By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Jack Beckman had no immediate plans to return and race a Funny Car this year. Then, in a matter of moments, an opportunity became available. Not initially but eventually it did.
John Force, the living legend in drag racing, had a horrific accident at Virginia Motorsports Park in late June. The injury was more serious than initially thought.
The PEAK Funny Car team was sidelined for several races as John Force Racing considered their options. Then, enter former champion Beckman.
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“Nobody’s ever going to replace John Force,” Beckman said. “That man is one-of-a-kind. I get to keep John’s seat warm for the immediate future, and we’ll see what happens. And I haven’t followed the sport as hardcore as I used to, simply because I’ve been busy working. And I did see John’s accident, and it looked pretty bad, but I thought, ‘That’s Superman. He’ll be okay.’
“He’ll be back the next race. And then I started to realize, as the days unfolded, that it was more serious than a lot of people gave credence to. And then word started getting out that (it) might be several races, if not the rest of the season, that John’s going to be out.”
When Beckman knew it would take longer for his recovery, acquaintances began to tell him that they hoped he would get the job.
“And then the rumors started flying, and a lot of acquaintances started texting me, ‘Hey, I hope you get that ride,’” he said. “Well, my phone never rang, and I figured they found somebody to take the car. And it wasn’t until a couple (of days) later, one day at work, I’m driving from job to job, fixing elevators, and the phone’s ringing.
“And I see it’s Robert Hight, and I knew right away why he was calling. And the range of emotions that went through my head in that five seconds between seeing the caller ID and picking up the phone and screaming yes 20 times over and over again.”
Beckman is a former Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car driver, who spent 14 years driving a Funny Car. He also won the 2012 NHRA Funny Car Championship.
However, at the end of the 2020 season, he had been sidelined without a ride.
When Beckman returned to the NHRA at the Brainerd national event in August, it was the first time he had competed at an NHRA event since Las Vegas in 2020. Before the Minnesota national event, Beckman participated in the Night Under Fire thrill show at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio to get seat time.
With each pass down the track, he is getting more comfortable in a Nitro Funny Car.
“Nitro Funny Cars, there’s so many different things that can happen outside the realm of a good, straight, start-to-finish run,” Beckman said. “So, on a good, straight, start-to-finish run, I’m pretty darn comfortable. I’m not back to where I was in November of 2020, but that would be ridiculous to assume that.
“I was making 180 runs — 160 to 180 runs — a year for 14 years, and then I went three-years-and-nine-months without ever stepping on the throttle of anything on a drag strip, except for push start a cackle car. So, that would be ridiculous to assume that I’m back to that level. But (with) every run, I’m feeling better and better.”
Beckman had just two races to get ready for the Countdown to the Championship.
“That’s not to say that I feel I am as competent as I was four years ago if the car shakes or spins,” he said. “But it felt really good to know that all this visualization that I’m doing, all this practice that I’m doing, sitting in my van at lunchtime at work, or flying on the airplane to the races, actually pays off in the car. But I’m going to tell you, there’s nothing that replaces seat time in a Nitro Funny Car for when these things do stupid things on race day.
“Every run, to me, helps me out a whole bunch. Remember, the rest of the drivers in the countdown had 14 races to prepare for the countdown. I had two. I think my learning curve is still at a fairly steep angle, but I’m feeling a lot better in that car now.”
The fans have welcomed Beckman back with open arms.
“I think the fans have always liked me because I’ve always liked the fans,” Beckman said. “And that is not from an egocentric standpoint at all. I think the fans recognize I’m one of them.
“I’m a regular guy that loves the sport, that has been fortunate enough to make a living for quite a few years doing it. And when I wasn’t able to do that anymore, I went back to fixing elevators because I’m a regular guy. And I think that was appreciated by all when I did come back.”
He was more concerned about the hardcore John Force fans accepting him.
“My concern would be the hardcore John Force fans who didn’t want anybody in John’s car,” Beckman said. “And I’ve not heard any negative feedback. Everything has just been tremendously positive.
“And I think a good reason for that is I think these people always have known how much love and respect I’ve had for John over the years. I just felt so fortunate to get to line up next to him so many times. And now to have the opportunity to drive his car and earn points for him is beyond anything I ever could have dreamed of. And the fact that the fans have been so supportive takes it to the next level.”
According to the NHRA Countdown to the Championship points, John Force is listed as No. 2 in points. However, it is Beckman, who is collecting the points for the 16-time Champion, as the legendary figure watches his car in action this weekend.
As we previously reported, Force was cleared by doctors to attend this race in Sin City.
At press time, Force has 2,390 points. That is just 147 points behind points leader and fellow John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock, who has been dominant this season, with 2,537 points.
“It’s Nitro Funny Car,” Beckman said. “Don’t ever bet on drag racing. Even though you’re allowed to bet on drag racing now, don’t. Nitro Funny Car is so radically unpredictable. A bad run of clutch discs, a goofy set of rear tires at the wrong time, a bend in the wheelie bar — that’s not noticed first round. Anything like that could upset the apple cart.
“And if you look at Maple Grove (first race of the Countdown to the Championship), we were done first round. We were very fortunate that Joe Morrison — and I didn’t wish this on anybody — and Joe’s a good friend of mine, crossed the center line. Otherwise, we were done. That can happen to anybody. The problem with trying to catch and pass the Prock and Prock team, which is Robert Hight’s race car, is that Austin Prock is roughly two hundredths better than the rest of us in reaction times. Which means if you gave him a car that was two hundredths slower than ours, it would be a tie.”
Prock set the No. 1 qualifier record on Saturday with his 14th on the season in Las Vegas. John Force previously set the record with 13 in 1996.
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“But the other problem is Jimmy Prock’s tune-up oftentimes is two hundredths quicker than the rest of the cars out there,” Beckman said. “Which means you could give him a driver that’s two hundredths slower, and it would be a tie. They are an absolutely lethal combination right now.
“Austin has been doing an amazing job at driving, well beyond his years, way beyond his level of experience in a Funny Car. And Jimmy Prock has gotten into that groove where it doesn’t matter if it’s cold, haul-ass conditions, or a miserably hot, tip-toe-down-the-race-track conditions, he seems to have an answer for it every run.”
Beckman moved up to the No. 2 spot with Force’s team after capturing the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology at Gateway near St. Louis in Madison, Illinois.
He was able to remain in the second spot after missing the Dallas race with Vertigo.
“(In) late June, I was fixing elevators and thinking that that’s what I’d be doing for the next 10 years,” Beckman said. “There just was nothing on the horizon for me for getting back into racing. And then fast forward to August, and I’m strapped in John Force’s Camaro going down the drag strip at 330 miles an hour. I already had my dream come true. I had 14 years of driving for Don Schumacher Racing, and winning events, and winning the championship. And now I got a second go-round. I don’t know what 2025 holds. I know we’ve got two more opportunities. I am not going to try to cram a square peg in a round hole.
“I’m going to do the best that I can each time I pull up there. I have so much confidence in Tim Fabrisi, Dan Hood, Chris Cunningham, and every mechanic on the team. These guys at this level, they’re just so good at what they do.”
Beckham said he’s cherishing this new opportunity.
“I marvel, and I appreciate it even more the second go-round, Anthony,” Beckman said. “Going back to a blue-collar job and bumping my knuckles, coming home sore at the end of the day. And then flying out and getting in a race car and watching how hard these guys work. The sweat pouring down their face, the hot oil on their arms. I have even more appreciation than I had five years ago. And I had a ton of it five years ago.
“This is an opportunity for me. I’m going to cherish every moment of it. I’m going to do the very best that I can do for John Force and his team. And we’ll see how things end up. And I’m not going to stand back and watch things happen. I’m going to jump in and participate and do the best that I can.”
There is one NHRA Countdown to the Championship race left following the Las Vegas race today.
The teams are participating in the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals before concluding the season at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
Beckman has one mission. And that is to win the Championship for Force.
“As far as the Championship is concerned, I want to earn this one for John,” he said. “All we have to do is be better than the car in the other lane every time we pull up there. And it sounds so easy. In NASCAR, if you beat four cars in the race, you finish 37th. It sounds easy to beat four cars, but in drag racing, that means you don’t have to be perfect. You have to be better than the other car and driver every time you pull up to the starting line. And there’s a lot of tough drivers and a lot of tough cars out there.
“And we can’t control what the other people do. We have to do a good job of controlling what we do.”
Beckman hopes that controlling what the team can control leads to a special moment with a 17th Championship for Force at the end of the season.
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