Photos by Dave Kommel
SUNDAY FINAL - BECKMAN, BROWN, ANDERSON, SMITH CAP 2024 SEASON WITH WINS AT NHRA FINALS
Jack Beckman clinched the 2024 NHRA season title with a Funny Car victory at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, defeating Austin Prock in the final round on Sunday.
Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also secured wins at the 59th annual event, rounding out the 20-race season of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Beckman recorded a career-best 3.812 seconds at 327.35 mph in his PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS, marking his second win of the season since taking over for John Force in August. This victory was Beckman’s 35th career win and added to an extraordinary season.
To reach the final, Beckman eliminated competitors Terry Haddock, Blake Alexander, and Ron Capps. This victory solidified Prock and Beckman’s positions at the top of the Funny Car ranks.
“It doesn’t get any higher than this,” Beckman said. “It’s just magical at your home track. It’s special when it’s the Winternationals when the Winternationals was the first race of the year, but the Finals is finals, right? Whoever wins here gets a couple months to say we were the baddest on race day.
“This season has just been just pinch-me moment after pinch-me moment. The way John went out was terrible, but he’s still with us, and I think he’s just as valuable standing on the starting line as he is strapped in the car at the starting line. Having John here doesn’t make us want to win more. We want to win every time we go out there. It just made winning that much more special. To see Brittany [Force] win after a two-year winless drought the weekend her dad comes back and then Austin double up with her, was just great (in Las Vegas). We’re right back in another final against Austin, and this time we won it.”
Brown qualified 12th in Top Fuel but excelled during eliminations, defeating points leader Justin Ashley in the opening round with a run of 3.696 seconds at 331.53 mph. Brown also overcame Shawn Langdon to secure his semifinal spot.
“This team has been resilient,” Brown said. “We never quit. We never stop. We didn’t qualify where we wanted to, and when we saw our matchups, it was like doomsday. We had Justin Ashley first round and we knew that was a monumental matchup. Then you go to Shawn Langdon and we both were trying to throw at it and it didn’t go down. That last round against Brittany, we gotta hit the tree, go down the track, and if they run a 3.64-3.65, so be it, but we gotta give ourselves a fighting chance. That 3.69 came right on time.”
Brown earned three victories in the regular season, including his milestone 75th career Wally at the Route 66 Nationals outside Chicago. He went on to win the first two races of the six-race Countdown to the Championship, putting himself in a prime position to score his fourth world championship and his first as a team owner.
“All the glory goes to God,” said Brown, who won his first three titles (2012, 2015-2016) driving for the late Don Schumacher before launching AB Motorsports in 2022. “Here we are with all these great partners like Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Hangsterfer’s, FVP, Summit Racing, Toyota, and Sirius XM. They all make this possible for us and keep us going each and every day. To get this championship, it’s incredible. Truly a blessing. I love all my family at home, my kids, everybody. This championship trophy is coming back to Indianapolis, Indiana. I can’t believe we did it.”
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson triumphed over teammate Dallas Glenn with a run of 6.501 at 211.13 mph in a winner-take-all final round. This victory marked Anderson’s sixth world championship, placing him in a tie for the second-most in Pro Stock history.
Matt Smith concluded his season with a decisive win in Pro Stock Motorcycle, defeating two-time champion Gaige Herrera with a time of 6.702 seconds at 202.12 mph. This win was Smith’s second of the season and his 41st career victory.
Smith, who qualified No. 1, reached the final after defeating Aaron Pine, Marc Ingwersen, and Steve Johnson. He expressed optimism for the upcoming season despite contemplating retirement at 52.
“We came in knowing we probably couldn’t get three hats, but we knew we could get two and we did,” said Smith, referring to his achievements. “I still love it. Actually, our sponsor, Denso, told me to stop talking about retirement.”
Gaige Herrera reached his 12th final round of the season in just 15 races.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will resume on March 6-9, 2025, with the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
SATURDAY - IT’S ANOTHER FORCE KIND OF DAY HEADED INTO THE FINAL DAY OF 2024 SEASON
Brittany Force secured the quickest Top Fuel time of the season at the NHRA Finals, qualifying No. 1 for the fourth time in the last five races. She posted a time of 3.643 seconds at 336.65 mph in her Monster Energy/Chevrolet dragster.
Austin Prock (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also took the top spots in their categories during the final race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Force aims for a second consecutive win after her recent victory in Las Vegas.
Force expressed pride in her team’s achievements despite a challenging season.
“We ran a 3.64 and that’s huge. I’m very proud of [crew chief] David Grubnic and John Collins, and the whole Monster Energy team. I wanted as many bonus points as we could get,” Force said. “[The number of cars in the 3.6s] says the competition is fierce. It’s killer out there. I didn’t know how quick I ran but when I pulled off the track there were cameras in my face so I thought it might be better than it felt.
“I’m not disappointed [in being a championship longshot]. Everything happens for a reason, and it all helps pull our team together. We win as a team, and we lose as a team.”
Steve Torrence qualified second with a run of 3.644 seconds while defending champion Doug Kalitta secured third at 3.650. Current points leader Justin Ashley, seeking his first world championship, faces Antron Brown in the first elimination round.
In Funny Car, Prock set a track record with a time of 3.804 seconds, clinching his first career world title. It also put an exclamation mark on one of the most incredible rookie seasons (15 No. 1s and eight wins) ever as Prock becomes the first Funny Car driver since Cruz Pedregon in 1992 to win a title in his rookie season.
“I’ve been working towards this for 19 years,” Prock said. “I started driving race cars when I was 10 years old and all I could think of was being a professional race car driver in any manner and winning the world championship, and we got it done this year.”
“This thing’s been on kill this weekend,” Prock continued. “We made three really, really quick runs, and I’m doing a good job keeping it in the middle of the groove here.”
Greg Anderson remained in the championship chase with a top run of 6.505 seconds in Pro Stock. He stated, “Qualifying means everything. To be able to control our own destiny on Sunday is all you can ask for.”
Glenn is 29 points behind Stanfield, qualifying second with a run of 6.512 at 209.82, pulling to within a round of Stanfield heading into eliminations. He could potentially meet Stanfield in a winner-take-all final round as well, while Stanfield qualified fourth with a 6.517 at 209.98.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith qualified No. 1, narrowing the points gap to 119 behind rival Gaige Herrera. Smith said, “We came here to try and get the win… It would be huge for us to win the race tomorrow.”
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
FRIDAY - RACING CALLED DUE TO WEATHER AT NHRA FINALS
Racing at the Pomona Dragstrip was halted Friday during the first qualifying session of the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals due to weather conditions. The opening session of Funny Car was completed, and a portion of Top Fuel took place before rain suspended further activities.
No runs were made on Friday in Pro Stock or Pro Stock Motorcycle. Qualifying will resume at 11:30 a.m. PT on Saturday, featuring two Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle sessions.
Jack Beckman took the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car with a run of 3.828 seconds at 334.82 mph in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS.
“Our car is unbelievable early in the run. It is the quickest car from the time you step on the throttle to 200 feet. Our Achilles’ heel has been keeping all eight cylinders lit all the way to the finish line. The guys clearly figured it out for that run.”
“So, to have Austin lock up the championship on that run, John Force’s Funny Cars end up one and two Friday night, put a little bit of cushion between us and number three in the points, and there’s more to come tomorrow and Sunday.”
Austin Prock of John Force Racing will officially secure the world championship on Saturday.
Shawn Reed posted a time of 3.712 seconds at 320.36 mph in his GESi dragster, seeking his first career No. 1 qualifier.
“That was pretty good,” Reed said. “I was all over the place. That’s pretty cool. The car is coming on during the second half of the season.”
The top five in the abbreviated session included Brittany Force (3.712), Billy Torrence (3.724), Ida Zetterstrom (3.738) and Gary Pritchett (3.750).
NHRA officials allowed the runs to stand for the abbreviated session but awarded no bonus points. The Top Fuel division will receive two sessions on Saturday.
The three championship contenders, Justin Ashley, Shawn Langdon and Antron Brown were in the lanes when the rains hit.
Ticket holders from Friday can apply their ticket credit towards the purchase of a Saturday or Sunday ticket, or a 2025 In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals ticket.
Friday’s results after the first one of three rounds of qualifying for the 59th annual In-N-Out NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, final of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Reed, 3.712 seconds, 320.36 mph; 2. Billy Torrence, 3.724, 329.34; 3. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.738, 323.89; 4. Gary Pritchett, 3.750, 329.91; 5. Josh Hart, 3.806, 322.19; 6. Scott Palmer, 3.818, 294.88; 7. Krista Baldwin, 3.916, 249.81; 8. Jasmine Salinas, 6.311, 102.55; 9. Tony Stewart, 6.832, 95.21.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.828, 334.82; 2. Austin Prock, Camaro, 3.842, 331.94; 3. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 3.870, 336.40; 4. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 3.875, 328.46; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.875, 324.59; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.895, 328.38; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.903, 308.92; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.948, 292.65; 9. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.953, 279.85; 10. Steven Densham, Mustang, 3.983, 313.66; 11. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.041, 305.84; 12. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.934, 160.58; 13. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 7.235, 90.10; 14. Dave Richards, Mustang, 7.543, 85.09; 15. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 8.037, 81.31; 16. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 8.155, 85.97. Not Qualified: 17. Buddy Hull, 8.320, 78.61; 18. Jason Rupert, 8.804, 73.05; 19. Alex Miladinovich, 9.196, 76.93.
THURSDAY – GRAHAM, STANFIELD, SORENSON TOP SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING AT NHRA FINALS
The first day of the final event on the 2024 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is in the books at the IN-N-Out NHRA Finals. Steve Graham (Competition Eliminator), Greg Stanfield (Super Stock), and Joe Sorenson (Stock), after two qualifying sessions, topped the NHRA’s traditional class racing divisions.
The Top Alcohol divisions got one attempt on Thursday, with Madison Payne (Dragster) and Sean Bellemuer (Funny Car) setting the early pace.
Graham, a past Pro Stock racer, obliterated the B/Altered index, running a 6.863, to go -.727 under. Taylor Chomiski also put some on the C/Super Modified index, dropping -.708 under the index, with an 8.082. Kurt Hugger (PST, -.0653), Royce Freeman (B/Altered Automatic, -.647), and Tom Mettler (PST, -.612).
Stanfield, fresh off of clinching the first NHRA Factory X title, drove his way to the top of Super Stock by running -1.046 under the GT/GA index. Len Schneider (-1.039, GT/JA), John Winslow (-0.990, FSS/D), and John Calvert (-0.973, FSS/B).
Sorenson held up the Bowtie brigade in the midst of a Mustang run for the top of Stock Eliminator. He ran a 10.667, which was -1.183 under the F/SA index. Paul Calvert’s U/Stock Automatic Mustang was second with a -1.178 run against the U/Stock Automatic standard. Rounding out the top five were Richie Pauley (10.318, -1.082, C/SA), Leo Glasbrenner, Walling TN, ’14 Camaro (FS/C, 9.265, -1.035), and Michael Williams (D/SA, 10.544, -1.006).
Third-generation alcohol racer Payne laid down the run on Thursday, putting a gap between her and Aaron Oliverez. She stopped the timers with an out-of-the-trailer run of 5.161, 277.37. Oliverez was second with a 5.240. Shawn Cowie was third with a 5.254.
Bellemeur was on top of the leaderboard for the Funny Car with a 5.455, 266.06, getting the edge on Brian Hough, who was second with a 5.466. Annie Whiteley was third with a 5.473.
Jennifer Wiens (above), set the pace for Top Dragster with a 6.101, 213.70 while 1 404M Florentino Martin Rodriguez, New Braunfel TX, 6.232 230.02 230.02
THURSDAY SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING
COMP ELIMINATOR (FINAL)
1 799 B/A Steve Graham, S. San Francisco CA, ’15 Ca 6.863 7.59 -0.727
2 5233 C/SM Taylor Chomiski, Dallas TX, ’08 Cobalt 8.082 8.79 -0.708
3 7634 PST Kurt Hugger, Fremont CA, ’01 S-10 7.357 8.01 -0.653
4 4011 B/AA Royce Freeman, Lindsey OK, ’16 Camaro 6.903 7.55 -0.647
5 7098 PST Tom Mettler, Kalisplell MT, ’01 Dakota 7.358 7.97 -0.612
6 5008 H/A Travis Gusso, Souix Falls SD, ’10 Cobalt 8.634 9.23 -0.596
7 766A B/DA Melissa Murphy, Long Beach CA, ’22-T Ford 6.785 7.38 -0.595
8 7 A/AA Ryan Priddy, Chino CA, ’18 Camaro 6.489 7.08 -0.591
9 800 B/A Jason Grima, St. Marys AU, ’07 Mustang 7.022 7.61 -0.588
10 601C H/AA Cody Lane, Seattle WA, ’05 Cavalier 8.552 9.14 -0.588
SUPER STOCK (FINAL)
1 4739 GT/GA Greg Stanfield, Bossier City LA, ’02 Cava 9.354 10.40 -1.046
2 7696 GT/JA Len Schneider, Grass Valley CA, ’84 Thund 9.761 10.80 -1.039
3 7568 FSS/D Bryan Broaddus, Yorba Linda CA, ’12 Camaro 8.867 9.90 -1.033
4 7391 FSS/D John Winslow, Prunedale CA, ’11 Challenger 8.910 9.90 -0.990
5 730 FSS/B John Calvert, Mesa AZ, ’19 Mustang 8.227 9.20 -0.973
6 7680 FSS/F Tom Ferruggia, Menifee CA, ’13 Camaro 9.230 10.20 -0.970
7 7171 SS/GA Fred Moreno, La Verne CA, ’69 Mustang 9.586 10.55 -0.964
8 710 GT/OA Shelby Freese, Monterey CA, ’82 Camaro 10.488 11.45 -0.962
9 7304 SS/GA Tom Armanino, San Mateo CA, ’68 Camaro 9.604 10.55 -0.946
10 3163 GT/G Jim Schaechter, Cumming GA, ’03 Cavalier 9.274 10.20 -0.926
STOCK (FINAL)
1 6633 F/SA Joe Sorensen, Woodburn OR, ’69 Camaro 10.667 11.85 -1.183
2 F723 U/SA Paul Calvert, Lancaster CA, ’77 Mustang 13.672 14.85 -1.178
3 759
3 C/SA Richie Pauley, Saugus CA, ’68 Mustang 10.318 11.40 -1.082
4 4 FS/C Leo Glasbrenner, Walling TN, ’14 Camaro 9.265 10.30 -1.035
5 7670 D/SA Michael Williams, Hesperia CA, ’67 Camaro 10.544 11.55 -1.006
6 61 D/SA Brad Burton, Snohomish WA, ’72 Firebird 10.582 11.55 -0.968
7 706C G/SA Chad Langdon, La Mirada CA, ’70 Cuda 11.049 12.00 -0.951
8 7003 C/SA John Schloe, Garden Grove CA, ’69 Firebird10.454 11.40 -0.946
9 754 FS/D Lindy Lindholm, Newport Beach CA, ’17 Cam 9.655 10.60 -0.945
10 7702 FS/H Michael Graham, Casa Grande AZ, ’12 Musta 10.559 11.50 -0.94
TOP DRAGSTER (FINAL)
1 79 Jennifer Wiens, Las Vegas NV, Dragster-MADC 6.101 213.70 228.42
2 7911 Summer Richardson, Acton CA, M&M-Chevy 6.118 228.77 228.77
3 7711 Don London, Lake Havasu City AZ, American-CHEC 6.137 227.69 227.69
4 710 Mike Mendenhall, San Diego CA, Dragster-Chevy 6.145 212.73 212.73
5 7852 Matt Woodard, Belle Chasse LA, Miller-Chevy 6.151 206.16 206.16
6 699B Aaron Steinkey, Dunmore AB, Dragster-MUSI 6.192 223.65 223.65
7 7044 Braiden Chesleigh, Claremont CA, Dan Page-Chevy 6.194 221.74 222.80
8 4 Dylan Hough, Junction City OR, Racetech-Chevy 6.206 224.58 224.58
9 7100 Dan Naylor, Colfax CA, Sarmento-Chevy 6.206 222.33 222.33
10 7091 Reed Taylor, Las Vegas NV, ’23 Altered 6.238 223.14 223.14
TOP SPORTSMAN (FINAL)
1 404M Florentino Martin Rodriguez, New Braunfel TX, 6.232 230.02 230.02
2 7728 Kelly Harper, Peoria AZ, ’67 Mustang 6.400 222.73 224.73
3 699B Aaron Steinkey, Dunmore AB, ’68 Camaro 6.403 222.03 222.03
4 51 Allen Firestone, Velma OK, ’16 Camaro 6.420 213.10 214.25
5 7450 Don Meziere, Escondido CA, ’18 Corvette 6.431 212.03 212.03
6 7598 Chris Newman, Lancaster CA, ’21 Camaro 6.559 212.06 212.06
7 6502 Will Yakimetz, Vegreville AB, ’69 Camaro 6.598 214.93 214.93
8 7038 Pat Warr, Erda UT, ’19 Corvette 6.603 208.10 208.10
9 7534 Paul Mitsos, Eastvale CA, ’23 Camaro 6.649 209.30 209.30
10 3015 Bill Yates, Newark OH, ’68 Camaro 6.693 207.18 207.18
