NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Jack Beckman endured a major explosion in the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger during Saturday’s first qualifying session. Just as Beckman was getting off the gas between the two eighth-mile cones, an enormous engine explosion took place that blew most of the composite shell off of the race car, along with pieces of the supercharger and manifold.

Crew chief Jimmy Prock confirmed that a broken camshaft was the cause of the explosion. Beckman initially expressed fault for the explosion for getting the car out of the groove and spinning the tires, but Beckman had already started closing the throttle when the explosion took place. The broken camshaft caused the air/fuel mixture to ignite in the manifold.

The team is going to continue at the event with their spare chassis. After efforts were made to get the car ready for the final round of qualifying, the decision was made to forego the final session in order to take the time to prepare the car properly for final eliminations. The chassis that was damaged during the incident was stripped down at the racetrack and transported back to Don Schumacher Racing in Brownsburg, Ind., to be front-halved.