Jack Beckman hasn’t mashed the throttle on a race car at Maple Grove Raceway in five long years but, considering the outcome of his last start in the Pep Boys Nationals, one can’t blame the two-time World Champion for feeling pretty good about his chances in this week’s 39th renewal.

That he won the last time he raced here is significant. That the car he beat in that 2019 final is the same PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS he now drives in relief of 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force borders on the surreal. 

With Force sidelined by the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va., Beckman was afforded an opportunity he never could have anticipated and he’s trying his best to make the most of it.

The former Super Comp World Champ (2003) quickly has adapted to a new environment at John Force Racing, acknowledging that his comfort level has grown each time he’s hit the gas on the aqua blue PEAK Camaro prepared by a crew led by Dan Hood, Chris Cunningham and Tim Fabrisi.

“Now that I’ve ‘knocked the rust off’ (with a quarterfinal finish at Brainerd, Minn., followed by a trip to the semifinals in the Labor Day U.S. Nationals, a race in which he posted quick time of eliminations), it’s time for the Countdown,” said the 58-year-old veteran. 

“With back-to-back-to-back events (upcoming), I look forward to getting even more comfortable and climbing further up in the standings,” said the 33-time pro tour winner and 2012 Funny Car World Champion. “We’re less than four rounds out of first place with a car and a team capable of winning EVERY race. I can’t wait to get my first win for John, PEAK, and Chevrolet.”

Before loss of sponsorship sent him back to work in 2021 as an elevator repairman, Beckman built up an extensive resume at Maple Grove where he won three times in 12 starts (2008, 2015, 2019) and compiled an 18-10 record. 

The only Funny Car driver to have won the Pep Boys Nationals more often? That would be Force, who has hoisted the trophy seven times and was runner-up on nine other occasions.