You live, and you learn. Some of the knowledge one acquires is critical to daily life; other information could be classified as trivial at best. My brain is full of trivial knowledge. Mind you, not enough to go dominate on the game show Jeopardy, probably not even enough to beat many of you folks at Trivial Pursuit, but there is a vast amount of unnecessary crap stored in my synapses. Wednesday on our trip out to Vegas in the motorhome I added more; did you know that a 2004 Monaco Beaver holds just over six pounds of freon for the dash A/C system, and that the current price is around $25 per pound? It sure doesn’t seem like worthwhile information, but it did comprise a good portion of the $334 that it took to get our coach back up to factory status. That will prove to be a bargain once summer comes and we are on that Western Swing. I also know some other useless stuff about how temperature drops dramatically when a liquid is transformed into a gas, but who really cares as long as you don’t sweat?

While the coach was getting serviced, Jenna and I took the PT to the nearest supermarket to do our shopping. Turns out that this Albertson’s store is the second largest one in the country, and they had everything! Jenna and I joked about the patio furniture they had, and how funny it would be if your friends found out you bought your deck chairs at the grocery store. More on that later …

I still claim to be one of the lazier guys walking the earth (did you know that there actually were at least TWO “super continents” in the earth’s history; the first was known as Rodinia and the second was Pangaea? See, stuff like this is why I can’t remember any of my appointments), but somehow I do manage to squeeze a lot into some days. Thursday in Vegas was a good example. Friend Pam Robinson met me at the Nellis military hospital for our twice a year tour, and we again met some very interesting and inspiring folks (patients), in addition to our time with the staff. This trip I shared my rounds with some wonderful ladies. Gina is a “pin-up” girl who donates her time and calendars to raise money for veterans, and “Lou” belongs to an organization that donates blankets and supplies to our troops and retired military. There wasn’t lots of applause for my autographed handout cards, but you should have heard some of the older guys while checking out the calendars.

Pam then took the three of us over to visit the Thunderbirds squadron. Though the team was out doing an air show, we did get a behind the scenes tour from Pamela Anderson (not THAT one) that was very informative. For instance, the Thunderbirds began in 1953 and almost didn’t get to keep that name for fear of racial insensitivity to native Indians. How ‘bout that, Alex Trebek? A quick trip over to Pam’s own squadron to visit the fine folks that keep our birds flying, and then it was time for me to fly (the title of an REO Speedwagon song from the 1978 LP “You can tune a piano, but you can’t Tuna fish”, which went to number 29 on the charts before their biggest album, “High Infidelity”, hit number 1 in 1981). Did you know that the REO Speedwagon was a truck named after Ransom E. Olds? Amazing, Jack.

Once back at the track, the three “J. Beckmans” headed out to UNLV. No, I am not taking night courses in trivia, but I did give a speech to open the Relay for Life fundraiser in Vegas. I hate cancer and I love to talk, so who was I to turn down a worthwhile appearance? We booked straight from there over to the Palms casino for an NHRA/ The Strip at Las Vegas autograph session. I got to sit next to Capps and Scelzi. Did you know that Ron’s first NHRA win was in Seattle, and due to rain it was run early the next week with hardly anyone in the stands? You knew that? Okay, did you know that Gary Scelzi has won national events in TAD, TAFC, TF, and FC, as well as being a division champ on the Sportsman level? Now, where was I? Oh yeah, after wrapping up at the Palms I went across the street to the indoor go-kart track, Pole-Position. Let me tell you, these electric karts flat haul butt, and stay away from that 12-year-old Kyle; he’s just plain mean. My first attempt I started first and finished sixth. Not bad, until you find out that there were only six of us out there! Attempt number two was significantly better, but there was no keeping up with young Kyle. Owner Brad has got a great thing going … tons of fun.

Friday we got to run our racecar. I don’t know that I have ever seen Vegas as tricky as it was this weekend. I grant you it was very warm on the racing surface, but it was much more unforgiving than one would expect. We were No. 9 after the first session, and below the new cutoff 12th position after session two. We broke the blower studs on the run, which was very odd (the studs breaking, not the run). Did you know that not being in the show going into Saturday can cause undo stress and anxiety for drivers and crewmen alike?

Friday night we did something really cool. Eric Greendale is best friends with Mike Neff, and also an elevator man. It’s cool when you meet folks you have something in common with, except when it’s cancer. Eric’s been down, up, way down, in remission (something the doctors said was impossible), and now facing his mortality once again. This guy is the poster child for positive attitude, and you can’t help but feel good listening to him. He now will be entering clinical trials (there is no current accepted treatment for his cancer), and his whole life will be centered around, well … his whole life. He will be facing some astronomical bills, and Neff thought the racers could help. I don’t know what you may hear about Don Schumacher, but he is one of the most generous people I have met. Not only did Don provide his entire hospitality area for an auction, but he contributed mightily. I am proud to have him as a boss. With DSR’s VP Mike Lewis and Gary Scelzi doing the auctioneering, over $40,000 was raised, not including Don’s offer to bump the total by 50 percent at the end! It was great to see all of the DSR and Force Racing drivers working together for a great person and cause. Dominic and Giovanni Scelzi spent time with our Jason and McKailen Haddock while I bid on Ed McCulloch racing stuff. I didn’t have enough money. Did you know that the eagle on the back of the dollar bill has 13 arrows clutched in one talon (under the “Right Wing”), and an olive branch with 13 leaves on it for the “Left Wing”? (That qualifies as a non-sequitur, as well as some pretty bitchin’ trivia).

Saturday was interesting. Our first pass we went up there with a very soft tune-up which turned out to be too soft. Dropped cylinders put us on the bump with one more HOT session to go. What I will always remember about that run is who we took up with us as an honorary crewmember. Gary Cochran (“Mr. C” was his handle in the day) was everything a racer should be. He was competitive in every era and every type of car he drove, and his equipment was always immaculate. He was the first racer to ever defeat Garlits’ amazing Swamp Rat XIV, and he did it twice before “Big Daddy” took home the first NHRA Wally for a rear-engine dragster. Did you know that Duane Ong actually was the first to win a national event in a rear-motored car, late in 1970 at an AHRA race back east? Also, did you know that Garlits actually soloed for his victory?

Where was I? Oh, yeah, Gary Cochran was celebrating his 70th, and several of his family members asked if I would participate in a surprise party for him at the Strip. Would I? This guy is one of the most humble, non-egotistical legends you’d want to meet, and I was honored he put our colors on. This pic also includes one of my favorite racers/NHRA workers, Harold Owens. I think that he and Rick Stewart could have shared war stories until his 80th birthday, but that’s just conjecture on my part. Do any of you read Phil Burgess’ column? I think it’s one of the best things on NHRA.com. Where was I?

I pitched an idea to Dave Rieff about doing a segment on the TV show tracing some history back and showing current fans what things used to look like. It will be called “Flashback with Fast Jack”. Ain’t that catchy? I came up with it myself! (By the way, this is not an April Fool’s joke, I promise). Saturday ESPN’s guys Jason and Matt asked me if I would like to start it with an interview of Jim Epler, the first funny car driver to run 300 mph. Though we TiVo all of the NHRA stuff, I still haven’t seen the coverage yet, so I hope it turned out okay. This is really going to be fun for me, and highlighting some of the past is my tribute to those who paved the way for all of us current drivers

Speaking of doing camera work, I was approached in the off season by my friends at 1320TV.com about doing some stuff for them. We kicked around a few ideas, and so far I’ve done two segments. The first was a conversation with Cruz about his spectacular Gainesville body-throwing run, and while in Vegas I interviewed WJ about his smoky incident in Houston. I’m still pondering what I will do next. Maybe I’ll interview Dominic Scelzi.

Did you know that we haven’t finished talking about qualifying yet? Our No. 16 position lasted exactly one run into the final session, and by the time we came up for our run we were third or fourth alternate. I staged as shallow as I possibly could, even blinking the stage bulb. Shallow gives the most rollout, thus a bigger running start before unblocking the stage beam and starting the E.T. clocks (I should have preceded that statement with a “Did you know?”). We made it in by .001, but we were far from safe. The next car was John Force (the same guy who has won 14 championships and 125 national events; THAT John Force. Did you know that his first win came in Canada on June 28, 1987, the same day that I turned 21?). John was the last car that could bump us out, and we had only run a 4.99. I watched his run from the ESPN monitor at the turnout, and by 600 feet it was obvious he was going to eliminate us. I don’t know what happened to John, but his engine let go … and we were in!

Did you know that the “did you know” phrase is used extensively by the master of all drag racing trivia, Bob Frey, in his weekly columns? Though plagiarism wasn’t my goal, it really is a catchy phrase, and it fits.

Where were we? Oh, yes, we were going into eliminations Sunday. The guys and I felt very good about our chances, and we actually led the race … for about six inches. At the hit of the throttle all eight blower studs broke. Just gave up. Quit working entirely. You get the drift, but it left us scratching our heads. A 5.38 would have won the race for us, but that’s why we don’t run them on paper.

While the guys tore the car apart looking for our problem, I helped out the best that I could. That meant I got as far away from the pits as possible. Paul Chevron, who owns one of the nicest nostalgia cars in the country -- the Poachers AA/FD -- made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Months ago he asked if I would like to push start and “cackle” his car. Guess what my answer was? Right after the semi's ran we pushed from the shutdown up the racetrack and lit. It was something like this: Once up to speed (you’re being pushed but can’t see much) release the clutch and watch for oil pressure. Hold the throttle down for a full three count and release. Count to two, flip the mag switch on, and hold on! When one of these prehistoric monsters (I’m using artistic license here, I know they’re not THAT old!) comes to life, it brings goosebumps to your arms. You can’t imagine how cool they really are. We lined up with the other 8-10 cars and “talked” back and forth with our throttles. The Poachers was the last car running, and the crowd there really got loud. The ONLY drawback to the whole deal is that my left leg is still tingling from holding the clutch down so long. That thing is stiff, and I don’t know how some of the boys did it “back in the day”. Paul and company, you guys are on my Christmas list. Thank you!

Congratulations to my teammate, Cory Mac, who scored his first win in a long time, and number 30 must be sweet for him. It’s hard not to like that guy, and he’s one of the best out there. Also, a big cheer to Tim Wilkerson and crew for doing what we all knew they were capable of. I sure hope he’s got that out of his system for awhile.

We were already planning to stay and test Monday, but after our problems we adopted an aggressive schedule of four runs. The track temperature got to nearly 140 degrees, and I think it was productive to get some baseline numbers in that kind of heat. But, more importantly, we needed to fix our engine maladies. The studs broke again at the top end of our first run, so we switched brands and never had another problem. Chasing defective parts is incredibly aggravating, and it cost us big time in the race. We are all fairly certain that that issue is behind us, so we’ll move forward.

Tuesday we headed over to Las Vegas Monaco to get a couple of issues taken care of, then took off for home. They have some really sharp techs working there and have been a big help. We had to stop at Cindy’s house to pick up the PT, as she needed to be back to work Monday morning and drove it home from Vegas. Once we stored the coach at Andy’s shop, unloaded everything and finally got home, it was pretty late. How nice to be back in my own bed!

For the next two days we resumed our “normal” lives, catching up on things. I went down to the Santa Monica Boy’s and Girl’s Club to do a speech for the Racers who Care program. I spoke to about 20 teenagers about lots of things, including choices and consequences and setting goals for success. It feels good to give back, all except the stuck in traffic part.

If you’re a really astute reader, you may be wondering where the old “Red Dragon” is, aka my 1996 Nissan pickup. When last mentioned, the clutch had expired while Cindy was driving it, and it had taken up temporary residence in her garage. That was January, and we just haven’t had any time to pick it up. Friday was the day. After all, it’s 65 miles each way, not counting the detour to Mr. Montgomery’s to pick up the tow dolly, and why not pick the busiest traffic of the week? While out in Fontana we stopped by Dalton Trucking to say hello to my Blackbird, fire up the trailer generator, and charge the race car battery. We also hauled Cindy’s new chair out for her, as my garage was getting cluttered. Once we loaded the Nissan on to the tow dolly, we only had one stop left to make; remember how Jenna and I laughed at the prospect of buying patio furniture at a grocery store? Well, it turns out that it really was the best deal around, and pretty nice looking equipment for our taste, so we just swallowed our pride and went in and got it. Actually, I waited out in the truck with Jason, as I’m not allowed (nor should I be) to pick out anything that could be classified as decorative. The picture I included should be worth 3.000 words (you’ll have to do the math). One, you get the “Wow, he really did have to tow his truck back home” message. Two, you get the “Wow, they really did buy some patio furniture” thing. And three, "How about that haircut?"

Today I caught some waves with Rich out in Redondo, and I’m glad I got to go, as I will be out of town for quite some time in the next few weeks. I have to leave tomorrow morning to head back to Gainesville. I will be working with Frank with a Top Alcohol class, and then Wednesday morning I fly straight to Atlanta. I’ll update you on what will be a busy (and hopefully fulfilling) race weekend in Georgia.

Two quickies: First, while out for lunch during the week I spotted Dale Pulde and had a nice chat with him. If you’re ever looking for a racer that can relate some great stories, Dale is the dude. That guy drove so many funny cars in his career, and still is a bad@$$ behind the wheel. His girlfriend, Valerie Harrell, is the daughter of Dickie, “Mr. Chevrolet”, another legend in his time. Second, a really cool thing is happening with all of my racing. Apparently I can be easily “Googled” (It doesn’t seem to hurt too much), and therefore am very accessible. Several friends from the past have caught up with me this way, and this week I heard from another. Bruce Stansel and I served in the Air Force in New Mexico at the same time (that would be back in the '80s), and he just RETIRED after 24 years. We have been e-mailing back and forth about old names and faces, and you can’t believe the memories that are triggered. Very cool stuff indeed.

The fang mouthpiece was friend Dr. Chapple’s idea, but I haven’t drawn blood with them … yet!

Stay tuned.