BROWNSBURG, Ind. _ With an NHRA championship still in-play, 2012 Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman has been hired to drive John Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Robert Hight, president of John Force Racing, announced the move Tuesday as part of an initiative dubbed “Joint Task Force _ Mission Championship.”
Force, 75, continues to recover from a Traumatic Brain Injury suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va. “Fast Jack” will slide into the seat occupied by the 16-time world champ and 157-time tour-winner during the season’s first nine races.
Beckman will make his debut in the PEAK Camaro during this week’s non-championship event, the 47th Annual Cornwell Tools “Night Under Fire” at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, where he and JFR teammate Brittany Force in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet dragster will both compete.
When Force was injured, he was second in points behind JFR teammate Austin Prock. Per NHRA rules, when a driver is unable to compete, the race team may employ a substitute who can earn points for the original driver in a maximum of eight tour events. This means when Beckman rolls to the starting line for qualifying at the 42nd Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., on Aug. 16, he’ll be pursuing a 17th championship for “Brute” Force. He currently sits sixth in the standings with two races remaining before points are reset for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
“When you think about someone who can handle the driving, can deal with the media, take care of the sponsors and take care of the fans, there was only one obvious choice and that was Jack Beckman,” Hight said. “Plus, he has history with Chris Cunningham (co-crew chief on the PEAK Chevy with Dan Hood and Tim Fabrisi) and has the respect of John’s family.”
A 33-time event winner in Funny Car, Beckman last raced competitively in 2020 when he returned to being a full-time elevator technician, a career he left 22 years earlier to follow his drag racing dream.
The 58-year-old Californian is fully aware and appreciative of this situation.
“It’s been nearly four years since I stood on the throttle, and I thought that feeling was something I’d never experience again,” Beckman said. “Though the circumstances that brought me back are regrettable, the opportunity presented to me is beyond my ability to find words. I’m not replacing John…nobody could ever do that. John is one of a kind and his impact on this sport _ and my life _ cannot be overemphasized.
“I know how fortunate I am to have been picked to fill in for John, and I should be easy to spot in the pits. I’ll be the guy who can’t stop smiling.”
Brian Bohlander, director of Marketing at Old World Industries, added, “We’re happy to have the PEAK team back on-track and Jack is the right person for this job until John can return. It’s great for the fans and our customers as Jack is an automotive enthusiast and DIYer who will fit right in with our program on and off the track.”
Although he won the Funny Car championship in 2012, Beckman’s best season was 2015 when he advanced to nine final rounds and won seven races. He fell 56-points short of becoming a two-time Funny Car champ.
A cancer survivor and U.S. Air Force veteran, Beckman has taught more than 7,000 students the basics of drag racing as an instructor at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. Among them were Force’s daughters _ Ashley, Brittany and Courtney _ and his wife, Laurie, who also earned her Super Comp license under Beckman’s tutelage.
Before distinguishing himself in the nitro Funny Car ranks, Beckman won the 2003 NHRA Super Comp World Championship. He is licensed in 12 different NHRA competition categories including Top Fuel, the class in which he made his professional racing debut in 2005.
The following year, Beckman made his Funny Car debut late in the season, and in just his fourth race in the category, won the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two weeks later, in the season-ending World Finals, Beckman qualified No. 1, set NHRA national records for time and speed, and finished runner-up to Force.
Eventually, Beckman would become one of only a few drivers to enjoy a winning record against the Hall of Fame driver and car-owner.
Force won the most recent of his 16 championships in 2013 after starting the Countdown from the No. 4 position. Beckman won his Funny Car championship from the No. 3 starting spot. Hight made history in 2009 for himself and JFR when he won his first championship from the No. 10 starting position. Hight added titles in 2017 and 2019.
Force was discharged from Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on July 23. NHRA’s highest-profile personality, Force is continuing to work with therapists specializing in TBI injuries on an outpatient basis in his native California. Force is a resident of Yorba Linda, Calif. This phase of the recovery process includes outpatient speech, as well as Occupational and Physical Therapy to address lingering short-term memory and cognitive issues.
