Jack Beckman put together a string of consistent passes to place the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T in fifth place during qualifying for the 21st annual NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsporst Park.
The California native posted his quickest pass of 4.113 seconds at 291.89 mph in the cooler Friday evening session, while his other straight and solid laps were a 4.157/287.17 earlier Friday, and a 4.170/290.07 and 4.168/290.07 today.
As the Countdown to 1 playoffs winds down, Sunday’s first of the last four events is critical in the chase for the Funny Car championship. Beckman, No. 3 in points meets No. 2 Tony Pedregon in the opening stanza of eliminations.
“The last session was very interesting, the way it shuffled the standings,” said Beckman. “You’ve got a lot of Countdown cars racing each other first round. And it can be pivotal when you’ve got any Countdown car in the other lane. We’re paired No. 2 against No. 3, and that’s going to be critical.
“We’ve only got 16 rounds of racing left so we’ve got to get past Tony. It’s not do or die, but this is the time to make a statement. We just want to put the Valvoline/MTS Dodge in the winner’s circle tomorrow.
“We made four good runs again. Tony (No. 12 qualifier) barely got in, but he ran good on the (final) run that’s going to be representative of tomorrow’s conditions. It’s certainly not going to be easy. Those guys are the defending (series) champions, but I like our odds again.”
| 
|