Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals
Event No. 6
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
September 4-6, 2020
Highlights:
- At the 1970 NHRA U.S. Nationals, DSR team owner Don Schumacher raced to his very first NHRA win. This weekend he will celebrate his team’s 350th victory on the 50th anniversary of his Indianapolis triumph.
- DSR is guaranteed its milestone 350th win when Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan battle it out in their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats in the rescheduled Indy 2 final round during Q3 on Saturday; the win will mark the eighth consecutive Funny Car triumph for DSR
- As has been tradition since 2014, Funny Car point leader Tommy Johnson Jr. will once again pilot the special Riley Kids Funny Car, helping to raise awareness for DSR’s local children’s hospital on drag racing’s largest stage
- Since 2006, DSR has raised over $716,000 for Riley Hospital for Children, and is conducting a series of fundraising initiatives surrounding the race weekend:
Cameo – DSR drivers are available for shout-outs via Cameo, now through Sept. 3 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Zoom – from now through Sept. 4 at 10:00 a.m. ET, fans can purchase entry into one of two Zoom meetings with DSR drivers, occurring on Sept. 4 at noon and 1:00 p.m. ET
Online Auction – autographed racing memorabilia and one-of-a-kind items are up-for-grabs via an online auction which runs now through Sept. 7 at noon E.T. - Beckman, Hagan, and Top Fuel standout Leah Pruett will all have the unique opportunity to earn two trophies over the course of the weekend:
- Beckman and Hagan will compete for the rescheduled Indy 2 Funny Car trophy on Saturday, and the U.S. Nationals Funny Car event trophy on Sunday
- Pruett will pull double-duty competing in both the Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown categories
- Between Top Fuel, Funny Car, and the Factory Stock Showdown Series, DSR will campaign 10 cars over the course of the race weekend and will have the opportunity to win four trophies
- DSR’s four-car Funny Car team occupies the first four spots in the point standings and will look to maintain its stronghold on the category this weekend
- As the winner of the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Ron Capps enters the weekend as the most recent Funny Car race winner
- Tony Schumacher recently announced he will return for six consecutive races in 2020, beginning with the U.S. Nationals where he will look to break into the Top Fuel top 10
- With an unprecedented 10 U.S. Nationals victories, Schumacher is the winningest driver in Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis history
- Hometown event for DSR which is headquartered two miles away from the famed Indy dragstrip
- Home track for Antron Brown and Johnson, who both reside in the greater Indianapolis area
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.799 seconds, Matt Hagan (2017)
Funny Car, speed: 338.77 mph, Matt Hagan (2017)
(EXCERPT)
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Indianapolis Highlights:
- 2015 U.S. Nationals champion
- Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2015, 2019)
- Three-time runner-up (2008, 2013, 2019)
Note: Beckman advanced to the final round at Indy 2 but the event was put on hold due to inclement weather. The final round is rescheduled for this weekend during Q3.
Last Event (Indy 3):
Qualified 15th; First round exit (defeated by Matt Hagan in E1)
2020 Season Statistics:
One event win; 11 round wins; ranked second in points
Career Statistics:
329 races; 31 wins; 27 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
DSR is guaranteed its milestone 350th win when Beckman and teammate Matt Hagan battle it out in their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats in the rescheduled Indy 2 final round during Q3 on Saturday
Beckman will have the unique opportunity to earn two trophies over the course of the weekend
Quotable:
“Here we are going into September, and if anything, the year has just gotten even crazier. The only prediction you can make about 2020 is that everything is completely unpredictable. We’ll have a chance at a little bit of history this weekend. I’ve left Indy with two trophies on the same weekend, but that was a Traxxas Shootout and a U.S. Nationals win. We’re just going to have to take it one run at a time. We’re going to get three qualifying runs, but the last one of those is going to be for a trophy, and just because the day after will be for the U.S. Nationals trophy, doesn’t mean we should think of the first one as any less significant. The points are the same, and the size of the trophy is the same. So, our goal is to get a trophy on Saturday, and then start picking away to get another one on Sunday.”
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 349, and DSR is looking forward to reaching the ‘350 milestone’ during the 2020 U.S. Nationals. 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 dragster driven by Leah Pruett, and the Okuma/Sandvik Coromant 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.
