Through late July through the first week of September, Jack Beckman had the baddest nitro Funny Car in NHRA.

Beckman returned to his throne at the NHRA Keystone Nationals (Oct. 1-4).

Beckman clocked a 3.910-second run at 326.79 mph to defeat Chad Head on a holeshot in the finals. Head had a faster 3.903-second run at 326.16 mph.

The difference was at the starting line as Beckman had an .077 reaction time, while Head came in at .115.

Beckman, who drives the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge for Don Schumacher Racing, has a class-best seven wins at Charlotte, Topeka, Norwalk, Denver, Sonoma, Indianapolis and now Reading. He also won the $100,000 Traxxas Shootout Sept. 6 at Indy. This was the 22nd win of his career.

Not only did Beckman win at Reading, he also set the national record with a 3.897-second run at 326.87 mph when he beat his DSR teammate Ron Capps in the semifinals.

“I said last week we were probably going to have to win the race and set the national record thinking that Del and his team we were going to go at least to the semifinals and we were just running out of rounds,” said Beckman, the 2012 nitro Funny Car world champ. “I did not know it was going to go this well. I don’t wish ill on anybody, but we had to have him stumble if we were going to have a shot to get back in the points hunt. It couldn’t have ended up any better. We made up the equivalent of more than five rounds. Qualifying points, national record and four more round wins than him we went from six rounds out to less than half a round out. It puts us right back in the position where were when they reset the points for the Countdown. Yeah, we are not leading, but we have a car that is clearly able to win races. I think that lead is within sight again.”

All of Beckman’s success at Reading helped him make up big ground on points leader Worsham. He now only trails Worsham by 16 points with three races left in the season – Dallas (Oct. 15-18), Las Vegas (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) and Pomona (Nov. 12-15). Worsham lost in the first round to Tommy Johnson Jr. at Reading.

Winning is something that was on the forefront of Beckman’s mind, but not the national record.

“I thought we were hosed (to set the national record) when we got cut to one shot qualifying (because of rain),” Beckman said. “On race day, maybe the conditions are conducive to a national record, but you really want to put the round win in front of potential points for the national record. Sometimes trying to run that quick makes you stumble and you give up the round win so you forfeited 20 points and didn’t get the record anyway. Everybody on that Infinite Hero car is working together. Everybody there is to support the other 10 members of the team, we don’t point fingers, we all win the race and we all lose the race, and I think when everybody is that much in concert it makes the results better.”

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