{"id":61727,"date":"2026-10-16T23:59:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T04:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=61727"},"modified":"2026-10-16T23:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T04:59:40","slug":"beckman-lives-up-to-fast-jack-billing-by-bagging-provisional-funny-car-pole-at-nhra-fallnationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/16\/beckman-lives-up-to-fast-jack-billing-by-bagging-provisional-funny-car-pole-at-nhra-fallnationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Beckman lives up to \u201cFast Jack\u201d billing by bagging provisional Funny Car pole at NHRA FallNationals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Jack Beckman, NHRA Funny Car provisional No. 1 qualifier Friday at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. (NHRA photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By John Sturbin | Raceday San Antonio<\/strong><\/p>\n

ENNIS – Jack Beckman\u2019s fascination with the Texas Motorplex was launched long before he became \u201cFast Jack\u201d and an NHRA Nitro Funny Car world champion.<\/p>\n

The 39-time \u201cFlopper\u201d winner was a drag racing fan serving in the Air Force in Clovis, N.M., when he and a buddy drove 500 miles (one-way) to attend the inaugural NHRA national event here in 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad (Bob) was living in the Dallas area,\u201d Beckman recalled in the track\u2019s Media Center Friday evening. \u201cWe stayed with him and watched Don Garlits beat Darrell Gwynn in the final at what was the most awesome facility on the planet back then. Think about this for a second\u2026I\u2019m a spectator and we made a 1,000-mile roundtrip to see this race. It was magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast forward to when Beckman first raced on the Motorplex\u2019s acclaimed all-concrete surface in 1998 as a Sportsman driver in Super Comp, competed in Top Fuel in 2005 and made his Nitro Funny Car debut in \u201806. Jack\u2019s championship season in 2012 was scored without a victory at Hall of Famer Billy Meyer\u2019s facility _ a nagging fact Beckman aims to update Sunday after conclusion of the 41st<\/sup> annual Texas NHRA FallNationals.<\/p>\n

Currently fourth in the Countdown to the Championship point-standings led by Matt Hagan, Beckman secured the provisional pole during Round 2 of qualifications with a 1,000-foot pass in 3.852-seconds at 330.13 mph in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing. Beckman will seek to nail down his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Beckman\u2019s lap withstood a last-round pairing featuring Hagan, a four-time Funny Car world champion (2011, 2014, 2020, 2023) who posted numbers of 3.855-seconds at 334.80 mph to place second. Two-time Funny Car world champ Cruz Pedregon sits third after his best run of 3.855 at 323.83.<\/p>\n

Jack\u2019s victory in the \u201cBattle of the Saddle\u201d as low qualifier was worth a $15,000 bonus, and another $1,000 from Jeg\u2019s\u2026as well as three valuable points. Hagan, driver of the Direct Connection Dodge\/SRT Hellcat fielded by Tony Stewart Racing, began the weekend with a 72-point lead over Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevy SS of JFR, a 106-point advantage over two-time\/reigning Funny Car world champion Austin Prock in the Ford Mustang Dark Horse fielded by Bob Tasca Racing and 123 over Beckman.<\/p>\n

Prock, who won his titles in 2024 and 2025 driving JFR\u2019s Cornwell Tools Chevy, picked up his first win in Ennis last year before rolling to his second consecutive Funny Car crown. On Friday, Prock & Co. failed to complete either of their two attempts, overpowering the track on both runs.<\/p>\n

This weekend\u2019s race is the 18th<\/sup> on the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule and fourth of six in the Countdown, meaning every round looms as a real-time\/pop-quiz for the contenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople talk about giving it 110 percent but that\u2019s not mathematically possible,\u201d said Beckman, a 60-year-old resident of Corona, Calif. \u201cThis is a mental exercise and I try to do the best I can do, whether it\u2019s qualifying or the final round, and I\u2019m gonna continue to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the breaks just don\u2019t go your way so we need Hagan to go out early at one or two races, which is very possible. We\u2019re painted into a corner right now because it\u2019s not just our excellence that\u2019s going to be needed for the championship. We have to rely on Hagan going out early a couple of times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professional qualifying will continue Saturday with rounds scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m. \u201cIt\u2019ll be good conditions. It won\u2019t be like this,\u201d Beckman said. \u201cI always have to remind myself these (JFR crew) guys don\u2019t miss it (track setup) two times in a row. Well, we missed it on Q1 and I really felt we could have run 3.84 in Q1 and we didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sixth pair (Round 2), and there’s 10 pairs here with a huge Funny Car turnout. So we ran well, but then we’ve got to watch eight quality cars behind us, any one of which could have exceeded our run, and Hagan came closest, but nobody exceeded us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were pushing hard. I could feel it, but I had my hands full. The car started going right, and when you’re pushing that hard, any steering input is detrimental to performance and too much steering input is going to upset the rear tires. So I moved it back into the groove. I thought I did a reasonable job, straightened it out and started going to the right again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckman said any perceived \u201cfascination\u201d associated with The Plex began long before he was that 20-year-old airman who talked his buddy, Lee West, into hitting the highway in his Chevette to someplace called Ennis, Texas. \u201cI have a fascination with this sport since I was 7, loved everything about it,\u201d Beckman said. \u201cEvery racetrack I\u2019d been to didn\u2019t look like this. My first race was Orange County (Calif.) _ beautiful racetrack but it wasn\u2019t like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckman said the Motorplex seemed to rise out of the vast Texas countryside some 41 years ago. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s accurate to call it the first \u2018Super-Track,^\u201d Jack said, \u201cbut it was the first stadium-style tower laid out the way it was when my friend and I drove up. We drove down that small highway and you were out in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I see this electronic scoreboard that says, \u2018Darrell Gwynn, New National Record.\u201d I couldn\u2019t get out of the car and run and buy my ticket fast enough. There have been a lot of tracks patterned after it. There are newer tracks. There are bigger tracks. There are tracks that tick more boxes now but there\u2019s only one \u2018first\u2019 and the Texas Motorplex set the standard. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s fair to say I\u2019ve got a \u2018fascination\u2019 with the Motorplex. There\u2019s Pomona (Calif)., Winternationals; there\u2019s Pomona, The Final; there\u2019s Indy (The Big GO!) and for me the Motorplex has always been on that Mount Rushmore of races I wanted to win and I didn\u2019t close the deal until 2020. And 2020 was literally the last year of my first career in Nitro racing. I had run out of funding by the end of the year and went on the sidelines for nearly four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was it but, by God, I got one of my dreams. And it was the coolest thing ever. My then 83-year-old dad got the Cowboy hat from the winner\u2019s circle. At 89, he\u2019ll be here (Sunday)\u2026Robert Thomas Beckman.\u201d<\/p>\n

ENNIS, Texas \u2014 Friday\u2019s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, 18th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday\u2019s final eliminations.<\/p>\n

Top Fuel \u2014 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.648 seconds, 340.39 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.668, 343.70; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.668, 338.80; 4. Antron Brown, 3.677, 335.32; 5. Leah Pruett, 3.697, 334.20; 6. Maddi Gordon, 3.701, 333.43; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.713, 335.80; 8. Josh Hart, 3.714, 337.64; 9. Will Smith, 3.714, 335.80; 10. Clay Millican, 3.716, 332.45; 11. Billy Torrence, 3.746, 333.95; 12. Shawn Reed, 3.761, 334.70; 13. Dan Mercier, 3.785, 311.55; 14. Tony Schumacher, 3.809, 283.30; 15. Jake Sanders, 3.900, 304.47; 16. Lee Callaway, 4.026, 225.28. <\/p>\n

Not Qualified: 17. Charles Loftin, 4.400, 195.58; 18. Cameron Ferre, 4.589, 169.57; 19. Spencer Massey, 6.986, 86.97.<\/p>\n

Funny Car \u2014 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.852, 330.13; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.855, 334.80; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.855, 323.83; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.873, 333.09; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.874, 337.13; 6. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.881, 333.83; 7. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.910, 330.32; 8. Blake Alexander, Toyota Supra, 3.914, 327.92; 9. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.921, 326.80; 10. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.922, 323.93; 11. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.925, 333.68; 12. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.937, 330.35; 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.960, 319.83; 14. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.985, 321.31; 15. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.050, 315.99; 16. Chris King, Charger, 4.077, 268.02. <\/p>\n

Not Qualified: 17. Jim Campbell, 4.113, 291.58; 18. Austin Prock, 4.201, 218.63; 19. Jeff Diehl, 4.331, 214.65; 20. Terry Haddock, 4.954, 157.63.<\/p>\n

Pro Stock \u2014 1. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.460, 212.80; 2. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.464, 212.74; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.468, 210.51; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.469, 211.56; 5. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.470, 211.63; 6. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.473, 213.03; 7. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.478, 212.42; 8. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.481, 212.41; 9. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.481, 212.10; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.484, 211.83; 11. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.502, 213.44; 12. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.511, 210.24; 13. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.516, 210.54; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.521, 212.30; 15. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.527, 210.74; 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.539, 211.80. <\/p>\n

Not Qualified: 17. Cody Anderson, 6.570, 197.34; 18. Cliff Mayes, 6.753, 206.77; 19. Jerry Tucker, 12.371, 91.34.<\/p>\n

Pro Stock Motorcycle \u2014 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.676, 202.22; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.709, 201.86; 3. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.725, 202.28; 4. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.768, 198.50; 5. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.790, 198.47; 6. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.880, 170.62; 7. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.997, 195.09; 8. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.009, 186.39; 9. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 7.033, 170.07; 10. GT Tonglet, Buell, 7.050, 190.52; 11. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.252, 154.34; 12. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 7.794, 124.56; 13. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 8.156, 110.72; 14. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 8.182, 111.79; 15. Hector Arana, EBR, 8.667, 174.53; 16. Blaine Hale, Suzuki, 17.450, 40.42. <\/p>\n

Not Qualified: 17. Hector Arana Jr, 64.999, no speed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Sturbin | Raceday San Antonio ENNIS – Jack Beckman\u2019s fascination with the Texas Motorplex was launched long before he became \u201cFast Jack\u201d and an NHRA Nitro Funny Car world champion. The 39-time \u201cFlopper\u201d winner was a drag racing fan serving in the Air Force in Clovis, N.M., when he and a buddy drove<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":61723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1213,4],"tags":[886,1175,100,6,247,841,851,328],"class_list":["post-61727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-editors-picks","category-nhra","tag-gaige-herrera","tag-greg-stanfield","tag-jack-beckman","tag-nhra","tag-shawn-langdon","tag-stampede-of-speed","tag-texas-fall-nationals","tag-texas-motorplex"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-g3B","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Beckman_JF.jpg?fit=2200%2C1466&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61727"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61730,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61727\/revisions\/61730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}