Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil
Event No. 11 of 11
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
October 31 – November 1, 2020
Highlights:
- All eyes on Don Schumacher Racing’s Funny Car contingent as drag racing’s winningest organization is poised to capture its 18th series title this weekend at the 2020 NHRA season finale in Las Vegas
- A fierce three-way battle awaits No. 1 ranked Funny Car driver Matt Hagan, No. 2 ranked Tommy Johnson Jr., and No. 3 ranked Jack Beckman heading into the Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil as they battle to earn DSR’s sixth Funny Car world championship
- Hagan owns two world titles (2011, 2014), Beckman one (2012), Ron Capps one (2016), and Gary Scelzi (2005)
- 43 points separate the three championship contenders
- Hagan (842 points)
- Johnson (800 points)
- Beckman (799 points)
- Las Vegas features a unique point-and-a-half format where each elimination round is worth 30 points. A total of 183 points are up-for-grabs in each Camping World category
- Johnson enters the final event of 2020 as the most recent Funny Car winner on tour, and has raced to victory at two of the last three events
- Don Schumacher Racing’s foursome of Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car drivers will be aiming to ‘sweep the season’ as they attempt to pick up DSR’s 14th consecutive Funny Car triumph, an undefeated streak that dates back to October 2019
- DSR Funny Car drivers have competed head-to-head in final round competition at six of the first 10 events of 2020
- In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher will be looking to pick up his second consecutive victory after earning the W last weekend in Houston
- Leah Pruett will pull double-duty for the final time in 2020, competing in both the Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown categories. Pruett is currently ranked fourth in the Top Fuel point standings and will be looking to crack back into the ‘top three’ in Vegas to improve upon her career-best season-ending position of fourth (2018, 2019)
- Factory Stock Showdown driver Mark Pawuk will be focused on closing out the season solidly in the No. 2 spot
(EXCERPT)
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Ranked 3rd in the standings; 799 points
Crew chiefs: Dean Antonelli/John Medlen
2020 Season Statistics:
- Wins: three (Pomona I, U.S. Nationals, Dallas)
- Runner-ups: two
- No. 1 qualifiers: one
- 22 round wins
Career Statistics:
- 334 races; 33 wins; 28 No. 1 qualifiers
- 2012 Funny Car world champion
Las Vegas II Event Highlights:
- 2006 event champ
- Two-time runner-up (2009, 2012)
- Three-time No. 1 qualifier (2016-2017, 2019)
- 2019 Las Vegas II Recap:
Qualified No. 1; Semifinal finish (defeated Terry Haddock in E1, Robert Hight in E2; defeated by Jonnie Lindberg in E3)
Last Event (Houston):
Qualified No. 1; First round exit (defeated by Ron Capps in E1)
Noteworthy:
- Beckman occupied the No. 1 spot in the Funny Car point standings for six of the first 10 events of the season. He dropped to third after a first-round upset last week, but with 799 points, sits only one point out of second and 43 points out of first
Beckman and Johnson are tied for number of wins during the season, both having raced to victory three times in 2020. Beckman’s wins are from: Pomona 1, the U.S. Nationals, and Dallas
Leads the class in most final round appearances in 2020 (five) - Beckman is the 2012 Funny Car world champion, and has his sights set on closing out the seven-year Chandler family ‘giving car’ run by earning a world championship for team sponsor, Doug Chandler
- Beckman occupied the No. 1 spot in the Funny Car point standings for six of the first 10 events of the season. He dropped to third after a first-round upset last week, but with 799 points, sits only one point out of second and 43 points out of first
Quotable:
“I think just about everybody can’t wait to put 2020 in the rearview mirror, but I think the NHRA fans are in for a huge treat with the points chase, specifically in Funny Car where you’ve got three cars within two rounds of each other. It’s probably going to be one of the most thrilling conclusions ever, and I fully expect the Funny Car championship is probably going to go down to the final round of the final race on the final day of the season. For a fan that’s amazing and from a driver’s perspective that’s the deal you want; to be in it going into the last race of the season. There’s a lot of different things on the line. For us, obviously, the championship, and for our team it’ll likely be the last race with Infinite Hero, and we’re not sure what will happen next year. So, there’s a lot of extra incentive to try to end the year on a positive note. As long as we win the race and Matt (Hagan)’s car is not in the other lane in the final round, I would consider that as perfect a year to a season as I’ve ever had, so I’m very much looking forward to this.”
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 356, and DSR is one of a very small handful of teams in the motorsports industry to surpass the 350 milestone. DSR owns 17 world championships in three different NHRA categories.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR currently fields seven 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 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 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.
