Beckman sweeps U.S. Nationals weekend in Indy, Infinite Hero Dodge is No. 1 seed for Countdown
BROWNSBURG, IN – Jack Beckman should consider changing his moniker from “Fast Jack” to “Comeback Jack” or, 
better yet, merge the two.
Jack’s Infinite Hero 2015 Dodge Charger R/T with crew chief Jimmy Prock and assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham swept the prestigious 61st annual U.S. Nationals by winning Monday’s Funny Car title in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event outside of Indianapolis the day after they won the $100,000 Traxxas Funny Car Shootout.
The dynamic team also set track records for elapsed time at 3.396 seconds at a speed of 323.74 mph en route to winning its fifth pole of the year and four consecutive.
And by the way, the Infinite Hero team completed a miraculous comeback by finishing first in the 18-event Mello Yello regular season after not qualifying for the season-opener in February at Pomona, Calif. and not winning an elimination round until the third race of the season at Gainesville, Fla.
That earns them the No. 1 seed and 30-point lead to start the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins in two weeks near Charlotte.
It is the sixth NHRA Wally trophy for the Infinite Hero team this year and the first U.S. Nationals title for Beckman, who has won 18 times in his pro career.
“I am so worn out. I guess it’s about like getting to the top of Everest,” he said. “You really don’t get to celebrate until you get back home and into a cozy area. I don’t know when it will sink in. It’s interesting when something really good or really bad happens, human nature is that the way we deal with it is you just suppress the extreme ranges of emotion, but I gotta tell you I’m pretty happy right now.”
Starting the year ranked 18th out of 18 cars to start the year isn’t the worst that happened at the racetrack for him since winning the 2012 Funny Car world championship. He went the entire 2013 and 2014 season without getting to a winner’s circle.
“We won the Traxxas Shootout in 2013 so that was an OK year, but 2014 was bitterly disappointing. I still kept my chin up. I’m incredibly lucky to get a paycheck from Don Schumacher. I never forgot that I have a fantastic job.
“To be completely honest, you wonder if you’re ever going to be able to win again because you can have the best car on race day and one hiccup and you’re day is over. It’s done. Sometimes just getting there is the battle. You have to keep showing up, smile when you feel like crying and have a good attitude. And look what happened.
“You have to treat it like it doesn’t matter more than any other run. You have to. It’s kind of disassociating yourself, is you go up there, you stage the car and you go on yellow.”
And he certainly did that in Monday’s championship round against former world champion Robert Hight of John Force Racing.
Beckman was a key factor in beating Hight because it was one of the few times this summer that the Infinite Hero Dodge was not the quickest car.
Hight’s 4.045-second run was quicker than Beckman’s 4.058 but Beckman’s much better reaction time at the starting line (0.034) enabled the Infinite Hero Dodge to cross the finish line first.
The comeback Infinite Hero team finished the regular season with a staggering 178-point margin over teammate Matt Hagan. Beckman will lead Hagan by 30 points once they are reset for the six-race shootout that begins in two weeks near Charlotte.
