Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 8, 2025) – Jack Beckman sat in the grandstands and roamed the pit area at the very first NHRA national event at the Texas Motorplex in 1986 and he has every intention of holding the Wally trophy in winner’s circle when he returns for the Oct. 8-12 NHRA Texas Fall Nationals.
Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD find themselves in third place in the 2025 NHRA Funny Car point standings, just 20 behind Matt Hagan in second and 65 back of point leader and John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock. Beckman and his Daniel Hood/Tim Fabrisi/Chris Cunningham-led Peak Antifreeze and Coolant team are coming off a runner-up finish two weeks ago at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis and looking to continue that momentum in the Lone Star State.
The balance of the Top 10 are: Ron Capps (-125), Daniel Wilkerson (-137), Paul Lee (-158), Cruz Pedregon (-162), Spencer Hyde (-196), Alexis Dejoria (-200) and Chad Green (-202).
Notes
- The 2012 NHRA Funny Car Champion finished runner-up three times in the Texas Fall Nationals (2009, 2015, 2019) before finally grabbing the Wally in 2020 in his 16th attempt.
- Fast Jack qualified third in last year’s Texas Fall Nationals but woke up on race day with a case of vertigo that sent him to the emergency room and prevented him from racing.
- Beckman will participate in the Oct. 9 NHRA FanFest at Railyard Park in downtown Waxahachie, Texas, where fans can meet and get autographs from all the top stars in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The event is from 7-8:30 p.m. and Railyard Park is 455 S. College Street.
Quotes
What is the intensity level and your mindset going into Dallas little more than three rounds out of the championship points lead with three races remaining?
“I don’t care what the gap is to second place because the only goal of the PEAK SQUAD is to win the championship. Austin’s taillights were pretty far in the distance after Charlotte, but St. Louis let us know we very much are still in the run for the championship. Our goal is always for the John Force Racing Funny Cars to meet in the final round, guaranteeing one gets in the winner’s circle, but there’s not enough rounds left if we beat him in all three remaining final rounds.
“At St. Louis, it was a do-or-die situation going into the second round against each other. We knew that if he beat us, it was going to be the nail in the coffin for our championship. Fortunately, we were able to not only beat Austin but win the next round which put us 40 points closer to him. Nobody wants to not have a shot the championship on the last day of the season. This just revived our championship chase and put us right back in the thick of this thing.”
Is there something special about racing and potentially winning at the Texas Motorplex during its 40th anniversary race weekend knowing what Billy Meyer has meant to the sport, both behind the wheel and as the founder and leader of the Motorplex?
“All of that capitalized, underlined, and highlighted. I was at the first race in 1986. My fellow Air Force Airman Lee West and I hopped in his Chevette from Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and drove 500 miles one way to attend the first national event at the Texas Motorplex. It is etched in my brain forever because that track was way more remote back then. Lee and I were driving down that last couple miles and then you see the track looming in the distance. You see this electronic message sign at the highway next to the track. I couldn’t get him to park the car and get out of there fast enough to run in.
“It still brings tingles to me thinking of that moment 40 years ago, I was in 19-year-old airman, absolutely in love with the sport, and never did I think I’d be coming back there 40 years later with a legitimate shot of the funny car championship. And don’t forget Last year was the only time in my career that I was unable to race on Sunday.”
What did happen last year?
I woke up Sunday morning in the hotel room, and the world wouldn’t stop spinning. It was a horrible bout with vertigo that put me in the emergency room. You want to talk about a low point in my racing career, that one would be hard to top. We had qualified well. We were still very much in the thick of the points race and I thought we had a great shot of winning in Dallas. And I couldn’t even make it out to the racetrack that day. So, anything we do this year should be a better week than that.
Tell about how special it was in winning at the Texas Motorplex in 2020.
“I was finally able to win one of the greatest wins of my career at the Motorplex in 2020. My dad Bob, who lives an hour and a half from the race track, got the cowboy hat in the winner’s circle, and I wanted to do that for him for 20 years. One of my greatest racing memories ever was sealing the deal 2020 in Dallas and my dad will be out there again this year. He is 88 years old, and I would love nothing more than to win to celebrate it with him and the PEAK team and to know that that’s going to put us right on the rear bumper of our teammate for the championship.”
Texas Motorplex Statistics
| Jack Beckman | Race Result | Qualified | Event Round Record |
| 2005 (TF) | 1st round | 11th | 0-1 |
| 2006 (FC) | 1st round | 15th | 0-2 |
| 2007 (FC) | 1st round | 7th | 0-3 |
| 2008 (FC) | Semi-finals | 5th | 2-4 |
| 2009 (FC) | Runner-up | 7th | 5-5 |
| 2010 (FC) | 2nd round | 7th | 6-6 |
| 2011 (FC) | 2nd round | 6th | 7-7 |
| 2012 (FC) | 2nd round | 3rd | 8-8 |
| 2013 (FC) | Semi-finals | 6th | 10-9 |
| 2014 (FC) | 1st round | 8th | 10-10 |
| 2015 (FC) | Runner-up | 2nd | 13-11 |
| 2016 (FC) | 2nd round | 2nd | 14-12 |
| 2017 (FC) | Semi-finals | 3rd | 16-13 |
| 2018 (FC) | 2nd round | 5th | 17-14 |
| 2019 (FC) | Runner-up | 1st | 20-15 |
| 2020 (FC) | Winner | 6th | 24-15 |
| 2021 | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete |
| 2022 | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete |
| 2023 | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete |
| 2024 (FC) | 1st round | 3rd | 24-16 |
Number starts: 16
Times No. 1 qualifier: 1 (2019)
Final rounds: 3 (2009, 2015, 2019)
Victories: 1 (2020)
Won-Lost Record: 24-16
Track & TV Schedules
NHRA Mission Food Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds Friday, Oct. 10, at 5:15 and 8 p.m. CT, and the final two rounds on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 12 and 2:30 p.m. CT. Final eliminations are scheduled on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. CT.
Television coverage on Sunday, Oct. 12, includes qualifying action on FS1 from 10 a.m. – noon ET and then eliminations coverage on FOX from 2-4 p.m. ET and 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET.
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