MOPAR Express Lane NHRA Nationals
Presented by Pennzoil
Event 19 of 24 (Reading)
Countdown Event 1 of 6
Maple Grove Raceway
Mohnton, Pa.
Sept. 13-15, 2019
Highlights:
- The Reading race marks 550 professional events entered for Funny Car pilot Ron Capps. He celebrates the milestone during his 25th season behind the wheel of a nitro machine
- All DSR entries are in contention for the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship chase; Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car) lead DSR, with both drivers ranked third
Johnson’s first Funny Car event win occurred at the 1999 Reading race - Leah Pritchett secured her first Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier at the 2016 event
Note:
The MOPAR Mega Block Party will rev up the MOPAR Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil race weekend for the fourth consecutive year. The free-admission fan event, set to roll into FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading from 4-10 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 12, will offer a jam-packed slate of fun activities, including a home run derby and autograph session, for MOPAR and Dodge//SRT enthusiasts.
DSR-Owned Track Records:
Top Fuel, E.T.: 3.688 seconds, Antron Brown (2016)
(EXCERPT)
DSR Driver Information:
Funny Car
JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Countdown to the Championship standing: 4th
Reading Event Highlights:
- Two-time event champion (2008, 2015)
- 2012 No. 1 qualifier
2018 Reading Recap:
Qualified fourth; First round exit (defeated by Cruz Pedregon in E1)
Last Event (Indianapolis):
Qualified No. 1; Event runner-up (defeated Justin Schriefer in E1, Bob Tasca III in E2, J.R. Todd in E3; defeated by John Force in E4)
2019 Season Statistics:
28 round wins; ranked fourth in points
Career Statistics:
318 races; 28 wins; 25 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Beckman enters the Countdown after a season-best performance in Indianapolis where he claimed his 25th No. 1 qualifier and raced to a runner-up finish
Quotable:
Maple Grove has bounced around quite a bit on the schedule over the last dozen years but one thing has remained – it’s always ultra-exciting and it tends to be a pivotal race. When I won the championship in 2012, I wouldn’t have won it if we hadn’t set the national record at Maple Grove. In 2015, winning Reading put us right back in the championship hunt, and winning there in 2008 was one of the highlights of my career. I beat Frank Hawley in the final, who was my boss at the drag racing school. They’ve moved the event earlier in the schedule, making it the first race in the Countdown which kind of puts some extra emphasis on it. We haven’t won yet this season, but we’ve come very close multiple times. This Infinite Hero team would like nothing more than to start the Countdown off on the right note and with a win.”
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.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.