When the green flag falls on Saturday evening's NHRA Circle Track Challenge at BMS, it appears that Beckman will be sitting on the pole for the race that will feature 16 of NHRA's finest. Most have never driven around the half-mile oval, even in a passenger car, but each of them is excited about getting their first shot at turning left on the legendary oval.
The lineup for the 25-lap event will be determined by fan voting. For the past two weeks, fans have been casting votes for their favorite drivers at www.bristoldragway.com to set the lineup. Voting closes Thursday, May 15 and Beckman has garnered the most votes, which puts him in the prime position to start the race.
The 41-year-old Beckman, a cancer survivor and former Air Force sergeant, is stunned that he has already picked up 33 percent of the fan votes.
"What had happened was I sent my blog in and then I had flown to St. Louis and Jenna (his wife) said 'Don't forget there's this voting for Bristol.' And I asked her to email Phil Burgess (National Dragster and nhra.com editor) to ask him if we could add a P.S. to the blog about voting for us. Well, it just went nuts. My dad sent it to two friends, and so on and so on and so on.
"Starting on the pole may be the last time I lead that event. So, I guess it's pretty cool. I just think it's great because I just posted it on the blog. I never called anybody. I'm not big on that vote for me, vote for me, but it just kind of took off like wildfire. It will be fun. It will give me a great opportunity to get spun out early in the race, I think."
Other drivers who are taking part in the NHRA Circle Track Challenge are Doug Herbert, Allen Johnson, Justin Humphries, Jeg Coughlin, Gary Scelzi, Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Doug Kalitta, Tony Schumacher, Greg Anderson, J.R. Todd, Cory McClenathan, Jason Line, Kurt Johnson and Morgan Lucas.
While Beckman is looking forward to the Circle Track Challenge, his chief goal this weekend is to get back on track with his Funny Car ride. He last won a round at Gainesville in mid-March, and while he's still eighth in the point standings, he realizes his luck needs to change quickly or he won't be among the top 10 for long.
"We've got a DNQ and three first-round losses," he said. "That's not going to keep you in the top 10. And the reality is we were in second place (earlier) this year. We don't want to be 10th place going into Indy (U.S. Nationals for the start of the Countdown). We want to be way up top so we still are legitimately in the hunt for the championship.
"We really need to get back on track. I think that we need to work on solid runs on Friday, because when we would get behind on Friday, it would force us to use Saturday's runs to try to qualify as opposed to trying to get tuned up for Sunday, so we were always getting one run behind, and I think that is what bit us as much as anything."
Beckman, who earned a Funny Car win earlier this year at Phoenix, would love to add another victory this weekend in Thunder Valley.
"Bristol is an awesome facility," he said. "They really treat us good there. Bristol is the first race that I have been to that shares a facility with their NASCAR track and the scenery is awesome. It's terrific how the track goes into all these big lush trees in the shutdown area. And I like the management there. They really know how to put on a race."
The NHRA Circle Track Challenge, which is part of a five-event Saturday Spectacular evening at BMS, is slated to begin at approximately 7:30.
General admission tickets are $15 with children 12 and under admitted free with a ticketed adult. Anyone attending the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on Saturday can show their ticket stub at the BMS gate and receive $5 off the ticket price.
Grandstand tickets also are available for the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Grandstand ticket pricing is as follows: Friday -- Sections A - D $30 Adult / $10 Junior; Sections E - U $35 Adult / $15 Junior; Thunder Terrace $35 Adult / $15 Junior, Saturday -- Sections A - D $45 Adult / $15 Junior; Sections E - U $55 Adult / $25 Junior; Thunder Terrace $55 Adult / $25 Junior, Sunday -- Sections A - D $45 Adult / $15 Junior, Sections E - U $55 Adult / $25 Junior, Thunder Terrace $55 Adult / $25 Junior. Weekend combos are: Sections A - D $95 Adult / $30 Junior, Sections E - U $120 Adult / $50 Junior, and Thunder Terrace $120 Adult / $50 Junior.
Pricing for the Thunder Valley Club is $300 for the weekend for adults and $100 per child. Seating in Bruton's Suite is $450 per seat for the weekend.
Gates open at 8 a.m. Friday, May 16 at the Dragway with the first professional session slated to begin at 4 p.m. The second round begins later that evening at 6:30. Gates open Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 a.m. with the first round of pro qualifying set for 12:30 p.m., followed by the next round at 3 p.m.
Gates open Sunday, May 18 at 9 a.m. with final eliminations starting at noon.
To purchase Thunder Valley Club seating, call the Bristol Motor Speedway ticket office at (423) 989-6900. To purchase Bruton's Suite seats, please call Kathy Artrip 989-6973. To purchase reserved grandstand seats, please call the ticket office at 989-6900 or visit www.bristoltix.com