DSR Ready for Pomona!
An extraordinary new year has Beckman prepared for great things as the 2012 Funny Car world champ expects a return to winner’s circle
– When you see Jack Beckman at this weekend’s NHRA Circle K Winternationals be prepared for a long answer if you ask “what’s new?”
In summary, just about everything will be new for the 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champion at the first race of the 2015 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series at Pomona, Calif.
Here’s the list:
He has a commitment for full-season funding for the first time since he joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2006 and began driving a Funny Car full time the following year;
He has a new crew chief and assistant crew chief along with a crew that returns only two members from the past season;
He has an all-new 2015 Dodge Charger R/T carbon-fiber body developed by Mopar and SRT at Fiat Chrysler Automobile headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.;
And he has a sponsor for the entire 24-race Mello Yello circuit but he won’t be able to say much about that until after an official announcement is made Friday afternoon.
Yearlong funding was secured in December when Terry Chandler committed to fund her second Funny Car team at Don Schumacher Racing. She added Jack’s team and will continue with driver Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish team.
The next bit of news followed when DSR hired former world champion crew chiefs Jimmy Prock and John Medlen. Prock will be Jack’s crew chief with Medlen serving as assistant crew chief with Chris Cunningham, who is the only holdover from Jack’s team last year.
“I’m terrible with names, and I’ve never learned names this fast,” Jack said. “There is an immediate comfort level. Most of last year’s crew went to other DSR teams and they are going to get into some winner’s circles this year.”
And that’s a spot where Jack hasn’t been for the past 51 Mello Yello events after he won 15 times in his first 153.
Another big factor is the newly designed 2015 Dodge Charger R/T body, which each of DSR’s four Funny Car teams will use.
“It’s unbelievable,” Jack said. “I have never driven anything in my nitro Funny Car career other than the previous style Charger. It wasn’t until I got into this one with all the improvements that I was like ‘wow,’ there is a better way to do this. The Mopar engineers nailed this car. It is beautiful looking, the performance is great and from a visibility standpoint, it is nothing but improvement.”
The former U.S. Air Force sergeant tried to not feel giddy about two weeks ago during a test session in Florida when his team produced the best run of the four-day outing with several other teams with a time of 4.003 seconds at 321 mph.
“I think sometimes when you get really good news, you kind of suppress the emotion because it can be overwhelming, like really bad news can be. To have Jimmy and John on board and still have Cunningham over here and to have (a sponsor) on board the whole year, I know we will do some great things off the track and I’m pretty convinced we will do some great things on the track.”
But that means added pressure which is something the cancer survivor has never avoided.
“Here’s the way I’m going to choose to deal with that. You qualify No. 1, you feel like you’re the car to beat and as long as you perform to your capability it’s going to be tough for anyone else to put you on the trailer.
“With Jimmy Prock I realize that the expectations are real high. We are going to be expected to win and I’m going to be expected to drive at a consistently high level and I love feeling that way. I’m not going to take it as added pressure, I’m going to take it as an opportunity to go out there and achieve what we are capable of.”
Last season he finished 11th in points and did not qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship for the first time since the playoff format was instituted in 2007.
“Winning the race is always my goal. I just want to win a race. It has been over two years since I held a Wally up at the end of the day on Sunday. I miss that. I miss that sense of being around a group of people that were the best at what they did on that day. You don’t want to be cliché, but to win the trophy you first have to qualify and you have to get past first round.
“The points will take care of themselves. I’ll take six runner-ups to get in the Countdown.”
Capps ready to win for NAPA and promote health in 2015
– Ron Capps has never lacked for motivation to win NHRA trophies and the California native has added incentive this year to reach the winner’s circle at Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events.
It’s a path he knows well as the resident of Carlsbad, Calif., ranks second in all-time NHRA Funny Car event titles with 42 since winning his first and only trophy in Top Fuel during his 1995 rookie season.
No one is better in television interviews at sharing credit with crew chief Rahn Tobler, longtime sponsor NAPA AUTO PARTS and his Don Schumacher Racing team. This is Ron’s 21st season as a professional driver including the last eight with NAPA AUTO PARTS as the primary marketing partner for his 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.
This year he will carry another message when speaking to NAPA associates, fans and media.
He will frequently mention the importance of getting annual physicals and not hesitating to see a doctor if something seems askew with your health or that of a loved one.
And he wants to share that message beginning this weekend during the NHRA Circle K Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., to open the 2015 Mello Yello season.
That guidance grew in importance threefold last year. Pain in his right arm led to an examination that revealed three torn triceps muscle, which he had corrected with surgery a few days after the 2014 season ended. That same week he learned Don Schumacher, his boss at DSR since 2005, was diagnosed with cancer at his annual physical that led to successful cancer surgery.
But those serious diagnoses weren’t the only ones that hit home.
In March, his 13-year-old son, Caden, was playing baseball and later began complaining about soreness in his back. It seemed minor, maybe a growth spurt, Ron and his wife, Shelley, thought. But about a week later when the discomfort persisted they took him to a doctor where an x-ray determined he apparently was in the beginning stages of Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
“I can’t stress how important it is to take your kids to the doctor no matter how minor you might think a problem is,” Ron said.
Further examination at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego revealed the malady was in his fourth rib. A biopsy determined it was Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), which is a rare disorder of dendritic cells, doctors determined.
Doctors opted to try experimental treatments before using a regiment of chemotherapy or radiation.
“We just kind of dealt with that every couple of months during the season and going to get bone scans at Rady. Now all he has is that fourth rib missing and none of the other stuff has grown. That’s probably the best news. Now we just have to really keep our eye on it and do a scan every couple of months.
“But at this point he doesn’t have to do any radiation or chemo.”
Ron received support from DSR and especially his NAPA team and crew chief Rahn Tobler, whose wife, Ellen, is a breast cancer survivor. DSR owner Don Schumacher’s wife, Sarah, also is a cancer survivor.
“That brought us to our knees when we found out Don had cancer, but he caught it early enough because his annual physical was the week after Pomona.
“We also caught Caden’s problem early enough that he was diagnosed before it progressed. One thing I’m going to stress this year at every opportunity is the importance of regular physicals and not putting off getting a problem checked out by a doctor.”
Massey prepared to get off to a fast start at NHRA opener at Pomona with DSR’s red-hot Red Fuel/Sandvik dragster
– Confidence is crucial when it comes to strapping into a 10,000-horsepower nitro-fueled machine.
Spencer Massey enters his sixth year competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel category this weekend at Pomona, Calif., with more confidence than ever with his Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik team.
Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler will once again lead Spencer’s team during the 2015 season. The Red Fuel team got off to a red hot start in 2015 at a test session last month in Florida with a 3.723-second run at 332.26 mph, followed by a run of 3.741 at 332.02 mph the following day.
“I just have a lot of confidence with Phil and Todd,” Spencer said. “They work so well as a team with Scotty Okuhara as car chief and all of our awesome crew guys. It’s going to be an amazing team. We need to have fun and run fast in 2015 and we’re going to do it.
“We have already run over 330 mph and that was just in testing. When it is all on the line at Pomona, you can bet that we’ll be ready to throw everything we learned at it and get the win.”
Spencer finished third in Top Fuel points last year with three event titles and looks to improve that this year and wants to start off immediately at the NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
“We want to win every race we can but if you can come out at the first race of the season and get a Wally that just really sets the tone for the season and gives everyone even more confidence,” he said.
“We want to win right away because we have four crew members on our team that have never won so we want to get them a Wally for sure. I want to get a lot of wins for them this year and if we get enough we hope that’ll get us to the championship.”
Spencer will run the matte red and black colors of Schumacher Electric’s Red Fuel portable battery chargers for cellular and mobile devices.
“I’m definitely excited to have Red Fuel back on this race car. They have an amazing product line, the Red Fuel chargers are going to be out in the market very soon but right now you can go online to the Schumacher Electric web site and get them there. It’s going to be an exciting year. I love the way this car looks, flat black and red, it looks great and it’s fast too.”
The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season kicks off on Friday, Feb. 6 with two qualifying sessions and the field will be set after two qualifying runs on Saturday. Sunday’s NHRA eliminations begin at 11 a.m. PT.
Off-season productive for Antron, Matco Tools team as Mello Yello season opens Friday with NHRA Winternationals at Pomona
– Antron Brown and his family enjoyed their favorite time of the year during the past two months away from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit.
In addition to a wonderful holiday season at home, Antron spent a few days racing his radio-controlled boats in Louisiana before attending a friend’s wedding with his wife, Billie Jo, in Cancun.
“It was great, to go out and have five days with Billie Jo and share a special moment with our good friends Tommy DeLago and Rachel DeLago,” Antron said of the newlyweds. “It was a great time.
“Billie and I stayed a few extra days to take a breather from everything that’s been going on and enjoyed the weather and soaked it in. We had some ‘us’ time which made it an even more special trip. It energized me and got me ready to come back and be ready for the new season.”
The trip also served as an early anniversary celebration for the Browns, who were married 14 years ago this Tuesday.
“Now we’re ready to take charge,” the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion said before this weekend’s NHRA Circle K Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., that opens the 24-event season.
Antron returns with his team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald that won an NHRA-best six event titles last season with a sterling 41-18 record in championship eliminations. The Matco Tools/U.S. Army team won five of the season’s first 18 events but couldn’t catch Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher, who won his eighth world championship and 13th for DSR.
“It’s right there,” Antron said of getting Matco its second championship in four years. “All we have to do is reach up there and grab it. Trust me, we are going to be grabbing hard with everything we’ve got.”
The team showed its intention of starting the season fast when he ran a 3.720 last month during preseason testing at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla.
“The offseason went good. It felt good just to be down in Florida for good weather and just getting back at it … busting all the cobwebs out and getting back at it in game mode. All our Matco crew guys and myself got our racing legs back under us. We tried some new stuff and ran well.”
And nothing was better than the team’s 3.720 run.
“It definitely gives us confidence. The thing about it is you have to keep on going. We just want to be consistent. That’s what wins rounds, that’s what wins drag races and that’s what wins championships.
“Our guys are seasoned, poised and have communication energy where they can look into see each other’s eyes and actually know what’s going on without talking.
“I’m going into this season with a great group of guys. As a driver, I’m living the dream right now. I love our guys, and I love the way we all work together. We are very passionate about what we do and we drive hard.”
Defending Funny Car world champion Hagan feels confident for season opener with new 2015 Mopar/Rocky Dodge Charger R/T
BROWNSBURG, IN – The time has come for a new NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and for the second time in his young career, driver Matt Hagan will be the defending Funny Car world champion.
The Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team owns two of the past four Funny Car world championships and is intent on taking their third in five years. Matt, a cattle farmer in Virginia, knows there will be tough battles along the way but is confident heading into the NHRA Winternationals season opener this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.
Matt and the team led by crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen have advanced to championship rounds the last three times they’ve visited Pomona and left with the NHRA Wally trophy at the past two Finals in November. In each of those three finals he faced rival John Force.
“It’s going to be another tough season, for sure,” Matt said. “I’m ready to get going. We have a great car and we had a great couple of test sessions during the offseason. The last couple years at Pomona, our car has been great. We are rolling into Pomona with the combination we left there with so I’m feeling confident.”
During a December 2014 test session in Florida, the Mopar/Rocky Dodge recorded the unofficial quickest run ever by a Funny Car with a time of 3.954 seconds at a blazing 323.97 mph.
“We just have to make sure our car goes down the racetrack and we continue to do the things we’ve done that put us in the position we’re in right now, with that No. 1 on the side of our car. We have a lot of positive things going for us right now, but it is a 10,000-horsepower car and anything can happen.”
During the offseason, Matt had the opportunity to visit the Fiat Chrysler Automotive headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., during the offseason where the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T body was designed and brought to life over the past year.
“Having a new Dodge Charger R/T body is just huge,” Matt said. “The guys at Mopar and SRT did a phenomenal job with this body and there are so many improvements to it and the visibility is much better for me as a driver. All in all, I think it’s a great piece and I can’t wait to race it this season.”
Being the defending Funny Car world championship comes with a little bit of added pressure but it’s not anything that Matt and the team can’t handle.
“There is always a lot of pressure but we have a good group over here at DSR and that’s what makes all of us good,” he said. “They share the talent, the ideas, the knowledge. What’s nice about (team owner) Don Schumacher is he puts knowledgeable people to work. We just have to go out there and race our race car and be good racers on Sunday. That’s what makes the difference. I’m really excited about this season.”
