Nitro Dogs Racing

Funny Car driver Jack Beckman describes the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series as the “Top Gun” for race car drivers. Its categories offer the fastest motorsports contests in the world, where extremity runs headlong into a deep pool of stubborn talent.

And it’s where, as rookies soon find out, being just good doesn’t always mean a win.

Most of the focus in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing is, naturally, what happens during a run – the four-point-something-seconds-plus between the green light and a win light.

But what happens before that?

For drivers, another few seconds, the ones on the starting line, are perhaps equally important. The seconds when holding on too tight can push them over, when drivers strive to do what is, essentially, remarkable.

They clear their minds.

Consider this: A driver has step-by-step instructions that must be followed with precision before each run. In front of a live audience. On national television. On a scale of nerves? Imagine making your wedding vows during your first driver’s test. It could be a little like that.

Somehow, at least for Beckman and fellow Funny Car driver Robert Hight (who is, incidentally, nicknamed “Top Gun”), it isn’t. Instead, clear minds yield focus.

“I take a deep breath, put the visor down, and stare at the pre-stage bulb,” said Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Charger R/T. “At that point, you want to be as focused as you can be. No need to be tense or intense, just focused.”

The NHRA POWERade Series heads to

Mistakes and variations – and even time itself — are what drivers want to avoid.

“The more you do it, the more things kind of slow down, the more things can go through your head,” said Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang. “I think it’s bad. That’s why I try to keep my mind occupied. Since I know everything that’s going on in the car, I’m always constantly looking at the oil pressure, making sure the fuel level is where it needs to be, that I have the right amount of fuel going in the motor. Keeping my mind occupied with what’s going on right now [with the car]. After you’ve done this a while, you’ve just done things [by memory]. It gives your mind an opportunity to start wondering and being nervous, things that are negative. I try to keep my mind busy until it’s time to stage and step on the gas.”

Once the crew chief and team make final adjustments, they’re left behind.

“As a fuel driver, there isn’t anything you can do to make that car run quicker than the tune-up, but there are a lot of things you can do to slow it down, if you make mistakes,” Beckman said.

The starting-line process begins well before each car noses onto the track. Hight walks the track in advance. Beckman roams up to see the action like a “big kid” fan with no restrictions. Others listen to music with earbuds, do breathing exercises, or sit in their tow vehicles until the last second before each run.

Some ask for advice or use others as inspiration. Hight’s walk down the track to check where the groove is and test the traction with his foot was inspired by fuel-driver-turned-ESPN2-personality Mike Dunn.

 “At times, when you get up to the Pro ranks, with some people, there’s a lot more ego there,” Beckman said. “It almost reminds you of Top Gun, like flight school. Everyone likes to think they have a great handle on this. I don’t mind talking to other drivers to get input. Gary Scelzi has been an unbelievable help to me because he’s been there. If anything else, he’s been there to help me deal with the emotional part. It’s not just the mechanics, it’s the emotional part.”

Both Hight and Beckman prefer to be around other people, with their teams and other drivers. Others prefer to go it alone.

 “We try to make it fun,” Hight said. “We’re serious, but we still have some fun … I don’t want to be left alone and be in my own little world. I want to talk to everybody. We pay attention to what’s going on [on the track], listen to the NHRA announcer and our team radios when our crew chiefs and other drivers make their runs, and when one of our drivers wins, we’re celebrating back in the tow vehicle. The [crew] guys are in the staging lanes, double-checking themselves. It’s a business, but we all have fun doing it.”

The edge is not definable, something you feel or do but don’t see. It’s the split-second moment between now and unknown. Keeping that edge, they say, is about focus.

“I think that for anybody who is at the top of their profession, that last edge is always mental,” Beckman said. “In an athletic sport, physical conditioning will get you on par with the average participant, but the mental [aspect] will always get you that extra edge.”

Hight and Beckman are two of the drivers to beat in Funny Car heading into