“Fast Jack” Beckman lived up to his moniker by winning the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series’ Four-Wide Nationals and posting the event’s first sub-four second run aboard his Infinite Hero sponsored 2015 Dodge Charger R/T to give the new Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) a fourth consecutive title win this season.

It is Beckman’s second Four-Wide Nationals title since the format was introduced in 2010 and the 16th of his Funny Car career. It is also the fifth time in his career that he has run a sub-four second lap, raising the performance bar by posting his career-best elapsed time run at 3.982 seconds (308.78 mile per hour) with the race winning effort. Beckman’s three-second pass is also the 15th posted by a Dodge Charger, the most by any manufacturer.

With the win, Beckman finally saw a 54-race winless streak (St. Louis 2012) come to an end and jumps from 14th to seventh in the points standings. He adds his Wally to those won by his DSR teammates Matt Hagan, earned with back-to-back titles in Pomona and Phoenix, and Ron Capps at the Gatornationals in the new Mopar body.

“If there was a track and a format where the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger was perfect for us this was it,” said Beckman who has been very pleased with the increased visibility and performance of his new race car. “This new cockpit configuration was perfect for the Four-Wide format where it is difficult to stage. I’m just so elated. Every nitro win I have ever had has been in a Dodge Charger and this is my first in the new Mopar and I don’t think it will be the last this year.”

The one-of-a-kind Four-Wide Nationals, held at the purpose-built zMAX Dragway, splits 16 qualifiers into four waves with competitors battling across all four lanes simultaneously. Only the top-two finishers of each wave advance to the next round of eliminations, and with only three heats necessary, the final elimination quad determines the winner, runner-up and two semi-finalists.

DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. was among the competitors in that final quad, finishing fourth after hazing the tires, but with the result moves up into fourth place in the Funny Car standings behind Hagan and Capps, second and third respectively.

Posted by:  Pat Caporali

Event Essentials:   NHRA 4-Wide Nationals (March 27-29th, 2015) Concord NC

(The FC Final “Quad” featured Jack Beckman – Del Worsham – Tommy Johnson Jr & Chad Head)