Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson predicted that with the program dragging on Friday night with clean-up delays -- meaning cooler and better conditions -- that Infineon Raceway fans just might see the fastest run of the year so far in qualifying for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.
 
His guess was amazingly close when it came to elapsed time, although he was a bit off on the speed. And he probably was less disappointed in missing the forecast as he was that the track E.T. and speed records belong not to him but to Jack Beckman.
 
Beckman made a bid for his first No. 1 qualifying position since last fall's Richmond race, posting a 4.063-second pass at 311.56 mph in his Don Schumacher-owned Valvoline/Mail Terminals Dodge Charger.
 
Racing a curfew that cost the Top Fuel class a second qualifying session as much as his competitors, he erased teammate Matt Hagan's records (4.068/307.51) from last July.
 
Although he carries the nickname "Fast Jack," Beckman would own just the third top-qualifying spot of his career.

Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson predicted that with the program dragging on Friday night with clean-up delays -- meaning cooler and better conditions -- that Infineon Raceway fans just might see the fastest run of the year so far in qualifying for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.

 
His guess was amazingly close when it came to elapsed time, although he was a bit off on the speed. And he probably was less disappointed in missing the forecast as he was that the track E.T. and speed records belong not to him but to Jack Beckman.
 
Beckman made a bid for his first No. 1 qualifying position since last fall's Richmond race, posting a 4.063-second pass at 311.56 mph in his Don Schumacher-owned Valvoline/Mail Terminals Dodge Charger.
 
Racing a curfew that cost the Top Fuel class a second qualifying session as much as his competitors, he erased teammate Matt Hagan's records (4.068/307.51) from last July.
 
Although he carries the nickname "Fast Jack," Beckman would own just the third top-qualifying spot of his career.
 
He had said leaving Seattle, the first leg of this Western Swing, that he has "raced in Sonoma so many times that I'm very comfortable there, and this new car is starting to feel really good. We've gone rounds every single race since Chicago with this new chassis (registering three semifinal efforts).
 
"I love the Bruton Smith facilities. There are just no questions and [the same] with the NHRA track prep crew. It's nice to have that sort of confidence. They didn't do their normal scrape/drag. You can tell they knew they were up against the clock. And all of a sudden cars are firing up, I had to get my gear on and get in there," Beckman said.
 
"And 250 feet into the run -- you know when it's going to be a good run -- when the timing and the clutch start coming in, if it's trying to shove you out the back of the car, it's on a good run.
 
"It ran good," he said. "I threw the 'chute down there and said, 'Well, that ought to be OK, and they came on the radio and said, '4.06,' I said, 'Cool.'
 
"And then when you get out of the car you realize there's still five really good pairs of cars behind us. And all 10 of them, or at least a couple of them, are probably going to go under that 4.06. And, in fact," Beckman said, "it's almost like we tipped the hand of what the car could handle with that 4.06. Now people can dive in and adjust their clutch and timing management systems."
 
But Gary Densham, who sits No. 2 in the lineup overnight, had a surprise for everybody -- not just with his 4.103-second E.T. in a finance-shortened schedule, but with his spectacular explosion that put the rest of his weekend in doubt.
 
"Densham is the next car out and blows the body off, and I'm at the top end and watched that. I was concerned that he was OK, and he was. And then that little delay, you start wondering, 'Does the track get better or does the track get worse?' "
 
Beckman said he violated his own rule about not becoming emotionally attached to what's happening on track and about his role in it. But he couldn't help himself.
 
"It's interesting. I even told the crew guys -- I try never to get emotionally wrapped up in this deal -- but, man, wouldn't it be cool if everybody else smoked the tires and we ended up No. 1?!
 
"I was very surprised that we outlasted those 10 cars out there," he said. "I think tomorrow is going to be extremely difficult for somebody to get in under that. I'm not saying it's not possible. I'm saying that's a big hill to climb."
 
In Friday's opening qualifying session, Beckman ran a 4.238-second lap at 289.57 mph, ending up 10th.
 
"We just wanted to get down the track," he said, "but it kind of put us up towards the front (of the second session). We knew the track would probably get a little bit better as we went out there."