FUNNY CAR

Jack Beckman’s holeshot 3.978/318.17 got the best of John Force’s 3.961/324.83 in the second round. (Ron Lewis photo)

Team Mopar was a powerful force this weekend at St. Louis. In the end, an all-Mopar Funny Car final round concluded with Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T getting the nod over Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. and his Make-A-Wish branded Charger. The victory launched Beckman all the way up to the No. 3 position in the Funny Car standings with just three races remaining in the 2016 Countdown to the Championship, and Johnson's runner-up moved him up to No. 2.

(Ron Lewis photo)

The final at Gateway Motorsports Park was the seventh all-Mopar Funny Car money round of the 2016 season, and Team Mopar now holds the top three positions in the Funny Car points. DSR Dodge Charger driver Ron Capps entered the Countdown with the points lead and remains there following a second-consecutive trip to the semifinals, with Johnson just 48 points back from the top spot and Beckman narrowing the gap to 70 marks back from No. 1.

This victory is the Beckman team's second win of the season, however, the win on Sunday was not an easy feat.

"When you look back at all your wins, you never look back and say, 'Well that one wasn't fun.' Every one of them is special for one reason or another," Beckman said.

"This one will go down as, 'our team is in a slump and we did what was incredibly difficult with the way our car was acting unpredictably.' "

The Infinite Hero team, led by Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham, have not won an event since their victory in Chicago in July.

In qualifying, the Infinite Hero Foundation team struggled to make passes down the racetrack. Their only clean lap came on Friday night with a 3.907-second pass at 325.22 mph to seed them No. 2.

They faced Dale Creasy Jr. in the opening round of competition on Sunday. Beckman dropped a cylinder but still turned on the win light with a 4.042 at 309.27.

The big match up came in the second round when Beckman rolled up next to John Force. Beckman won the round with a holeshot victory with a 3.978 to Force's quicker 3.961.

"Beating John Force is always huge," Beckman said. "To the average fan, they don't necessarily understand reaction times and ET and how you can manipulate those numbers and a lot of guys do it on race day.

"They just roll the car in deep. And for me, I just want to race smart and try to reserve lane choice for the team. You really have to be up on your toes and leave on time. So to leave on a holeshot that way is extra gratifying. And let's face it, to beat the Babe Ruth of our sport, that's never a bad thing."

Beckman then faced his Don Schumacher Racing teammate and current NHRA Mello Yello points leader, Ron Capps in the semifinals. Beckman ran a 3.954 to send him into the final round where he met another DSR teammate: Tommy Johnson Jr.

Terry Chandler stood in the middle of the lane as she helps sponsor both DSR cars in the final. As the two Funny Cars rolled up, Chandler stood in the center to see both of her teams race for the event title. The final was even more special because next week is her birthday. (Jeff Burk photo)

In the final round, Beckman made a stellar pass at 3.928 and 324.51 mph as Johnson went into tire smoke.