Some New Champs in Vegas, Baby
Written by Sheila Scarborough · October 29, 2006
Jason Line wins the Pro Stock championship at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals. Tony Schumacher, Jack Beckman, Richie Stevens, Jr. and Andrew Hines take the Wallys.
Schumacher did what he needed to do to out in the desert. “Fast Jack” Beckman blasted through eliminations to win his first Funny Car trophy. Richie Stevens, Jr. survived earlier mechanical headaches to take out the new champion in the finals. Hines takes the holeshot, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons was the race Grand Marshal. Only in Vegas!
NHRA.com Sunday recap.
Tony Schumacher has had some rough finals against rookie JR Todd, but today wasn’t one of them. After he beat points leader Doug Kalitta in the semifinals, Schumacher took out Todd with a 4.469 at 313.58 mph to win his much-needed Wally in Las Vegas. Heading into the last race in Pomona, he now trails Kalitta by 45 points in the championship race.
“We picked up 44 points today. If we do that again in Pomona I lose the championship by one point,” Schumacher said. “That’s why the [national] record was so important for us to get. I don’t mean to be disappointed but we wanted it so much. It just dropped a hole at 800 feet and blew out the burst panels a little later and that was enough to kill our chance.
“It’s still a big win. That was probably the biggest win light of my career. We did everything we needed to do except set the record and I don’t know that any of us expected to even have a chance to set one here. We were 330-something points back and if we do manage to pull this off we will have definitely done it the hard way.”
Funny Car got way out of the groove with a win by Jack Beckman in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger previously driven by Whit Bazemore. The Wally was unexpected because this was only Beckman’s fourth start in a Funny Car, but the 2003 Super Comp champ is no stranger to the strip. He’s the top instructor at the California branch of Frank Hawley’s Racing School, and his tuner, Todd Okuhara, has ensured a consistent car throughout the rounds.
“One of the things about drag racing is that it will eat you alive if you let the lows get to you, so I want to temper myself on this high,” Beckman said. “I always said I want to be a dignified racer and accept defeat and victory equally but I kind of blew the roof off that deal just now. It was just such a feeling.
“[Team owner] Don Schumacher made the move a few races back in an attempt to prepare for next year. I know it couldn’t have been easy for Whit [Bazemore] but he was a class guy all the way along. I hope he tears it up over there in Top Fuel next year.
“We had a pretty good bracket car today but I’m still not comfortable in there yet. I need to see 20 or 30 more finish lines before I get close to feeling good in there. The thing is, even veterans get surprised because these things never run the same. I’ve got nine professionals behind me [his crew] and that’s why I won today.”
Beckman, a former Air Force Sergeant and cancer survivor, also spent time visiting injured service personnel at the Nellis Air Force Base hospital while in Las Vegas.
The pride of Louisiana, Richie Stevens, Jr., took an insane .002-second light for a Pro Stock holeshot win over new champion Jason Line.
“We had a great day,” Stevens said. “I knew I had to be on the Tree with the guys I was racing and I guess I pulled it off. Three double-oh lights is pretty good and like I always say, when it’s your day to win one of these things it’s your day no matter what.
“It’s special to get two wins in a year. We moved back into the POWERade top 10 and I’m pretty sure we’re guaranteed a spot on the stage during the awards ceremony now. I just moved into my house in New Orleans after we rebuilt it from Hurricane Katrina and now I’ve got two nice new trophies to put on the mantle so that’s great.”
Jason Line won his first championship as a pro after only three years in Pro Stock. He was the 1993 Stock Eliminator champ.
“I can’t believe it,” an emotional Line said. “This doesn’t seem real. It’s been coming but now that it’s finally happened I don’t even know what to say.
“It’s bittersweet to clinch it against Greg [Anderson.] He’s the man. He’s my champion. I love the guy and to me he’ll always be the man. If not for him giving me the chance to drive in the first place, I wouldn’t be standing here.
Pro Stock Motorcycle has a new points leader as Andrew Hines took the top spot from Antron Brown. Hines defeated teammate GT Tonglet in an all-Harley final.
“I wasn’t really happy being behind in the points coming in here, especially coming off a first-round loss to GT in Reading,” Hines said. “It’s been a fun ride over the last four years and to already have two championships under my belt is phenomenal. It’s a real testament to this team and the people behind me.
“Every point seems so crucial this year. It was tough the first time we won the championship because they added weight to us in the middle of the season. This year they gave the Suzukis more cubic inches and they’ve been right there with us. It’s hard to compare the different seasons but this one has been the toughest. If we hold on now and win it all it will be very special.”
So now it’s down to Pomona, the last race of the season November 9-12. Hopes are alive as the teams head down to the wire.
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