Jack Beckman To Race John Force’s Iconic 1996 Funny Car Scheme At U.S. Nationals

John Force Racing and PEAK are turning back the clock at the 2026 Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. Jack Beckman’s PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car will hit Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park wearing a throwback paint scheme honoring one of the most dominant seasons in NHRA history.

The special black-and-white flame scheme celebrates the 30th anniversary of John Force’s incredible 1996 Funny Car championship season. Force won 13 races, reached 16 final rounds, and qualified No. 1 an astounding 13 times during the 19-race campaign. Now Beckman will try to add another U.S. Nationals victory to the history of a paint scheme that has never lost a race.

PEAK Turns Back The Clock To 1996

Force, Beckman, and fellow John Force Racing Funny Car driver Jordan Vandergriff were on hand when the throwback PEAK Funny Car was unveiled at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

The design recreates the special scheme Force raced at the 1996 NHRA season finale in Pomona. The Funny Car features a two-tone body with black across the upper half and white on the lower portion. The dividing line angles upward from the front to the back of the car, while flames stretch across the hood toward the windshield. A white PEAK logo is positioned above Force’s familiar red stylized signature.

For Beckman, who is also a student of drag racing history, putting an iconic John Force paint scheme back on the track adds another layer to an already important U.S. Nationals.

“I think the entire idea of throwback paint schemes is awesome and I want to continue to be a part of what PEAK has done the past couple of years,” said Beckman. “I had forgotten that that paint scheme was only run for the Finals at Pomona that year. The 1996 season was really when Force and Coil (Austin Coil, crew chief) were just steamrolling. I remember as a fan that John was so dominant in that era because of the fear he put into the other drivers. People took shots and got out of their comfort zone lining up next to him.

“The car that had this particular paint scheme is 1-0. It has a perfect record and, ironically, John beat his JFR teammate, Tony Pedregon, in the final round. So, I’d like to beat one of my JFR teammates in the final round at Indy and keep that streak alive.”

Beckman Chasing His Third U.S. Nationals Victory

There would be no better place for Beckman to put the throwback Funny Car back in the winner’s circle than the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champion already owns two U.S. Nationals victories, winning drag racing’s biggest event in 2015 and 2020. Beckman enters the 2026 edition fifth in the Funny Car standings after 13 races.

Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD have earned one victory this season at Epping while adding runner-up finishes at Charlotte, Maryland, and Norwalk. With the NHRA regular season reaching its conclusion at Indianapolis, Beckman will have an opportunity to combine a championship push with his pursuit of a third U.S. Nationals victory.

The 1996 design also gave PEAK an opportunity to finally put a predominantly black Funny Car on the track.

“When we started to think about which car would be best for a 2026 throwback, we instantly gravitated toward this car since it’s the 30th anniversary,” said Brian Bohlander, Director of Marketing – Sports & Partnership at Old World Industries. “It was a fan favorite, and we’ve talked about running a black PEAK car for years, so this was the right time and the right scheme. Besides, who doesn’t love flames on a race car?”

PEAK And John Force Racing Celebrate 10 Years

The throwback scheme also arrives during an important anniversary in PEAK’s relationship with John Force Racing.

The 2026 NHRA season marks 10 years since PEAK became a full-season primary sponsor with JFR. The Northbrook, Illinois-based company initially joined the organization as a major associate sponsor in 2014 before moving into a partial primary role in 2015. PEAK became a full-season primary sponsor in 2016, a relationship that continues today.

PEAK has used the U.S. Nationals to celebrate John Force Racing’s past in recent seasons, including bringing back the Brute Force scheme in 2025.

“Brian Bohlander and all the folks at PEAK have done a great job in bringing back some of our iconic paint schemes for the U.S. Nationals, like last year’s Brute Force car,” said Force, a five-time U.S. Nationals winner (1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2019). “This year’s 1996 NHRA Finals tribute scheme is something I think the fans are really going to like. The 1996 season was an amazing year for John Force Racing and to win at Pomona at the end of the season with this paint scheme made it that much more special. I look forward to seeing it on the track with Jack behind the wheel.”

John Force’s Incredible 1996 NHRA Season

Calling Force’s 1996 season dominant almost doesn’t do it justice.

Force was on his way to the sixth of what would eventually become 16 NHRA Funny Car world championships, and the statistics he produced during that season remain staggering three decades later. Force won 13 of the season’s 19 events and advanced to the final round 16 times. He earned 13 No. 1 qualifying positions and accumulated 65 elimination-round victories.

There was plenty of raw performance to go along with all of those win lights. Force became the first Funny Car driver to break through the 4.90-second barrier when he recorded a 4.889-second pass at Topeka. His accomplishments extended beyond drag racing when Force was named the 1996 Driver of the Year. He became the first drag racer to receive the honor in the award’s 30-year history.

Force also won the U.S. Nationals that season, earning the second of his eventual five Indy victories.

The U.S. Nationals has always been a place where drag racing history and the present intersect, and Beckman’s PEAK Funny Car will provide a very visible example of that in 2026. Thirty years after Force produced one of the greatest seasons in NHRA Funny Car history, one of its most recognizable paint schemes is returning with another world champion behind the wheel. There’s also a pretty entertaining statistic Beckman would like to preserve. The original black-and-white Funny Car made one appearance and won one race.