Brittany Force, a two-time Top Fuel world champion, and Jack Beckman, a 2012 Funny Car world champion, will compete in the 47th annual Cornwell Tools “Night Under Fire” drag racing and fireworks extravaganza on Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park, owned by the Bader family.
Beckman, a 33-time NHRA tour winner, won the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals three times (in 2009, 2015, and 2017), with a 23-10 record in 13 starts, and finished second to Bob Tasca III in his final outing in 2019.
“It’s been nearly four years since I stood on the throttle,” said the man who will drive the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS for Force, the drag racing Hall of Famer and Norwalk legend who is still recovering from a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) sustained in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va.
“Though the circumstances that brought me back are regrettable, the opportunity presented to me is beyond my ability to find words,” the cancer survivor said of his unexpected new position. “I am not replacing John. Nobody could ever accomplish that. John is one-of-a-kind, and his influence on this sport and my life cannot be overstated.
“I realize how fortunate I am to have been chosen to fill in,” said the former instructor at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, whose students included Force’s daughters and his wife, Laurie. “I should be easy to find in the trenches. I’ll be the man who never stops smiling.”
Beckman joins a long list of JFR drivers who have competed in what has emerged as the sport’s largest independent event. Tony Pedregon, Eric Medlen, Robert Hight, Mike Neff, Ashley Force Hood, Courtney Force, and, of course, Brittany, who will be back in Cornwell blue and black this year.
“It is an honor to be teamed up with Cornwell Tools and to feature them on our car,” she told me. “Ohio is their home, so running their colors in Norwalk feels natural. It’s been a few years since I competed (in the “Night Under Fire”), but I’m overjoyed to return.”
The 38-year-old NHRA national record holder for both time and speed advanced to the semifinals of last week’s NHRA tour event in Sonoma, Calif., but lost to Antron Brown, one of three drivers she will face in her pursuit for the “Night Under Fire” Top Fuel championship.
In addition to Brittany and Brown, the Top Fuel field includes T.J. Zizzo, who qualified first in the NHRA event in Chicago earlier this year, and Clay Millican, who established a Sonoma Raceway track speed record of 338.26 mph last week. “Night Under Fire” also includes jet dragsters, jet Funny Cars, and a jet-powered truck, and concludes with the Baders’ famous fireworks display.