The Man "Fast" Jack Beckman

“Fast” Jack Beckman is one of the best NHRA Top Fuel/Funny Car drivers to ever take to the track, in Beckman’s career he has 14 Final Round wins all in funny car. Beckman is not juts a driver, he is also an instructor at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and has taught over 7,000 different students, some of which he races against today. In 2003 Beckman was crowned Lucas Oil Series Super Comp and Division 7 Super Comp champion. But in May 2004 Jack Beckman discovered he had a new race to win, and that race was defeating cancer. Beckman was diagnosed with level 3B Lymphoma, which has a survival rate between 46-60 percent. The always bright and colorful Beckman accepted this challenge and fought for his new championship. On October 25, 2004 Jack had his final chemotherapy treatment, and was informed shortly after that his cancer was in remission. Beckman knew exactly what he had to do now, and that was get back to what he loved and he did it in style. Come April 2005 “Fast” Jack Beckman qualified for his first ever NHRA event in his Top Fuel debut, driving for Dexter Tuttle, and won his first profession round in round one. At the end of the 2007 season Beckman joined the Funny Car ranks with powerhouse team Don Schumacher Racing. In 2008 he finished 3^rd in points, 2009 fifth, 2010 fourth and last year he fell short to his teammate Matt Hagen and finished 2^nd in the standings. The number one position is only position left in the top five for Beckman, and he currently sits as the point’s leader going into the 2012 season finally in two weeks in Pomona, Ca. Beckman and crew are hoping to make dreams come true, he has fought harder then any other driver and has always had a smile on his face as he does. There is no one quite like “Fast” Jack Beckman in the pits; he is a face of dedication and determination, and a role model to always stay positive no matter what.  

The Battle Thickens

NASCAR has drawn a lot of attention this season with there tight points battles, but the NHRA has one that is even better as they close in on the final race of the season in just two short weeks in Pomona, CA. For Don Schumacher Racing it cant come soon enough as they will take home yet another NHRA Funny Car Championship; the only remaining question is which of his driver will it be. Fast Jack Beckman is currently sitting in the points lead only four points ahead of DSR teammate Ron Capps. Ironically the two teammates swapped crews shortly after the season began, Capps didn’t take long to adjust as he made six consecutive final rounds. Beckman and his new crew on the other hand did take a little warming up, but the made sure everyone still knew they were there after a record setting weekend by the team in St. Louis. The interesting thing about Beckman and Capps is, in there successful careers neither of them has a NHRA Championship.

This is all about to change for one of them in two very short weeks, and when the time comes every millisecond is going to count.

Lets Make A Deal

Nascar fans are always excited this time of year and not only for the chase, but for the new driver deals being made. Kenseth, Logano, Truex Jr, and Newman, were the four main names everyone was waiting to hear from and they did this past week. Just before last weekends race at Atlanta Martin Truex Jr. was happy to announce he is returning to Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the number 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. A few days later the spotlight was shining on Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth as they made rumors become truth, as Logano stated he will be moving over to Penske, and Kenseth will take over the 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth wasn't the only driver sitting at the JGR table waiting to make announcements. Brian Vickers and Ryan Truex also made deals with JGR to run in the Nationwide Series. The biggest announcement came from Elliot Sadler, as he stated he will depart from Richard Childress Racing at the end of the year to join the JGR Nationwide team while running part time in the Sprint Cup Series for JGR as well. Ryan Newman finally made his decision known to the public after much speculation. Newman announced that he has resigned with Stewart-Haas racing to drive the 39 Chevrolet once again, no sponsor has been announced as of yet.
I would have to say the bigger winner this past week has to be Joe Gibbs Racing, as they have created a force of great talent in the Nationwide Series There line up will be Elliot Sadler, Brian Vickers, and Ryan Truex. I see a JGR top three Championship next season.

Partridge Looks To Double Up

The last time Ryan Partridge Racing and PPL. Motorsports made the trip to the Bullring in Las Vegas, there ace won the race. The southern California based team is back for the second time this summer to compete in the Hoosier Tire Late Models this Saturday and Sunday at the Bullring in Vegas. July 3rd was the first time the fresh pearly white Late Model had touched the surface of a race track in a long time; so the team played there hidden aces, Sunny Wahl and Ryan partridge. With Wahl wrenching on the car and Partridge driving they were the dead mans hand as they qualified fourth and from the drop of the green flag Partridge quickly lived up to his nick name and flew to the front to win the race. Well the team is back for rounds two and three this Saturday and Sunday at the Bullring, and with a victory there first time out I believe we all know who to place our bets on this weekend. Stay tuned for more to come out of Vegas.

Dodge Say Farewell Yet Again

                Just eleven years after Dodge made its return to Nascar in 2001, the manufacture says farewell yet again. Ralph Gilles President and CEO of Chrysler’s SRT Motorsports Brand, made the announcement earlier today during a Media Teleconference call, that the manufacture will not return after the conclusion of this season. Dodge has 215 overall Sprint Cup wins in Nascar, 55 of those wins came after their return in 2001. Penske Racing was the only current Sprint Cup team running the manufacture, but they announced earlier this year that they were returning to Ford for the 2013 season. With Penske moving to Ford in 2013 Dodge was essentially stranded without a large team to run with. Gilles stated that "A number of opportunities emerged, and our team worked diligently to put a structure together to fit our overall business and competitive objectives”, “…in the end, we simply couldn't develop the right structure". Despite falling short of their ultimate goal of a Sprint Cup championship, Dodge feels they have been successful since there return in 2001. Along with their 55 Sprint Cup wins, the manufacture has won Championships in Nascar’s Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series since 2001. Dodge simply made a business decision just as they did in 1977; hopefully we will see them back in competition soon.

Hendricks Leaves Indy On Top

In a weekend of first at the famed Indianapolis Motorspeedway, it was Jimmie Johnson who kissed the bricks for the fourth time in his career. Denny Hamlin led the field to the drop of the green flag, but when it came time for green flag pit stops on lap 28, it was Johnson who won the race off pit road to gain the lead. On the first restart of the Keselowski had a mirror full of Johnson’s black and white Lowes Chevrolet, who made quick work of Keselowski retaking the lead in turn one. Keselowski watched Johnson pass him up yet again after he got loose off turn two on lap 101. Greg Biffle found himself leading on lap 129 by about seven tenths of a second, but Johnson had something to say about Biffle's lead when he just about blew the sheet metal off Biffles #16 Ford as he retook the lead. Lap 132 saw the caution flag fall once again as Joey Logano spun off turn one collecting points leader Matt Kenseth and cutting his day short. Johnson dropped the hammer on the restart at lap 140 as Biffle and Kyle Busch battled for second but they were no match for Johnson as he took the checkered by over four seconds. Kyle Busch had nothing to complain about with his second place finish; he even stated that his M&M’s Toyota was “phenomenal”, but Busch put it best when he was asked about Johnson stating,  "Jimmie Johnson wasn't even in his own zip code; he was in his own country".

But at the end of the day Johnson was not the only Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a number one next to it. Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole Johnson’s spotlight when he took advantage of Kenseth troubles and captured the points by fourteen points with seven races left until the chase. . Junior is proving to his fans that he and his number 88 crew are working hard by capturing his ninth top-five of the year, and twenty first consecutive race finishing on the lead lap. Junior is proud to be point’s leader, but Junior knows exactly what he has to do if he wants to capture the

Championship, “We need to win more races” Junior said. Junior is hot and is on track but can he stay there.

Kenseth says Farewell

This morning Tuesday June 26, 2012 Roush Fenway Racing announced that long time driver Matt Kenseth will be leaving the team at the end of this season. Matt Kenseth has spent his entire 13 years Sprint Cup career racing for Roush in the number 17 car. He is also second next to Jeff Gordon in amount of time spent at one team. It has been noted this season that the number 17 team has not had the sponsorship they needed and Roush has footed the bill himself for a few races. Roush also stated that he will do whatever he has to do to keep Matt's excellent season going.  Kenseth is a unique driver in the fact that he acts as his own agent, when Kenseth was asked about his future at Roush Fenway this past weekend at Sonoma he declined to comment by saying, "you know I don't talk about my contract". It was announced that 2011 Nationwide Series Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will become the young new face of Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse who was mentored by Kenseth as well as other Roush Fenway drivers, has shown a lot of progress over the past couple years. It seems that Old Jack Roush is sticking to his roots once you get old by his standards, your out. Matt Kenseth gave Jack Roush his first Sprint cup championship as well as two Daytona 500's, is also currently the points leader, and is he's being removed. To me that just does not add up but its typical Jack Roush fashion 

There are speculations of teams Kenseth may join which are Penske, as they move back to Ford, and Joe Gibbs Racing. However, as Penske President Bud Denker stated this weekend that they are content with A.J. Allmindinger who is in a contract year. Aside from Penske, the majority of signs are pointing at the possibility of joining JGR who would be replacing current driver Joey Logano who is already under contract. Unlike Allmindinger, Logano has not had much improvement over the past few years at JGR. Not much has been said if Logano will continue his contract at JGR.

Stay tuned for more information concerning Matt Kenseth.

The Junior Rose This Weekend

This past Sunday it finally happened Dale Junior rose to the top like the Dark Knight and won for the first time in 140 races. Ironically the win came at the site of his last win, Michigan International Speedway four years ago. Junior did not start off solid the car was just ok until the second pit stop when crew chief Steve Letart made the call to place a spring rubber in the left rear. Since Letart and Earnhardt have been paired together they have made nothing but strides forward. The duo has had a strong start to this season racking up the top  fives and tens. This could be the spark under Dale Junior that he needs to keep winning and he has officially put  his name in as a chase contender. Junior moved himself into second in points and is closing in on that number one position. It is safe to say that you should look out for Junior because he is rising to the top.  

Racings Greatest Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is the greatest weekend in racing, three different series running three of there biggest races of the season, Nascar have there longest race of the year the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, IRL with the Holy Grail the Indy 500, and Formula 1 at Monaco. The Coke 600 is the longest race of the year and an engine builders nightmare, the 600 mile race starts in the day when the sun is setting adding a challenge for drivers but that is the least of their worries when drivers know how long the race is. Richard Petty Motorsports surprised every one as Aric Almirola won pole and Marcos Ambrose starts along side his teammate in second. Being on the front row is helpful in pit stall selection but it is about keeping that car together and running strong all day long. I am going to give Dale Earnhardt Jr. my vote to win, I think this weekend is his weekend.
The biggest race of the year in IRL and in racing is the Indianapolis 500. Qualifying day was uneventful for this years 500 as there were only 33 drivers qualifying for the 33 car field. But its still a big deal to win pole and it was Ryan Briscoe who received the 100,000 dollar check for winning the pole for the famed Indy 500, James Hinchliffe qualified second, and Ryan Hunter-Reay is third. Althoug after qualifying 11 teams were penalized for different issues involving aerodynamics. Besides that the new speedway aerodynamics package is working very well as speeds are around the 220 mph mark, it will be interesting to see how it races on Sunday.  The Indy 500 is every Indy Car drivers dream and I think any racers dream, and it is tough to pick a possible winner so I going to make three picks, my first is Marco Andretti, second Ryan Briscoe, and third James Hinchcliffe.
Lastly Formula 1 is at the famous Monaco, the track it known for its turn and very tight street circuit, and much like this unusual Formula 1 season there was a surprise pole winner former champion who is back in his second year out of retirement Michale Schumacher captured pole. Schumacher is also my pick to win, my reason being is because the track is very tight with limited passing in it and he is an multi time winner at Monaco and I feel he can do it again, also his teammate Nico Rosberg won earlier this year now its Michaels turn. Monaco is guaranteed to be a great race, this Formula 1 season has been very unusual but I say this in a great way, the 2012 Formula 1 season has put on a great show with five different winners in five races and teams are being revived, like Williams who won there first race in roughly 5 years, and that win was by new comer Pastor Maldonado. Formula 1 is final a series we all should be watching early in the morning.

The All-Star

Last weekend was the biggest race of the year: the Sprint All-Star race where one million dollars was the only thing on the line. The night started with the Sprint Shootout where only the top two finishers move through to the All-Star. A.J. Allmendinger was the pole sitter but before the green flag dropped he had a flat left front, thus moving Dale Jr. to the pole. Junior was gone with the drop of the green flag and Jamie McMurray fell into second. At the mandatory caution everyone pitted allowing Allmendinger to catch the field. At the green Junior took off yet again as Allmendinger started his march through the field picking off car after car. As the field took two to go, Allmendinger was hot on the heals of McMurray and made the pass for second, securing a transfer spot exiting turn two. Junior took the win, Allmendinger second, and Bobby Labonte won the fan vote.
The All-Star race was guaranteed to be interesting with the introduction of the new format: each winner of the first four segments would be the first four on pit road for the mandatory pit stop. Kyle Busch had the pole for the All-Star but at the drop of the green it was Jimmie Johnson who rocketed to the front and won the first segment, Johnson immediately started playing strategy after the first round off pit stops and dropped  way back from the field at the green knowing he would be the first onto pit road for the final pit stop, Matt Kenseth took the second segment and fell back to join Jimmie Johnson. The third segment was a fantastic one with a fast Kasey Kahne in second and closing on leader Brad Keselowski, Kahne made a dive bomb off turn four coming to the checkered but was beat by about one inch and Keselowski won the third segment and also followed Johnson's strategy. At the drop of the green flag for segment four it was Junior who had played pit strategy to get the lead but a caution late in the segment allowed for Allmendinger to close again, at the restart Junior was able to slightly pull away and keep the lead to win the four segment, allowing him to be the fourth driver to pit road. As the cars came for the mandatory final pit stop the four segment winners were the first to pit road it was Johnson, Kenseth, Keselowski, and Earnhardt Jr., and what and eventful pit stop they were with no one taking tires or gas they all had to come to a complete stop in there pit boxes before leaving, and they all left how they had entered. At the restart Kenseth bobbled a little and Johnson stretched out in front and never looked back leading the final ten laps and winning the Sprint All-Star race. To celebrate Johnson did one of the most awesome things I have seen in a long time. He picked up team owner Rick Hendrick and placed him on the door of his car and drove him around the front stretch on a parade lap.

Come join Me and Lug Nutzz radio at Ultraluxe Cinemas in Garden Walk in Anaheim for an Official Viewing Party of the Nascar All-Star race, fun, games, and prizes. A playstation 3 contest on a 65 foot screen, Ill see you there  

Big news being made this week involving Michael Andretti's Andretti Autosports, the news is Andretti Autosports will be expanding into the Nascar sprint cup series and possibly be Dodges main team. Could Michael Andretti become the next Penske. Proposed drivers to run for Andretti Autosports are Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, both are former Penske driver and both have established relationships with Dodge. Could this be true, I definitely hope so. If Andretti were to expand to Nascar I  see a field of Indy fans converting to Nascar. Stay tuned for more updates.

Nascar in the Lonestar state and back at Rockingham

The Nascar Nationwide and Sprint Cup series entered Texas after a week off of racing.

Many felt that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who won the 2011 Nationwide Championship primarily due to the integration of the new points system (where a driver can only run for points in one series). Well ladies and gentleman Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is out to prove them wrong as he took home his second win of the season in only six races, with top 5's and 10's finishes. With fellow championship contender Elliot Sadler having his worst finish of the year in 12th Stenhouse Jr. leaves Texas only 4 points behind the leader Sadler.

Austin Dillon who sits third, also closed up the gap with an impressive 5th place finish. But what caught a lot of peoples attention was the fact that Trevor Bayne's the driver of the number 60 car who sits 7th in point was MIA in the Nationwide garage. Bayne's nightmare came true as the number 60 car did not have the funding to be able to compete. But Bayne was found in the Sprint Cup garage piloting the number 21 Wood Brothers Ford and also won Fridays practice. On Saturday Jimmie Johnson was the one taking it to the field but the 48 slipped up and the Biff was there to pounce, giving the points leader Greg Biffle the win on Saturday night over Jimmie Johnson, giving him his first win of the year. MWR was making even more noise yet again with Martin Truex Jr. capturing the pole position and finishing 6th, and Mark the kid Martin brought home another third place finish. But the question is when will Hendrick Motorsports get that elusive 200th win, my bet is soon as all four drivers came home in the top ten. But that wasn't all the racing, the Camping World Truck series got the Sunday call this time and Kasey Kahne fresh off his first top ten of the season at Texas took home his third Truck series win despite having to start in last. This was Kahne's third win in only four starts.

The streets of Long Beach

The Indy Racing League was back in action this past weekend for the 38th running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and did they put on a show. To start off the weekend it was announced that after a test session in Sonoma, Ca that Chevrolet found a concerning issue in the motor of the number 27 GoDaddy.com of James Hinchcliffe, and as a result Chevy told all 11 teams (who use Chevy engines) to change them. Since the teams had changed the motors before the engines had reach there mileage point all 11 teams received a 10 spot grid penalty after qualifying. This was just the start of the weekend, as Friday approached so did the heavy rains that essentially washed out Fridays practice due to flooding in the turns. Since Friday was a wash out the Indy teams were down to one practice session on Saturday before qualifying later in the day. The final practice session was a mess with 5 red flags due to accidents, 3 of which came in the first 7 minuets of the one hour practice. Franchitti received the pole, since the Chevy's were dropped 10 positions, but soon after the green flew on Sunday’s race Franchitti dropped. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the first driver to take charge leading a number of laps, rookie Simon Pagenaud was the second to take charge. The race soon turned into a strategically races Will Power opted to only make

2 pit stops and gain a huge 12 second lead over rookie Pagenaud. Power was told he needed to save fuel and Pagenaud took his opportunity to pounce and closed the lead to 8 tenths of a second, but Will Power was able to hold off the hard charging rookie and take his second win of the year in only three races. Powers win on Sunday brought Penske Racing there third win of the year, rookie Simon Pagenaud took his first Podium of his career and James Hinchcliffe came home in third for his first podium finish and his third top 5 of the season. The IRL is off to an impressive start with the new car and different manufactures, it is proving to be a great season.

My eye on Indy

There are 3 Indy drivers I am keeping my eye one as ones to watch this season, Marco Andretti, Rubens Barrichello, and funny guy Jame Hinchcliffe, James is off to a great start this year with top 5's off the bat. For those of you that do not know who James Hinchcliffe is, he drives the number 27 GoDaddy.com car for Andretti Autosport. After the departure of Danica the ride was originally going to feature the late Dan Wheldon, the GoDaddy.com machine was the given to Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe showed up in style sporting a wig all weekend looking like Danica, he isn't just funny he's pretty good as well.

Action packed weekend race fans

Well Nascar fans what did you think of Sundays cup race, could you have asked for a better race, it was packed full of bumping, slide jobs, and door to door banging. Even Jeff Gordon rubbed his way past his own driver Jimmie Johnson. But I am serious could you have asked for a better cup race and yes I am talking about the David Reutimann debacle at the end of the race which caused a huge mess in turn 1 on the restart. Please let me know send me your comments. But Nascar was not the only racing on, the IRL had there second race of the season at Barber Motorsports Park where Will Power drove the number 12 Verizon Wireless Penske Chevrolet to victory lane. With 2 wins in the first 2 races, seems like Penske is off to a start much like John Force racing. I want to hear about the IRL too, what are you first reactions to the new cars, and new engines. Send me an e-mail let me know what you think or what you want to talk about.

Saturday march 31

Hey, hey! It's Saturday, Southern California and you know what that means. Yes, Lugg Nutzz radio on AM830, so make sure to tune in from 4:30 to 5:30. As always, it will be an exciting show. We're coming off last weekends race at Auto Club speedway where Tony Stewart took home the victory. That wasn't the only big racing news; friend of the Lugg Nutzz radio show Helio Castroneves took the win in the Indy Racing Leagues season opener in St. Petersburg and celebrated appropriately by climbing the fence on Dan Wheldon Way, paying tribute to his late friend Dan Wheldon who tragically passed away in the IRL's season finale in Las Vegas.

Photo provided by (AP Photo/LAT, Richard Coburn)

Auto Club Speedway

What a great weekend it was at Auto Club Speedway. I had the chance to interview so great peopl like Austin Dillon, Rickey Stenthouse Jr., Kenny Wallace, and Rutledge Wood. I also got to hang out with Miss Fontana Krystal Eshelman. I could not have asked for a better weekend with Lug Nutzz radio and everyone, possibly going to Las Vegas this weekend for NHRA so stay tuned

Stephenappell.com

Stephenappell.com is almost fully operational and will be exciting to have.
Thats not the only excitement going on though you can almost smell the rubber burning that can only mean one thing. Yep Nascar is back in town and they are ready to go.
Lastly hot off his win in Bristol Bad Brad Kesolowski will be at speedzone in the city of industriy on Friday March 23 go to speedzone.com for more info.