BROWNSBURG, Ind. (MAY 27, 2026) – The first third of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season hasn’t produced the results Jack Beckman and his John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team expect of themselves but they have every reason to believe they will be back to peak performance in the May 29-31 NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway.
The 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion and drag racing historian knows his team, like most if not all the others in the nitro categories, will be creating the first pages of race track setup information during this inaugural event. It will be imperative, therefore, to be successful in all four qualifying runs to then prepare for Sunday’s elimination rounds.
Few have the experience Beckman has accumulated in his decades of racing in taking that in-the-driver’s-seat knowledge and translating it to success on race day. He looks to capitalize on that experience and earn the team’s first event win of the year.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after six of 20 races are: 1. (tie) Ron Capps, 468; J.R. Todd, 468; 3. Matt Hagan, 459; 4. Chad Green, 443; 5. Jordan Vandergriff, 416; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 389; 7. Spencer Hyde, 312; 8. Jack Beckman, 311; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 233; 10. Dave Richards, 222.
Quotes
Do you have any familiarity at all with Maryland International Raceway?
“I filmed an episode of the TV show Pinks with Clay Millican out there, probably 17 years ago, but none other than that. I know it’s the shortest concrete section on the tour and I know it’s the third-lowest elevation of any racetrack on tour. I also know it’s a track we need to win at.
“I always love going to new racetracks. That’s always cool to me as a historian and a fan, going to a new venue. My dad’s from Maryland and Christine’s from Maryland so there’s a lot of family in that area. What better place to earn our first Wally of the year.”
What does a lower elevation and short concrete pad mean regarding setting up the car for PEAK performance?
“Dan Hood and Tim Fabrisi (the PEAK SQUAD’s crew chiefs) have a pretty sophisticated program and we always try to get our power level about as close to a baseline as we can, whether we’re at Vegas or Gainesville. That involves compression ratio, which is head gasket thickness, blower overdrive, ignition timing and nitro percentage. That’s not difficult to do. What’s difficult to do is give the car enough clutch to run fast without overpowering the racetrack. Concrete provides better traction than asphalt but it’s a lot more expensive and arguably a little harder to keep clean. So, most racetracks now are 700 feet of concrete but Maryland, from what I understand, has just over 300 feet.
“The shorter pad is going to present unique challenges for two reasons. One is we are coming off that transition from concrete to asphalt and it’s almost never perfectly smooth. That bump could upset the car and we’ll reach it in what I would argue is the most critical area of acceleration. The issue is there are probably no data sheets in most of these crew chiefs’ computer cache that go back to racetracks with that short of a launch pad, and certainly our tuneups and power level have evolved since then. So, there’s going to be a lot of educated guesses for the first couple of qualifying runs trying to get situated and get the car to a level where it can make that transition and still put up a respectable ET.”
Assess where the team is in the point standings after six races heading into Maryland.
“There’s only ever one inaugural event at these new facilities so we have three more shots this year to etch our names in the history books. We still want to earn our inaugural win of 2026. I didn’t think we’d be going into Race 7 this deep in the point standings but it is what it is. We just have to make our bad outcomes fewer and further between. We’ll continue working on a solution to that this weekend.”
Weekend Appearances
Sat., March 30, 10-10:30 a.m. ET, autograph session at Cornwell Tools display, NHRA Midway.
Track Schedule
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 2:30 and 5 p.m. ET on Fri., May 29, with the final two rounds Sat., May 30, at 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. Final eliminations are scheduled for Sunday, May 31, at 11 a.m. ET.
TV Schedule
Television coverage on FS1 includes a qualifying show Fri., May 29, from 7 – 8 p.m. ET, a second qualifying show Sat., May 30, from 7 – 8 p.m. ET, and the eliminations broadcast Sunday, May 31, from 3 – 6 p.m. ET.
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 |
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