Coming off a milestone victory two weeks ago at Pomona, Calif., where he secured the 300th Funny Car win for John Force Racing, “Fast Jack” Beckman goes back to school this week for a refresher course in advance of Sunday’s west coast version of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Since it’s been six years since his last experience with the format, the Mission Foods point leader will spend some extra time acclimating himself to the nuances of four across racing.
“I’ll be spending lots of time Thursday and early Friday rehearsing the staging and turnout idiosyncrasies involved (in four-wide competition),” said the U.S. Air Force veteran. “Our PEAK Chevy is primed to win again, and I will be ready to give 100 percent!”
Nevertheless, don’t look for Beckman in the familiar PEAK blue Chevrolet SS he began driving last year in relief of the team’s injured founder and CEO. For this week’s race, that car will be decked out in the red, white and black livery of Indianapolis-based Graham Rahal Performance.
A six-time winner in the NTT Indy Car series, Rahal opened GRP in 2017 as a custom-tuning and performance parts shop catering to cars and owners of every shape, size and interest. He has expanded the scope of the business every year since.
“Even though our forms of racing are very different,” Beckman said. “Our DNA is the same. At the core, we are all hotrodders. I am thrilled to have Graham Rahal Performance on board, knowing that Graham recognizes the value of drag racing as a marketing tool. We look forward to representing GRP in a professional, positive, and winning fashion.”
Although he was runner-up to J.R. Todd the first time the spring race was run in the four-wide configuration, Beckman’s only four-wide wins were at Charlotte, N.C., in 2011 and 2015. The last time he raced four-wide at The Strip, he finished third behind Todd and Tommy Johnson Jr.
A former NHRA World Champion in both the Super Comp and Funny Car categories (2003 and 2012, respectively), Beckman has won three times in just 11 races since first sliding behind the wheel of the potent Chevy prepared by a “PEAK Squad” led by Daniel Hood, Chris Cunningham and Tim Fabrisi.
This is the seventh different season in which the competitive driving instructor and drag racing historian has topped the Funny Car standings. He last was No. 1 entering eliminations at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis in 2020 when he still was driving for Don Schumacher Racing.
Although he has 36 NHRA Funny Car victories to his credit, Beckman’s only win at LVMS came in his very first start at the track in 2006. Nevertheless, he remains the track record holder for speed at 335.90 miles per hour, a mark he established at the fall race in 2019.
Before he races in Sunday’s main event, Beckman will try to extend a pair of streaks. He enters the 4-Wide Nationals having earned bonus points (as one of the three quickest drivers) in 12 consecutive qualifying sessions. Furthermore, he’ll put a perfect record on the line in Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge after winning in his only previous appearance in the bonus series.
This story was originally published on April 9, 2025.
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