BECKMAN AT LIBERTY
Jack
Beckman will be driving his last race for Dexter Tuttle's
Menards Top Fuel dragster at the NHRA Finals this weekend.
The nominee for the 2005 Automobile Club of Southern California
Road to the Future award said, "I am very grateful
to Dexter Tuttle, crew chief Jimmy Walsh and the rest
of the team for helping me to fulfill my dream of racing
in Top Fuel and giving me a competitive car to drive."
Beckman will retain Mail Terminal Services as a sponsor
as he looks for a ride with a full-time team. Tuttle's
team will have competed in only 12 of the 23 NHRA races
at the conclusion of the Pomona race. Beckman has qualified
for all 11 so far.
"Go Fast Jack" did such a good job of writing
a diary of his U.S. Nationals experience for DRO that
perhaps we should offer him a position in journalism.
Oh, but then what would the Agent do every weekend next
summer? [11-01-2005]
IHRA INCREASES TF PURSE
As the Agent said earlier, the IHRA will be increasing
their purses and now we know by how much. In 2006 Top
Fuel teams will compete for an additional $20,500 per
event. In addition, each participating team will be granted
free car and driver entry plus eight free crew tickets
courtesy of Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels.
"Good quality Top Fuel racing is a must to achieve
our growth goals over the next few years," IHRA president
Aaron Polburn said. "It was time that we restructured
the Top Fuel program and made an investment in the class
to insure those goals."
The '06 Top Fuel purse structure is $23,000 (winner);
$16,000 (runner-up); $13,000 (semi-finalist); $10,000
(first round); $3,000 each (9th and 10th). The new purse
structure will be paid only to cars running the final
Saturday night qualifying session. Any qualified car failing
to make the Saturday night session will be paid the 2005
purse amounts. [11-01-2005]
BY THE NUMBERS: 5
Pettit Runs Goodguys First Five
Nostalgia Funny Car driver Larry Pettit of Hawthorne,
CA became the first Goodguys/VRA Funny Car racer to blast
through the five-second barrier when he piloted his and
partner George Doty's "Crazy Horse" 1971 Mustang
to a record setting 5.927 at 245.16 mph during opening
day qualifying at the Goodguys 7th Fuel & Gas Finals
at Famoso Raceway.
The
run established the first half of both ends of a new class
record.
"I left the line, wheels up and I knew it was on
a good one," Pettit said at the far end of the race
track. "My eyes were as wide as saucers. It's never
felt like that before." His car was inspected following
the run per Goodguys procedures and found to be completely
legal. Pettit backed it up the next day with an even quicker
run, establishing a new class elapsed time record of 5.927.
The incrementals are: 1.017 (60 ft); 2.634 (330 ft); 3.916/193.25
(660 ft); 5.927/245.16 (quarter mile). (Mark
Rebilas photo) [10-31-2005]
