Beckman Powers Mopar and Dodge//SRT to Funny Car Pole at NHRA Gatornationals
Gainesville, FL – Jack Beckman collected the third No. 1 spot in three events for a Mopar Dodge//SRT driver this 
season, claiming the pole in his Mopar-powered Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car before a sellout crowd at the 49th annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.
The top spot is the 24th of Beckman’s career and second at the iconic Gatornationals race. He’ll be joined by Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates and fellow Mopar Dodge pilots Tommy Johnson Jr., Matt Hagan and Ron Capps in elimination rounds tomorrow at Gainesville Raceway, as well as by Jim Dunn Racing and Dodge driver Jim Campbell.
Beckman was on fire on Friday’s first day of qualifying, earning six bonus points and going low in both rounds with a pass of 3.958 seconds at 325.61 mph and a Q2 run of 3.911/332.18, which ultimately earned him the pole. The 2012 Funny Car World Champion added two respectable runs during the third and fourth qualifying rounds on Saturday to earn an extra bonus point.
Johnson, driving the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T, secured a top-five starting position on the strength of a 3.933 run in Friday’s second session. Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T driver Hagan’s best effort also came in Q2, a 3.941 that placed him sixth entering Sunday. Following close behind was Mopar-powered Dodge teammate Capps, whose quickest time on the clock was a 3.944-second elapsed time in Saturday’s first qualifying session.
Tony Schumacher led the way with Mopar power in the Top Fuel ranks, qualifying No. 4 thanks to a 3.785-second mark in his very first qualifying attempt. The same was true for Papa John’s/Mopar Dodge Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett, who recorded a 3.811 right out of the gate in Q1 to grab the No. 6 position.
Pritchett will have an opportunity to capture two Wally trophies on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway after driving her Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak into the second day of Factory Stock Showdown elimination rounds. In qualifying, Pritchett locked down the No. 7 spot with a best run of 8.109/168.22 in the second session on Friday, in addition to a Q1 run on Friday of 8.194/168.16 and a final attempt of 8.257/165.40 on Saturday.
She lined up her 354 supercharged Mopar Dodge Drag Pak against Daniel Condon in round one of Factory Stock. Pritchett left first with a .051 reaction time and never trailed, posting a 8.183/166.50 mark to the Camaro driver’s losing 8.204/165.52 effort. The DSR star will square off with Randy Taylor in the Factory Stock quarterfinals on Sunday.
Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak Factory Stock Showdown racer Geoff Turk made history last weekend at the NMCA Bradenton event, becoming the first driver to break into the seven-second range in a Factory Stock car. Turk was quick at Gainesville, qualifying No. 5 with a 8.099-second elapsed time, but was unable to make the call in eliminations due to mechanical issues.
Pro Stock World Champion and longtime Mopar Dodge driver Allen Johnson will look to rebound at the next event after failing to qualify in his Factory Stock debut. Johnson’s best run was a 10.948/144.92, with a transmission issue scuttling his final attempt to the crack the competitive Factory Stock field.
