Austin Prock: 'I felt pretty confident going that we were going to have the car to beat'
Paul Lee: 'It’s going to be great just to see our friends and the fans'
Jack Beckman: 'I don’t know if anyone wants to get back more than me'
Tim Wilkerson: 'I don’t think they’re ready for my attitude. It’s gonna be fun'
Kenny Delco: 'We were fast, we qualified fourth at Pomona and Phoenix'
Steve Torrence: 'You’ve got to come out and swing for every one of ’em'
Cristian Cuadra: 'I think I’m doing well, but I have a lot of room to improve'
Tommy Johnson Jr.: 'I’ve not wanted to win a championship more than this year'
Brittany Force: 'We’re ready for all this to be over so we get back to what we love'
Robert Hight: 'I can’t wait to get back and try to defend our championship'
Alex Laughlin: 'All we have to do is shove the car back in the trailer, and we are ready to go racing'
Shawn Langdon: 'I’m trying to stay as fresh as I can so we can be ready to go'
Chris McGaha: 'We’ve come up with some new ideas and we’ve beaten on some things'
J.R. Todd: 'I have all the confidence that we will be in contention when it counts'
Clay Millican: 'I can’t wait to stomp on that loud pedal ... it’s been way too long'
Bob Tasca III: 'Trust me, this Motorcraft car is going to have its day in the sun'
Antron Brown: 'I’ve been doing everything I can; I’m gonna come back hungry and ready'
Jason Line: 'It doesn’t matter what track we start with, the cars will all be ready to go when we get the call'
Fernando Cuadra Jr: 'We’re applying many of the things we learned from the first two races'
John Force: 'I’ll be ready. I know the car. I could drive it with my eyes closed'
Rahn Tobler maps out plans and goals for the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car team
Leah Pruett: 'This is not the time to test or play; it’s time to run with what we know'
Ron Capps: 'It’s going to feel crazy the first time any of us steps on the gas for the first time'
Doug Kalitta: 'We’re all just really hungry and ready to make it happen'
Bo Butner: 'I feel like when we all come back racing we’ll be stronger than ever!'
Jeg Coughlin Jr: 'It’s time to go. Every round will be as important as the last'
Matt Hartford: 'We have a car that can run for the championship—bar none'
Alexis DeJoria: 'I just hope that everybody makes it back to the track safely'
Justin Ashley: 'Having a break like this really puts things in perspective'
Erica Enders: 'Our great start proves the organization’s hard work is paying off'
Jack Beckman: 'I don’t know if anyone wants to get back more than me'
JACK BECKMAN | Infinite Hero Dodge Charger
Current points position: 1st | Best season e.t. to date: 3.837
Early-season report card: Things couldn’t have gone much better for Beckman and crew chiefs Dean Antonelli and John Medlen. After having one of the best cars in the 2019 Countdown, they qualified No. 2 and won the 2020 season opener in Pomona with a flurry of 3.80-second passes and were runner-up in Phoenix to teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. after another collection of solid 3.80s.
Looking back: “Even though we only had two races this year, our season so far has been a tale of two cities. Although the outcomes have been good -– a win and a runner-up -– our level of domination was completely different. We stumbled in Phoenix because we were running some future clutch discs and got behind the 8 ball but we still managed to take the car to the final round there."
Looking ahead: “I’d love to get some test runs in before we return to racing. I don’t see many top 10 teams not wanting to go out making a couple of laps at some point especially if you can get somebody in the other lane.”
Shop talk: Before Indiana’s stay at home orders, the Brownsburg-based team put a new front half on one of their chassis and Beckman has been working on a cockpit simulator at his California base to stay sharp after the team switched him to a “push brake” (as opposed to a “pull brake”) this year.
The final word: “For us, 2020 was a direct continuation of 2019. I think if you go back and look over the last five to six races of 2019, we had such a solid car. I don’t know if there’s anyone in drag racing right now who wants to get back to competition more than me.”