NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 2 of 24 (Phoenix)
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Ariz.
February 21-23, 2020
Highlights:
- Jack Beckman enters the NHRA Arizona Nationals as the most recent winner and Funny Car point leader
- Beckman is looking to extend his win streak to three consecutive victories (currently: Pomona II 2019 and Pomona I 2020)
- Matt Hagan returns to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park as the defending event champion
- Hagan’s 2019 Phoenix win marked Funny Car victory No. 150 for DSR
- Hagan was No. 1 qualifier at the previous event and raced to a semifinal finish
- Leah Pruett’s 2019 Top Fuel runner-up was her third Phoenix final round in four years, having won in 2016 and 2017
- Pruett’s 2016 victory was her first in Top Fuel
- All current DSR drivers have been to the Phoenix winner?s circle at least once
- Funny Car stars Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. both made their professional debuts at Phoenix while competing in Top Fuel (Capps: 1995, Johnson: 1989)
- Antron Brown earned his Top Fuel license in 2008 at the Phoenix track
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Phoenix Event Highlights:
- Three-time event champion (2008, 2010, 2011)
2019 Phoenix Recap:
Qualified 14th; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Tim Wilkerson in E1; defeated by Bob Tasca III)
Last Event (Pomona I):
Qualified second; Event champion (defeated Steven Densham in E1, Ron Capps in E2, Alexis DeJoria in E3, John Force in E4)
2020 Season Statistics:
One event win; four round wins; ranked first in points
Career Statistics:
325 races; 31 wins; 27 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Enters the NHRA Arizona Nationals as the most recent winner and Funny Car point leader
Looking to extend his win streak to three consecutive event victories (currently: Pomona II 2019, Pomona I 2020)
Quotable:
“Normally after a performance like ours at Pomona, I would’ve wanted to get right back in the car for the next race the following weekend, but I was kind of glad we had a week off because it gave me time to try and shake this cold I’ve been dealing with. I’m ultra-excited for the way our Infinite Hero Hellcat has been performing, and the way that our team serviced it flawlessly even with the quick turnarounds on Sunday in Pomona. We’re at the top of our game, and I can’t think of a better way to show it than to get another win in Phoenix.”
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 346, 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 six 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, and the Mopar/Pennzoil/Okuma dragster driven by Leah Pruett. 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.