JACK BECKMAN EXCITED BY SEMIFINAL FINISH IN TIRE KINGDOM GATORNATIONALS

Jack Beckman left here with a semifinal finish in the 42nd annual Tire Kingdom Gatornationals and renewed optimism for a successful 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

“We made a lot of progress this weekend,” said the 44-year-old driver of the Valvoline/Aaron’s Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car. “We had a rough race weekend two weeks ago at the (season opener) Winternationals going out in the first round after struggling to qualify, so our solid runs here both in qualifying and today were really encouraging.”

The Don Schumacher Racing driver qualified second for the Gatornationals, posting runs of 4.051, 4.057, 4.134 and 4.101, and then went 4.081-seconds at 309.77 miles per hour in the first round of today’s finals (in which he defeated Brian Thiel, 8.503/80.00).

A warming track led to a loss of traction in a pedalfest, and victory, against Robert Hight (Beckman 4.675/212.36 vs. Hight’s 5.724/127.10). He lost traction again in the semifinals, smoking the tires early (4.623/191.59) and was defeated by event-winner Mike Neff (4.128/309.27).

“We’re on our way,” he said. “If we follow our present pattern – no rounds in Pomona, two today, well, that means four in Las Vegas, which, of course, is our goal.”

The California native leads the Valvoline/Aaron’s team West for the April 1-3 12th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. He has 116 points, good enough for fifth place in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship competition.