BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 3, 2026) – Jack Beckman will be the first to tell you the performance of the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car was inconsistent through the first six races of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season but the veteran driver feels strongly that his John Force Racing team is back to peak form as it prepares for the June 5-7 NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
The team’s runner-up finish last week in the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals at Maryland International Raceway is solid proof the PEAK SQUAD has its hot rod back. Beckman earned his second consecutive and 35th overall No. 1 Qualifier with a run of 3.935 seconds at 326.79 mph. Then, in Sunday’s semifinals matchup against teammate Jordan Vandergriff, the PEAK Chevy thundered down the track for the win and, in doing so, set low elapsed time and top speed of the entire weekend with the run of 3.923 seconds at 328.22 mph.
Beckman believes the timing of the turnaround in fortune couldn’t be better with the busy racing schedule through late spring and summer.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after seven of 20 races are: 1. Ron Capps, 540; 2. J.R. Todd, 524; 3. Chad Green, 500; 4. Matt Hagan, 493; 5. Jordan Vandergriff, 485; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 427; 7. Jack Beckman, 412; 8. Spencer Hyde, 370; 9. Austin Prock, 323; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, 264.
Quotes
Expand on the comment you made after Maryland about looking forward to getting back in the car at Epping in just a few days and then again next week at Bristol.
“If we’d close the deal in Maryland, a week off would be fine with me, but I, I think that it just kind of wet everybody’s appetite for our capabilities, and probably, I think, if I speak for myself, I might be speaking for the whole team, we left there frustrated, knowing we left something, uh, uh, knowing that we probably, that we had the best car that day, and came close to walking away with the trophy, but didn’t get it, so. All of us want to get right back out there.”
What does it mean to you, your crew chiefs and your crew guys that you seem to have found your car’s sweet spot again, especially after a strong 2025 but a slow start to 2026?
“I think we found a smoking gun with our inconsistencies so I would like to think, and I certainly hope, that we’re back to where we were in early 2025. We’re still near the top of the sheets for overall quickness and the car was very repeatable and predictable in Maryland on what could’ve been a tricky track. Dan and Tim (crew chiefs Hood and Fabrisi) managed the bump out there and managed the changing weather conditions beautifully. Our run in the semifinals just might have been the run of the year up to this point relative to the track temperature and the conditions. Now we know what we’re capable of and, if that fixed our inconsistency issues, there probably is not a better time in the year to do that because in the next three to four months, we’re going to be facing higher track temperatures and we’re going to need a consistent race car. Hopefully, this gives us something to build off of for qualifying points and round wins.”
What are your memories of the last year’s crash in the semifinals at Epping?
“I don’t know why it happened, and if you don’t know why it happened, how do you keep it from happening again? Frank Hawley and I are good friends, and we bounce a lot of things off one another. I spent a great deal of time on the phone with him, and he looked at the video of the run a bunch of times. He recounted a run he made in his Top Alcohol Funny Car, way before he was driving the Chi Town Hustler, where the thing literally spun out on the burnout. Sometimes you find a smoking gun and, in his case, it was a pinched O ring in the oil feed line. What bothers me is that we didn’t find a smoking gun so, don’t know what caused the crash. That’s what bothers me. Had we found oil on the track or a broken axle, you’d say, okay, cause and effect. There’s your smoking gun. We never found a smoking gun.”
Weekend Appearances
Beckman will participate in autographs sessions in the NHRA Midway on Sat., June 6: from 9:30-10 a.m. ET at the Mission Foods display; and 10-10:30 a.m. ET at the Cornwell Tools display.
Track Schedule
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 5:30 and 8 p.m. ET on Fri., June 5, with the final two rounds Sat., June 6, at 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. Final eliminations are scheduled for Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m. ET.
TV Schedule
Television coverage on FS1 includes a qualifying show Fri., June 5, from 8 – 9:30 p.m. ET, a second qualifying show Sat., June 6, from 10 – 11 p.m. ET, and the eliminations broadcast Sunday, June 7, from 3 – 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
Race Results
| Epping | Race Result | Round Wins | Round Loss | Qualified | Event Record |
| 2013 (FC) | Semi-finals | Def. B. Tasca Def. B. Alexander | Loss to C. Force | 10th | 2-1 |
| 2014 (FC) | 1st round | Loss to D. Worsham | 6th | 2-2 | |
| 2015 (FC) | 1st round | Loss to M. Hagan | 11th | 2-3 | |
| 2016 (FC) | 2nd round | Def. C. Pedregon | Loss to T. Johnson Jr | 6th | 3-4 |
| 2017 (FC) | 1st round | Loss to D. Worsham | 5th | 3-5 | |
| 2018 (FC) | 2nd round | Def. J. Diehl | Loss to T. Wilkerson | 2nd | 4-6 |
| 2019 (FC) | 1st round | Loss to M. Hagan | 11th | 4-7 | |
| 2024 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2025 (FC) | Semi-finals | Def. D. Wilkerson Def. B. Alexander | Loss to S. Hyde | 5th | 6-8 |
Wins: 0
No. 1 Qualifiers: 0
Round Record: 6-8
2026 Results
| Event | Qualify | Round by Round | Round Record | Points Position |
| Gainesville | 9 | Lost to Jordan Vandergriff | 0-1 | 11 |
| Phoenix | 2 | Lost to Daniel Wilkerson | 0-2 | 10 |
| Pomona1 | 8 | Beat Jim Campbell; lost to J.R. Todd | 1-3 | 10 |
| Charlotte | 6 | Advanced Rounds 1 & 2; runner-up to Ron Capps | 3-4 | 8 |
| Valdosta | 11 | Lost to Matt Hagan | 3-5 | 8 |
| Chicago | 1 | Beat Chris King; lost to Matt Hagan | 4-6 | 8 |
| Maryland | 1 | Beat Joe Morrison, J.R. Todd, Jordan Vandergriff; lost to Austin Prock | 7-7 | 7 |
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