Beckman Forced to Withdrawal from NHRA FallNationals

In yet another dramatic twist for John Force’s Funny Car team, title contender and No. 3 qualifier Jack Beckman was forced to the sidelines Sunday morning with a sudden onset of vertigo-like symptoms.

Beckman, 58, has been substituting for the injured John Force since the August race at Brainerd, Minn., and had been the No. 2-ranked driver in the standings as one of the few to stop Austin Prock from running away with the championship. Force was hurt in the June event near Richmond, Va. NHRA rules allow an injured driver to have a fill-in for a maximum of eight races.

Sunday’s setback didn’t cost Beckman, winner of the previous race, at St. Louis, any positions in the standings. He remained in second place but he’s 147 points off Prock’s pace.

With Beckman’s startling race-day news taking the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro off the racetrack, Chad Green won their first-round match-up with a solo pass.

Beckman, 58, who had helped emcee Saturday night’s Drag Racing Association of Women (D.R.A.W.) auction that fetched more than $100,000 to help injured racers, said he awoke Sunday morning with vertigo-like symptoms.

“Jack was fine when he left the track [Saturday night], but when he woke up this morning, he had vertigo-like symptoms that were not quickly resolved,” John Force Racing spokesman Bob McAleer said. “On the advice of NHRA medical professionals, he reluctantly has withdrawn from competition this weekend.”

Susan Wade

Contributing Editor

Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle.  She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016