Jack Beckman had what he hopes is his last wild ride of the season this afternoon in his first qualifying session with the MTS flopper from Don Schumacher Racing's stables. Beckman's car dropped a cylinder about a third of the way down the track and caught fire.

"I just waited until it stopped and calmly pulled everything undone," he said. Wife Jenna, who will give birth to their first child (gender unknown - "but we're just hoping for a healthy kid") after the Gainesville race, was told that it was just a bit of oil. The next round at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz. will be her last race because doctors have advised her not to fly.

"We'll just take the motor home out there," she said. (Brian Losness photo)