Auto Club NHRA Finals
Event 24 of 24 (Pomona II)
Countdown Event 6 of 6
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
November 15-17, 2019
Highlights:
- Sitting second in the Funny Car points, Jack Beckman leads DSR in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship standings
- No. 3 ranked Funny Car pilot Matt Hagan enters the race weekend with back-to-back victories at the previous two events
- Both Beckman and Hagan are within two rounds of point leader Robert Hight
- Tommy Johnson Jr. was the Funny Car event runner-up in 2018 and is seeking his fifth consecutive Pomona II final round appearance
- Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) were No. 1 qualifiers at the 2018 event
- Beckman, Capps, and Pritchett consider Pomona to be a hometown track. Beckman resides in Norco; Capps resides in Carlsbad; Pritchett grew up in nearby Redlands
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Funny Car, E.T.: 3.822 seconds, Matt Hagan (Pomona I 2017)
Funny Car, speed: 336.32 mph, Hagan (Pomona I 2018)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car:
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Countdown to the Championship standing: 2nd
Pomona II Event Highlights:
- 2006 runner-up
- Three-time No. 1 qualifier (2006, 2016, 2017)
2018 Pomona II Recap:
Qualified second; Semifinal finish (defeated Jeff Arend in E1, John Force in E2; defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. in E3)
Last Event (Las Vegas II):
Qualified No. 1; Semifinal finish (defeated Terry Haddock in E1, Robert Hight in E2; defeated by Jonnie Lindberg in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
38 round wins; ranked second in points
Career Statistics:
323 races; 29 wins; 27 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Sitting second in the Funny Car points, Beckman leads DSR in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship standings
Trails point leader Robert Hight by 46 points
As a resident of Norco, Beckman considers Pomona to be a hometown track
Quotable:
“We have to do our best to optimize points starting with Q1. I think we’ve got a car that’s clearly capable of doing that. We’ve been No. 1 qualifier three times in the last six events. I think right now we’re clearly a front-runner to contend for the championship, not just in our points position, but in our performance lately. So, my job is to do my job. If we get another opportunity like we had in Vegas where we are paired up with (Robert) Hight early, we get a chance to control our own destiny. If we win the race and Robert is not in the final next to us, we win the championship. I’m not looking at Matt (Hagan) or John Force behind us because we want to finish first; we’re not trying to defend the second-place position. So, our goal right now is to maximize qualifying points, execute perfectly on race day, and hope that the ladder falls in such a way that we pair up with Robert before the final round.”
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) is the winningest team in NHRA Drag Racing history, having claimed more than 335 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.
