Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
JOLIET, Ill. (May 18, 2025) – Racing on his sponsor’s home track with the support of the 623 employees of Old World Industries, whose names were inscribed on the hood of his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS, Jack Beckman outdueled teammate Austin Prock in a classic all-John Force Racing final round Sunday to win the 25th NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
The 58-year-old driving instructor and drag racing historian used a .049 of a second reaction time to make his 3.935 a winner over Prock’s 3.933, securing JFR’s 324th pro tour victory. At the finish line, the margin was a scant .012 of a second.
“Every win is great, and I have a lot of trophies from places like Indy and my home track in Pomona (Calif.),” Beckman said. “But winning here in Chicago, a track that was off the tour for awhile, is as good as it gets.
“When I left the tour, I never thought I’d race here again,” he said, referencing his exit from competition at the end of the 2020 season due to a lack of sponsorship. “Austin Prock is great. Honestly, he’s one or two hundredths better than the rest of us. You just have to do your best.
“This time it all seemed to work out for us,” beamed the U.S. Air Force veteran. “Overall, we were good when we had to be. I try to keep an even keel but, at this point, I’m more appreciative of every opportunity I get.”
In winning for the second time this season, Beckman jumped to second place in Mission Foods points, 41 points behind his teammate, the reining series champion, the same positions in which they finished just one year ago.
It was just Beckman’s sixth win when starting from the front, his first since 2018 when he won the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. He now has won four times since first sliding into the cockpit of the PEAK Chevy last August in relief of team owner and Hall of Fame inductee John Force.
Although he won from the No. 1 position, it wasn’t exactly a stress free drive to the winners’ circle for the 2003 Super Comp World Champ. After an electronic gremlin kept the engine in his hot rod silent during the last qualifying session on Saturday, denying him a chance to improve on his pacesetting 3.859 second time, his team was confronted with another issue before the final round.
“Third time this weekend our car didn’t start,” said the 37-time pro tour winner. “But a gold star to crew chief Tim Fabrisi. We had to replace the MSD grid unit. Three different issues why our PEAK Chevy SS didn’t start, but it all worked out in the end.”
It was the 55th time JFR teammates have battled for a victory on the sport’s premier circuit but just the second time at Chicago where Force, Beckman’s predecessor, beat Robert Hight, Prock’s predecessor, to win the Funny Car title in 2006. Ironically, Force also won on a hole shot.
Although he struggled in qualifying at the controls of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet, Prock found his A-game on Sunday, dispatching Bobby Bode, Paul Lee and defending Chicago champion Matt Hagan to reach the final round for the fourth time in six races this year.
The 29-year-old, who won four tour events in a JFR Top Fuel dragster before getting a chance to drive a Funny Car for his dad, Jimmy, has been a finalist in 16 of the 26 races in which he has competed since making that move.
“All we wanted to do was race each other today,” Prock said of his showdown with Beckman, “(because) we’re in the backyard of PEAK and OWI. Really proud of my Cornwell Tools team and for Hendrickcars.com. We sucked all weekend long, but we finally got it together in Q4 when it mattered.
“It was amazing to see my team’s hard work pay off after a rough start,” he said. “They kept their heads down and gave me a race-winning car on Sunday. I left a little on the table in the final and let it get away, but really proud of the PEAK team to win in their hometown. What an awesome day for John Force Racing.”
As for two-time World Champ Brittany Force, her bid to become just the 12th Top Fuel driver in 75 years to win as many as 300 rounds of racing in the NHRA series ran afoul of Justin Ashley to whom she lost in Sunday’s opening round when her Monster Energy dragster slowed to 5.149 seconds after qualifying at 3.780.
“We had to step it up today (so) we really pushed our car,” said the 17-time tour winner. “Looking back on it, we should have backed it down a little. We drove out and went into smoke, which is unfortunate.”
Nevertheless, the 38-year-old remains optimistic, especially after a .047 first round reaction time.
“I was very happy with that,” she said. “I can’t compare it to (Ashley’s best-of-the-event .018). He’s the best leaver in the business, but I have to focus on me and what I can do (and) that was a killer light for me, so I’ll just keep working on that, try to improve. And repeating that going forward would be awesome.”
Her next chance to reach 300 will come June 1 when she competes in the 12th NHRA New England Nationals at Epping, N.H., a race she won in 2017.
