Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
RICHMOND, Va. (June 21, 2025) – Beset by memories of Virginia Motorsports Park, the track on which her dad was seriously injured last year after crashing his Funny Car at 300 miles per hour, two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force had something more positive on which to focus Saturday after driving her Chevrolet Accessories dragster to the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s 15th NHRA Virginia Nationals.
The 18-time pro tour winner shared center stage with John Force Racing teammate “Fast Jack” Beckman who, driving the latest version of Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS, raced to the top of the order in Funny Car as the only driver able to break four seconds. He’ll start Sunday one position ahead of teammate, reigning series champ and point leader Austin Prock.
It’s the 18th time JFR Funny Car and Top Fuel drivers have qualified No. 1 at the same NHRA event, the second time they’ve done so this season (after Force and Prock were No. 1 at the Lucas Oil Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.)
A winner two races ago at Epping, N.H., Brittany opened Saturday with a solid 3.893 before dipping to 3.839 at 327.98 miles per hour, a performance that secured the 54th No. 1 of her career. She’ll roll to the starting line Sunday against point leader Tony Stewart knowing that the only other time she qualified No. 1 at this event, she finished in the same position.
“To be running in the heat as well as we have and to go No. 1 with this Chevrolet Accessories team, we’re really excited,” said the 2013 Rookie-of-the-Year. “(Crew chief) Dave Grubnic has this car really tuned up; he figured it out. We’re in a good position right now and I can’t wait for race day.”
Nevertheless, the only woman to have won as many as 300 rounds in the sport’s signature class acknowledged the obvious.
“It’s definitely tough coming back (to Richmond) with the memories I have,” she said. “We won here in 2022 and won here last season (in the Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge) and it’s all kind of forgotten (because) the only thing I really remember is Sunday last year when my dad wrecked and everything that came with that. I’m glad he’s out here with me but, everywhere I look, I see something that reminds me of that day.”
After touting his car’s talent for negotiating hot racetracks, Beckman provided some serious substantiation Saturday with runs of 3.988 and 4.016 that enabled him to gobble up six more qualifying bonus points. The U.S. Air Force veteran will start from No. 1 for the 31st time in his Funny Car career and for the third time this year, facing Jim Campbell in opening stanza.
“It’s funny when get used to low 3.80s, 3.98 doesn’t feel that fast,” said the 2012 Funny Car World Champion. “It’s hot, it’s humid, it’s nasty and our PEAK Chevy is nastier. I’m ready to put it in the winners’ circle. We’ve got Task Force Rahal on board, and we’ve got the boss here. We’re in Richmond where his wreck was last year (and we) really would like some closure at the end of the weekend.”
As for Prock, he had a solid, if not typically spectacular qualifying performance.
“We ended up No. 2 right behind Beckman,” said the driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevy SS, “so we’re on opposite sides of the ladder, which is good. We made two nice clean runs in Q1 and Q3 and Q2 was really close. We had just a taste too much on the top end.
“I definitely think we have a little more left in the tank and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said the man who has won 10 times since first climbing into the Cornwell Chevy in relief of three-time World Champion Robert Hight. “We race Cruz Pedregon in the first round. We raced him last year in the first round and ended up leaving with the Wally, so maybe that’s a good omen.”
