Corona, CA (August 10, 2015): “Fast Jack” Beckman is a former Air Force veteran, cancer survivor, father, drag racing school instructor (licensed in 11 different NHRA categories including Funny Car and Top Fuel), the 2003 Super Comp World Champion, the 2012 World Funny Car Champion, spokesman and major fundraiser for the Infinite Hero Foundation. Articulate, resilient and humble, Beckman is Dave’s guest on the Dave Despain Show this Sunday night, August 16 at 8:30pm ET. Beckman chats with Dave about his struggles with cancer and the thrill he gets from both winning and teaching.
“A Top Fuel Dragster is like driving a Ferrari at 200mph on the Autobahn – you whisper on the steering wheel and it moves but they can be twitchy. A Funny Car is like driving a Winnebago with a flat front tire in a crosswind.” Jack Beckman.
Beckman became a fan of drag racing at a very early age. “In 1973 my uncle John began to take my brother (Ted) and me to Orange County International Raceway, Irwindale and Bakersfield,” recalls Beckman. “I made my first run (a 15.06 second elapsed time) at Lubbock Dragway in Texas while I was serving in the military in 1986.”
In 1988 Beckman won his first race driving a 1968 El Camino (which was also the same car he drove for his driver’s license test when he was 16) and moved up to the Super Comp division in 1991. His dragster, known as “The Blackbird” was built by California Chassis Engineering and was the same dragster Beckman drove to a Lucas Oil World Championship in the Super Comp class in 2003.
In May 2004, Beckman was diagnosed with cancer (high grade level 3B Lymphoma), which has a survival rate of 46-60 percent. Beckman had his eighth and final chemotherapy treatment on October 25, 2004. Soon after doctors informed him that they had been successful, his cancer was in remission and he could race again.
Note: In early August, 2015, Beckman became the new Funny Car world record holder. He ran his Dodge Charger down the 1,000-foot straightaway in 3.921 seconds at the Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, CA.
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For more information visit: mavtv.com & lucasoil.com