Jack Beckman has a strong debut in John Force’s PEAK Camaro Funny Car, while Brittany Force and Dale Creasy win Night Under Fire.
The 47th Annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire drew a sell-out crowd to Summit Motorsports Park, where Brittany Force and Dale Creasy took home the titles in Funny Car and Top Fuel, respectively. In addition, “Fast Jack” Beckman, the 2012 NHRA Funny Car champion, made his debut during the race by driving John Force’s PEAK Camaro Funny Car for the first time.
Brittany Force, the two-time Top Fuel World Champion, made the most of her comeback to Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire after an 11-year break. She won with her blue-and-black Cornwell dragster running the fastest run of the competition, 3.840, 320.20.
Participating in Bill Bader’s events is an incredible honor, since they are consistently one of the season’s highlights, according to Brittany. “In the first round, we had the fastest ET, but our car began to spin in the final. Thankfully, that was sufficient for the victory, giving us confidence going into Brainerd Lucas Oil Nationals are scheduled to take place in [Minn., Aug. 16–18].
Mechanical problems caused Jack Beckman and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro to slow down to 8.766 seconds at just 85.51 mph in the final round loss to Dale Creasy Jr., meaning John Force Racing lost a chance at a double-up victory in Funny Car. NHRA world champions Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, and Beckman were among the Funny Car competitors; nevertheless, astute veteran Creasy Jr. managed to lead his TekPak entry to victory.
The 33-time NHRA series winner stated, “I’m still getting over the fact that I’m actually sitting in John Force’s car.” I had the opportunity to speak with John for the first time since his injury on a conference call that JFR President Robert Hight conducted on Friday. That served as soul medicine.
Before I got in the car on Saturday, John gave me a call. Simply go out there and do what you know how to do,’ he urged. No pressure exists,” Beckman remarked. And he was accurate. I genuinely came here to obtain a license, but I also ended up having a great time.”
Beckman qualified as the top qualifier on Saturday with a first round time of 4.047 at 309.34 mph, following a set-up run on Friday of 4.007 seconds at 308.28 mph.
“I had to press the accelerator quite a bit,” Beckman remarked. “I obtained the necessary runs to obtain my license [renewal], and we likely discovered a few new details about the vehicle.”
President of Summit Motorsports Park Bill Bader paid a moving homage to 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion Force during the event’s opening ceremonies. Force was unable to attend due to his on-track accident, but he is still recovering.
Beckman was the top qualifier Saturday with a first round time of 4.047 seconds at 309.34 mph, following a set-up run of 4.007 seconds at 308.28 mph the day before.
“I got to step on the throttle a bunch of times,” Beckman added. “I got the runs I needed to get my license [renewed] and we probably learned a couple things about the car.”
Summit Motorsports Park president Bill Bader paid a moving homage to 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion Force, who was unable to attend due to his ongoing recovery following an on-track accident.
“This annual event, which has become prestigious, means so much to our team, and we try very hard to ensure that it is magical and memorable for each and every one of our participants and guests,” says Bader. “That is our number one goal, and seeing smiling faces confirms that we have achieved it, giving us even more motivation to arrange next year’s event. We appreciate everyone who came to our home for the 47th Annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire, and we congratulate the winners. It’s not too early to look forward to next year’s event. We’re already looking forward to it.