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NHRA
NHRA: Beckman Wins In Arizona
The competition for accolades became razor thin across the NHRA Full Throttle Series once the dust settled on the Arizona Nationals on Sunday.
The competition for accolades became razor thin across the NHRA Full Throttle Series once the dust settled on the Arizona Nationals on Sunday.
The championship lead changed hands in Funny Car as Jack Beckman jumped from fifth to first in the standings after his victory. Larry Dixon, whose title defense was all but left for dead, won Top Fuel and is in the thick of a four car battle for the title.
Not to be outdone, the top two contenders for Rookie of the Year – Hector Arana Jr. in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Vincent Nobile in Pro Stock – both came up winners.
The last two races of the season are going to be a dogfight.
"We're in for an amazing finish," Beckman said. "From a fan's perspective, it's a thrill. This is exactly what the Countdown was designed to do.
"Pro Stock got anti-climactic pretty fast and dragster was in danger of that, although they gained some back here. The sport's top two classes just got that much more exciting."
Beckman and the Aaron's Dodge Charger started the weekend 55 points out of the lead. After he beat teammate Johnny Gray and the Service Central Dodge Charger in the final, Beckman took the lead by five points, the first time he has ever been Funny Car points leader.
"You come in here three rounds behind Mike Neff and Matt Hagan and you have to figure those guys aren’t losing early," Beckman said. "But all of us in Funny Car have fallen off at times here lately."
Beckman navigated the hot Firebird International Racerway track skillfully all day, running a 4.354 second pass at 278.29 mph while Gray smoked and sputtered to a 5.870 second finish at 120.67 mph.
"Not only is the points battle in Funny Car far from over, I really believe this has just opened it up," Beckman said. "I think it's going to be a five-car shootout and everyone now knows this team can no longer sneak up on any one. Our goal is to stay on top but it's going to be very, very tough."
Five Funny Cars are within 56 points of the top with eight rounds of racing to go.
Spencer Massey's DNQ on Saturday opened the door that all kinds of Top Fuel drivers busted through and none more than Dixon, who went from 108 points out of the lead in fourth to five points out of the lead in second.
"It's been a long time coming," Dixon said as he tried to hold back his emotions. "I wish my wife and kids were here. The news of (IndyCar driver) Dan Wheldon has just hit me. My thoughts are with his family and his race team. I'm just broken-hearted for everyone involved in IndyCar. It's a tragic day. It kind of makes everything else go out of your mind."
Dixon and the Al-Anabi Racing dragster faced off against Antron Brown's Matco Tools machine in the final and Dixon eked out a .008 second victory by running a 3.955 second pass at 307.37 mph to Brown's 3.967 at 302.08 mph.
It wasn't all disappointment for Brown, as he assumes the points lead. Massey fell to third, 20 points back.
Arana and the Lucas Oil Buell won for the second time in a row and third overall, cutting a perfect .000 reaction time light in the final against the Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson ridden by Eddie Karwiec.
"That was cutting it close in the final but I knew I was just so amped up," Arana said. "I knew how big that single round was; definitely the biggest round of my rookie year. There's probably going to be a few more of those before we're done."
Arana's final pass was a 6.884 at 194.30 mph, while Krawiec finished in 6.944 seconds at 194.27.
"That was huge," Arana Jr. said. "You're talking about a 40-point swing in the points right there. If he had won we would have been in trouble. Now we're 10 points apart (for the championship). It's anybody's game at this point.
"My dad, my brother Adam and Dan (Gonzales) worked their butts off for me and we're all clicking so well together. This Lucas Oil Buell is an absolute rocket and I couldn't be happier."
Nobile also collected his third win of the season in the Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, beating the Mopar Dodge Avenger driven by Allen Johnson.
"Can you believe it?" Nobile said as he climbed out of his racecar and accepted his Wally trophy from rookie-of-the-year rival Arana Jr. "We couldn't script this any better. They told me (Arana) had a perfect light in the bike final so I tried to match him and had an .009. That was the difference all day -- I had an .006, .025 and an .012 today and then the .009 in the final, and I needed it against Allen.
"Nice rebound for this team. We needed this and I can't say enough about my guys. Great job by everyone."
The New Yorker ran a 6.678 second pass at 208.30 mph. Johnson finished in 6.655 seconds at 209.49 mph.
The madness continues on Oct. 28-30 at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the next-to-last race of the season, the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals.
The championship lead changed hands in Funny Car as Jack Beckman jumped from fifth to first in the standings after his victory. Larry Dixon, whose title defense was all but left for dead, won Top Fuel and is in the thick of a four car battle for the title.
Not to be outdone, the top two contenders for Rookie of the Year – Hector Arana Jr. in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Vincent Nobile in Pro Stock – both came up winners.
The last two races of the season are going to be a dogfight.
"We're in for an amazing finish," Beckman said. "From a fan's perspective, it's a thrill. This is exactly what the Countdown was designed to do.
"Pro Stock got anti-climactic pretty fast and dragster was in danger of that, although they gained some back here. The sport's top two classes just got that much more exciting."
Beckman and the Aaron's Dodge Charger started the weekend 55 points out of the lead. After he beat teammate Johnny Gray and the Service Central Dodge Charger in the final, Beckman took the lead by five points, the first time he has ever been Funny Car points leader.
"You come in here three rounds behind Mike Neff and Matt Hagan and you have to figure those guys aren’t losing early," Beckman said. "But all of us in Funny Car have fallen off at times here lately."
Beckman navigated the hot Firebird International Racerway track skillfully all day, running a 4.354 second pass at 278.29 mph while Gray smoked and sputtered to a 5.870 second finish at 120.67 mph.
"Not only is the points battle in Funny Car far from over, I really believe this has just opened it up," Beckman said. "I think it's going to be a five-car shootout and everyone now knows this team can no longer sneak up on any one. Our goal is to stay on top but it's going to be very, very tough."
Five Funny Cars are within 56 points of the top with eight rounds of racing to go.
Spencer Massey's DNQ on Saturday opened the door that all kinds of Top Fuel drivers busted through and none more than Dixon, who went from 108 points out of the lead in fourth to five points out of the lead in second.
"It's been a long time coming," Dixon said as he tried to hold back his emotions. "I wish my wife and kids were here. The news of (IndyCar driver) Dan Wheldon has just hit me. My thoughts are with his family and his race team. I'm just broken-hearted for everyone involved in IndyCar. It's a tragic day. It kind of makes everything else go out of your mind."
Dixon and the Al-Anabi Racing dragster faced off against Antron Brown's Matco Tools machine in the final and Dixon eked out a .008 second victory by running a 3.955 second pass at 307.37 mph to Brown's 3.967 at 302.08 mph.
It wasn't all disappointment for Brown, as he assumes the points lead. Massey fell to third, 20 points back.
Arana and the Lucas Oil Buell won for the second time in a row and third overall, cutting a perfect .000 reaction time light in the final against the Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson ridden by Eddie Karwiec.
"That was cutting it close in the final but I knew I was just so amped up," Arana said. "I knew how big that single round was; definitely the biggest round of my rookie year. There's probably going to be a few more of those before we're done."
Arana's final pass was a 6.884 at 194.30 mph, while Krawiec finished in 6.944 seconds at 194.27.
"That was huge," Arana Jr. said. "You're talking about a 40-point swing in the points right there. If he had won we would have been in trouble. Now we're 10 points apart (for the championship). It's anybody's game at this point.
"My dad, my brother Adam and Dan (Gonzales) worked their butts off for me and we're all clicking so well together. This Lucas Oil Buell is an absolute rocket and I couldn't be happier."
Nobile also collected his third win of the season in the Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, beating the Mopar Dodge Avenger driven by Allen Johnson.
"Can you believe it?" Nobile said as he climbed out of his racecar and accepted his Wally trophy from rookie-of-the-year rival Arana Jr. "We couldn't script this any better. They told me (Arana) had a perfect light in the bike final so I tried to match him and had an .009. That was the difference all day -- I had an .006, .025 and an .012 today and then the .009 in the final, and I needed it against Allen.
"Nice rebound for this team. We needed this and I can't say enough about my guys. Great job by everyone."
The New Yorker ran a 6.678 second pass at 208.30 mph. Johnson finished in 6.655 seconds at 209.49 mph.
The madness continues on Oct. 28-30 at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the next-to-last race of the season, the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals.
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