If you are going to replace a 157-time winner, you had better be fast.
“Fast” Jack Beckman will fill the role of John Force’s substitute while he recovers from a Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI] suffered on June 23, 2024, in
Richmond, Va., while racing the NHRA Virginia Nationals.
Beckman will drive Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS for the remainder of the 2024 season in what the team is calling “the Joint Task Force—Mission Championship”.”
Beckman will debut this weekend at the 47th Annual Cornwell Tools “Night Under Fire” at Summit Motorsports Park. He and John Force Racing teammate Brittany Force, who is driving the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet dragster, will compete in the event.
Beckman could contend and win a championship for the 157-time winner Force per NHRA’s replacement driver rules. NHRA rules mandate that when a driver cannot compete, the race team may employ a substitute who can earn points for the original driver in a maximum of eight tour events.
Beckman has a good chance of making things happen as Force remains sixth in the championship standings despite missing the last three events. Two races remain in the regular season: Brainerd, Minnesota, and the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
“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,” JFR President Robert 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.”
Beckman’s last run at a championship was in 2020, when the 33-time NHRA national event winner drove for Don Schumacher Racing.
Beckman has spent his time away from drag racing as a full-time elevator technician, an occupation he left 22 years ago to become a professional drag racer.
“It’s been nearly four years since I stood on the throttle, and I thought that feeling was something I’d never experience again. 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, coming up just 56 points shy of being a two-time Funny Car champion.
Beckman, a cancer survivor and U.S. Air Force veteran, has also been a drag racing instructor at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. Outside of racing against Force, a 17-time champion dating back to his AHRA days, including instruction to Force’s daughters, Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney. John’s wife, Laurie, also earned her Super Comp license under Beckman’s tutelage.
Beckman is a past NHRA Lucas Oil sportsman champion, winning 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, he made his Funny Car debut late in the season, and in just his fourth race in the category, he won the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two weeks later, in the season-ending World Finals, he 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 in the sport 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 position. Team President Robert Hight made history in 2009 for himself and JFR when he won his first championship from the No. 10 starting position.
