Beckman’s last chance at Indy to qualify for NHRA Countdown; DSR Indy Team Reports

BROWNSBURG, IN – The last event of the regular season and the U.S. Nationals is not the best time to be looking for a fresh start, but that’s exactly what Jack Beckman and Don Schumacher Racing’s Valvoline SynPower Dodge Charger R/T team needs.

And the 2012 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world champion believes there is no better time than the present for that to happen.

Jack is in a position that he’s never experienced since joining DSR in the fall of 2006 as a full-time professional racer: This weekend’s U.S. Nationals is the 16th event of the 24-event season and he has not locked up a spot in the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff that opens in two weeks near Charlotte.

What happens over Labor Day Weekend in the 60th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis will determine if he has a chance to win the third world championship of his career and second Mello Yello crown in the past three seasons.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to be (darn) near flawless at Indy to get in the Countdown. Now it’s a battle,” he said of the regular season’s last race. “The only thing I can think about right now is Indy. Our goal is to run for the championship, which it isn’t possible to do if we’re not in the Countdown. If we can’t get this Valvoline Dodge into the Countdown, I’d be devastated.”

Jack and his Valvoline Dodge team led by new crew chief Todd Okuhara, the director of racing at DSR, will start the U.S. Nationals ranked 11th in the standings and 16 points behind No. 10 Tim Wilkerson. Each driver can earn 20 points per round during Monday’s championship eliminations so Wilkerson is within reach.

“We’ve painted ourselves into a corner,” Jack said.

And Jack doesn’t have to wait until eliminations to experience drama.

A year ago, he won the Traxxas Nitro Shootout in Funny Car at Indy and a $100,000 bonus for DSR but will have to wait until Wednesday afternoon to find out if he will have a chance to defend his title.

Last year, the first six drivers to win a Mello Yello event title were seeded into the eight-car field with the seventh spot, which Jack received, going to the non-winning driver with the most points. The last position was filled by a fan-vote.

This year’s format is different with the first seven winners of 2014 getting into the Shootout and the eighth and final spot going to a driver in a fan-vote weighted lottery that will be held at Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday that is part of a Fanfest that will include a free autograph session.

Wednesday’s Fanfest will be followed by a visit to Riley Hospital by Jack and his DSR teammates before they spend Friday afternoon at DSR’s ninth annual Open House at its headquarters (1681 E. Northfield Dr., Brownsburg, Ind.) about 2 miles from Lucas Oil Raceway.

Massey wants to close out NHRA’s regular season with big win at prestigious 60th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway

– The last regular season race for NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series teams is of great importance to Spencer Massey and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher Top Fuel team.

Not only does the team need a confidence booster, there is no greater stage in NHRA drag racing than Indianapolis.

The 60th annual U.S. Nationals is widely considered the sport’s most prestigious event and Spencer is looking to add a trophy from the Indianapolis event to his collection of 16 NHRA Wallys.

The Battery Extender team led by crew chiefs Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara spent two days testing at the multi-purpose facility last week to prepare for the race dubbed the “Big Go.”

Over two days, Spencer made six passes with his best run of 3.791 sec., at 323.19 mph giving them confidence for Friday evening qualifying at the U.S. Nationals this weekend.

“We made some good runs, made some bad runs,” Spencer said. “But we learned from it and that’s why we do it. We tried some new things and just worked on our tune-up. The races don’t get any bigger than Indy but it’s also important to get some momentum going for the Countdown.”

The six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff kicks off on Sept. 12 near Charlotte where only the top-10 in Top Fuel standings will have a chance to win the series title.

The Battery Extender team has struggled throughout the last nine NHRA Mello Yello events with only four round wins in those events.

“We’ve been struggling, there is no doubt about it. Although we lost in the second round at Brainerd (two weeks ago), we really felt like we had our consistently, quick dragster back.

“Indy is important for us to build some momentum, get back our confidence in the car and just be ready when the Countdown starts.”

On Saturday, Spencer and the Battery Extender team will compete for their second Traxxas Nitro Shootout victory that pays $100,000 to the winning team. The team won the inaugural specialty race in 2012 and also was runner-up in race day eliminations.

“We know how awesome it is to win that race because we’ve done it,” Spencer said. “And it was special. It’s fun, it’s different and it’s only once a year so it makes it that much more special. We want to do it again.”

Capps, NAPA Dodge team looking for first U.S. Nationals title

– Ron Capps knows how to find the winner’s circle at the biggest annual event on the NHRA Mello Yello Racing Series circuit, he’s just not found the route on Mondays.

He has left the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis with a big trophy and big check three times.

The driver of Don Schumacher Racing’s NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T isn’t a greedy man, but each time he would have preferred to leave with the trophy presented on Labor Day at the conclusion of NHRA biggest event.

The winner of 42 NHRA titles has won at every track on which the NHRA pro tour has competed for at least eight years except Lucas Oil Raceway and Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.

And Indy is the only longtime NHRA dragstrip where he has never reached a championship round.

“Yeah, that is a little hard to believe,” he said.

“I know we’ve been in a bunch of semifinals at Indy. We just haven’t had success at Indy on Monday,” he said of when championship eliminations are held for the Labor Day Weekend event. “We’ve been fortunate to have won a Shootout there three times. Those were fun, fun races. I’ve had a chance to win three times on Sunday at Indy but haven’t been able to transfer that over to Mondays.”

He hopes that this year’s 60th edition of the U.S. Nationals, which begins a four-day run on Friday evening, will mark his first title in the event known as the “Big Go.”

“I can’t remember ever being as bummed or disappointed after losing a round as after I lost some of the rounds at Indy,” he said. “You can talk about Indy and try to treat it like another race, but you can’t because it isn’t like any other race.

“Part of what makes Indy special is what you have to put into that race. You go in early to Indy because of media requests and our Open House at DSR on Friday. There is so much hoopla that surrounds this race because of its great tradition.”

Part of that tradition is the specialty event that has been the Traxxas Nitro Shootout since 2012. He won the event three consecutive years (1998-2000) while driving for owner Don “Snake” Prudhomme when it was called the Big Bud Shootout.

“I’m not sure why I’ve been able to win those Shootouts but not the U.S. Nationals,” said Ron, who is qualified for Saturday’s eight-car Shootout field. “We’ve had good racecars. There were years when we felt we would win the Shootout and the U.S. Nationals, but then we’d lose a close race in one of them.”

The U.S. Nationals is such a lofty achievement that he would cherish that more than any other racing accomplishment.

“I’ve heard my old crew chief Ed McCulloch say he wouldn’t trade one of his five Indy titles for one championship. He’s a dear friend and one of the greatest Funny Car drivers ever. He’s won Indy that many times and never won a championship and for him to be content with what he accomplished in the sport says a lot about Indy. That’s how big Indy is.”

Ron also will have a unique opportunity to win another trophy during the U.S. Nationals. On Saturday evening, he will race John Force in the weather-delayed championship round of the Mello Yello event held two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minn.

Another development at Indy, which ends the 16-race Mello Yello regular season, will be finalizing the top-10 to compete for world championships in the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins in two weeks near Charlotte.

Ron starts the U.S. Nationals ranked third in points and while he can’t overcome the two drivers ahead of him in the standings, he is only 81 points ahead of the No. 7 driver. Each round win during Monday’s championship eliminations is worth 20 points.

“We’ll start thinking about winning our first championship after we win our first Indy.”

Brown goes for fourth U.S. Nationals title while Matco Tools team not giving up on leading regular season to be No. 1 into Countdown

– Antron Brown and his Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster team want nothing more than to win this weekend’s 60th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis.

Considering the track is within 2 miles of Don Schumacher Racing headquarters and he lives a few miles away in Pittsboro, Ind., the biggest event of the year will enable Antron and his crew to have family and friends attend what for most will be their only NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event of the year.

But the popular driver and his championship team with crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald along with assistant Brad Mason won’t be looking for a party until Monday afternoon’s championship round and a trip to the winner’s circle.

“It’s survival of the fittest,” Antron said. “You know you can’t make a mistake because everyone is bringing their best. Everything is so crucial and nobody is guaranteed a spot at Indy; you have to qualify to race on Monday.

“There’s a lot of strategy involved and you just have to make a lot of good runs. You have to be like a surgeon and it definitely takes a lot of precision over the entire weekend. At Indy, everybody brings their ‘A’ game and brings all their best parts. That’s what Indy brings out and that’s what makes it special.”

Antron will start racing Friday evening ranked second in the Top Fuel standings in the last regular season race of the season. He trails points leader Doug Kalitta by 92 points in a battle for the points lead heading to the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff that begins in two weeks near Charlotte.

It’s a longshot for him to overcome Kalitta, but the leader going into the Countdown will carry a 30-point lead over No. 2 when points are reset for championship contenders but Antron and his Matco team haven’t given up on the chase.

“We’re all geared up, hyped up and feeling good about what is going on,” Antron said. “The Top Fuel class is at an all-time high and a lot of people are on point. It’s ridiculous how strong everyone is. If you win you know it’s something special and if it’s Indy, it’s even bigger.”

Antron, who won the 2012 Top Fuel world championship and leads the category this year with five event titles, knows how it feels to win Indy. His only Top Fuel title in the U.S. Nationals came in 2011, which was after he won the Pro Stock Motorcycle category in 2000 and 2004.

“What gets you excited is just the prestige of Indy. It’s how deep of a field it always is, the history behind it and just the excitement surrounding the event.

“It’s one of those deals where winning at Indy always sticks out. You know when it happened, how it happened, who you beat and what it took to get there. Looking at things this year, we know what we have to do to succeed and we will have a good game plan heading into it. We’re Countdown-minded right now and we want to run the best we can every time.”

An added bonus for the nitro teams is the third annual Traxxas Nitro Shootout that will pay the winning Top Fuel team a $100,000 bonus. The first seven drivers who won Mello Yello titles this year earned Shootout spots with the eighth determined partially by a fan vote.

“With the Traxxas Shootout and then the race, it’s just a big, historic weekend. You know whoever wins is ‘the’ team.”

And Antron wants to show that his Matco Tools squad is “the” team.

Test session prior to prestigious U.S. Nationals has Hagan feeling confident in Mopar team heading into NHRA’s biggest event

– The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has held its biggest race of the year since 1961 on its biggest stage, Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis.

Every driver wants to win this weekend’s 60th annual U.S. Nationals, and Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car pilot Matt Hagan enters the event nicknamed the “Big Go” with great confidence stemming from a strong performance in recent NHRA events and a strong test session at the historic facility just a week ago.

“If testing relays anything to race day, then I feel pretty good about it,” Matt said. “All in all, I feel like we had a great test and we learned a lot. I feel like it was one of the better tests that we’ve had as a team in the last few years.”

Matt’s 426 Race HEMI 50th Anniversary Tribute Dodge Charger R/T team clocked two 4.03-second passes over two days at the test.

“The parts that they wanted to try were working great and the car seemed to respond to everything we were doing. It was a real positive feeling walking away from that test session.”

The team led by Dickie Venables hopes the positive results in testing carry over to qualifying and eliminations where they were the No. 1 qualifier last year and hold the track record. In the last five NHRA Mello Yello events, the team has qualified in the top-five four times.

“Going into race day, you never know. I feel like we have as good of a shot as anyone. Our car has been running really well lately, we’ve been qualifying really well. I feel like we are really starting to peak at the right time. I’m excited about Indy. We definitely want to win Indy, everybody does.

Matt’s racing resume is impressive in his young career. It includes a series championship, 11 event titles and world-record runs, including the first sub-four second Funny Car pass.

But winning at Indy isn’t on that list and adding that to his resume is very important to him.

“That’s something I haven’t done yet and, I don’t know, it’s just I’ve won a championship and a handful of races and set some records but I haven’t won Indy and that’s important to me. We need to make it happen.

“I haven’t’ done very well at Indy so it’s time to turn that around.”