningest organization in NHRA Drag Racing history. Including team owner Don Schumacher’s five NHRA Funny Car titles from the 1970s, DSR’s current win count stands at 347, and DSR is looking forward to reaching the ‘350 milestone’ early in the 2020 season. DSR owns 17 world championships in three different NHRA categories.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR currently fields eight professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the Nordic Boats/Revchem Composites/Hawkeye Industries dragster driven by Cory McClenathan, the Mopar/Pennzoil/Okuma dragster driven by Leah Pruett, and the Global Electronic Technology machine driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher. 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 two-time series title-holder Matt Hagan, and in 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 MD Anderson Dodge.
DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pruett, 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.
