Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
POMONA, Calif. (March 26, 2025) – It’s been 27 years since Jack Beckman first hoisted a winners’ trophy at what today is In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip but, on the eve of this week’s 65th running of the Lucas Oil Winternationals, the two-time NHRA World Champion’s confidence never has been higher for an event on his home track.
“I won the 2019 Finals, 2020 Winternationals and 2024 Finals,” he said. “So the last three times I raced there, I left with the trophy.”
That’s a remarkable streak considering that he was out of the sport, at least competitively, from November 2020, when lack of sponsorship compelled former car owner Don Schumacher to park his car, until last August when he took over the controls of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS from an injured John Force.
Last November, in his return to the track on which he won Super Comp titles at the 1998 and 2003 Winternationals, he posted personal best numbers of 3.812 seconds and 336.23 miles per hour en route to winning the In-N-Out Finals and locking up the No. 2 position in the Mission Foods driver standings as Force’s surrogate.
His performance with JFR in the season’s last eight races, which netted a pair of victories and a runner-up, earned him a full-time shot at the championship, an opportunity he never thought would present itself again.
Now, he’s aiming to extend his personal Pomona win streak in a PEAK Chevy that has shown itself to be the most consistent Funny Car in the series, one capable of racing competitively on any track in any conditions.
“I mean it’s always just a little cooler when you sleep in your own bed and get up and drive to the track,” he said of being back in familiar surroundings. “For the first time in my pro career, the Winternationals is not the season-opener for me, but that’s okay. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m looking forward to every race with this car because it’s been incredible so far this season. We know a win is coming real soon.”
That’s no idle boast. In fact, the PEAK Chevy returns to California having earned qualifying bonus points in every qualifying session this year. Moreover, it was quickest in four of those six qualifying sessions, twice in cool damp conditions in Florida and twice in hot, dry conditions in Arizona.
“I love the fact that, as quick as our PEAK Chevy is on great, cool racetracks, it might even be better, relative to the field, when things get hot and nasty out there,” said the 35-time Funny Car winner. “Credit (crew chiefs) Dan Hood, Chris Cunningham, Tim Fabrisi and the rest of this PEAK squad.”
Following his success in Super Comp, a category in which he won the 2003 World Championship, and after battling cancer to a standoff, Beckman got his first pro ride in one of Dexter Tuttle’s Top Fuel dragsters in 2005. That paved the way for his Funny Car debut with DSR a year later.
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POMONA, Calif. (March 26, 2025) – It’s been 27 years since Jack Beckman first hoisted a winners’ trophy at what today is In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip but, on the eve of this week’s 65th running of the Lucas Oil Winternationals, the two-time NHRA World Champion’s confidence never has been higher for an event on his home track.
“I won the 2019 Finals, 2020 Winternationals and 2024 Finals,” he said. “So the last three times I raced there, I left with the trophy.”
That’s a remarkable streak considering that he was out of the sport, at least competitively, from November 2020, when lack of sponsorship compelled former car owner Don Schumacher to park his car, until last August when he took over the controls of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS from an injured John Force.
Last November, in his return to the track on which he won Super Comp titles at the 1998 and 2003 Winternationals, he posted personal best numbers of 3.812 seconds and 336.23 miles per hour en route to winning the In-N-Out Finals and locking up the No. 2 position in the Mission Foods driver standings as Force’s surrogate.
His performance with JFR in the season’s last eight races, which netted a pair of victories and a runner-up, earned him a full-time shot at the championship, an opportunity he never thought would present itself again.
Now, he’s aiming to extend his personal Pomona win streak in a PEAK Chevy that has shown itself to be the most consistent Funny Car in the series, one capable of racing competitively on any track in any conditions.
“I mean it’s always just a little cooler when you sleep in your own bed and get up and drive to the track,” he said of being back in familiar surroundings. “For the first time in my pro career, the Winternationals is not the season-opener for me, but that’s okay. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m looking forward to every race with this car because it’s been incredible so far this season. We know a win is coming real soon.”
That’s no idle boast. In fact, the PEAK Chevy returns to California having earned qualifying bonus points in every qualifying session this year. Moreover, it was quickest in four of those six qualifying sessions, twice in cool damp conditions in Florida and twice in hot, dry conditions in Arizona.
“I love the fact that, as quick as our PEAK Chevy is on great, cool racetracks, it might even be better, relative to the field, when things get hot and nasty out there,” said the 35-time Funny Car winner. “Credit (crew chiefs) Dan Hood, Chris Cunningham, Tim Fabrisi and the rest of this PEAK squad.”
Following his success in Super Comp, a category in which he won the 2003 World Championship, and after battling cancer to a standoff, Beckman got his first pro ride in one of Dexter Tuttle’s Top Fuel dragsters in 2005. That paved the way for his Funny Car debut with DSR a year later.
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