Funny Car class racing at NHRA Topeka has produced a milestone win for drag racing iconic team DSR……

Mopar-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Jack Beckman claimed his second win of the season and the sixth victory in eight events for the new 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, defeating John Force in the final round of the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

The victory was the 17th of Beckman’s career and a milestone 250th overall for the DSR organization. Beckman also made NHRA history by becoming the first driver in a Funny Car to record four consecutive runs below 4 seconds when he dipped into the 3-second range in the last two of three qualifying sessions, then started championship eliminations in the 3s for the first two rounds.

Beckman also moved to third in the point standings, behind DSR teammates Ron Capps (No. 1) and Matt Hagan (No. 2), putting Mopar-powered Dodge drivers in the top three positions. A 2015 Dodge Charger R/T DSR Funny Car driver has been to the final round in seven of the first eight events of the season.

“All of us at Mopar would like to congratulate Jack Beckman on the win in Topeka,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO – Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA. “We’re very pleased to see the success of the DSR team with the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T. A lot of time, investment and hard work went into designing and building a fantastic new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, and to see it win its sixth national title of this young season is a great reward.”

Beckman secured the No. 6 spot in qualifying with a sub-four-second 3.991 elapsed time but was even quicker on Sunday against round one opponent Courtney Force, recording a winning 3.984-second elapsed time at 321.58 mph to her slower 4.035 pass. Beckman bettered that mark with a 3.972/322.04 to defeat Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge driver John Hale and advance to the semifinals against Del Worsham. In a back-and-forth affair, Beckman led early, gave up the lead after shaking the tires, then got back on the pedal for a winning 4.169/319.45 run after Worsham also struck the tires and slowed to a 4.331/216.03.

In the final, Beckman exacted revenge for his trio of DSR teammates, Tommy Johnson Jr., Capps and Hagan, who all fell to John Force. Beckman once again took his 2015 Dodge Charger R/T below the four-second mark, posting a 3.984 ET to defeat Force and his 4.002 pass.

“We did not have a good weekend of racing, we had an incredible weekend of racing,” Beckman said. “I thought we had a car that that nobody could touch.

(Courtney Force rewrote NHRA’s national speed record for fuel Funny Cars to 325.06 mph)

Event Essentials:   NHRA Kansas Nationals (May 22-14th, 2015) 

(Ohio’s Chad Head ran a career best 3.967 to Q#1 and set a track record)

Posted with files by  Pat Caporali & Bruce Biegler