TheJohn Force Racing (JFR) camp has been very successful in the first half of the 2025 season. Each of its three teams have performed well and are positioned to be in the mix for a regular season title before the Countdown to the Championship begins. The 36th NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways is the start of each team’s push towards those titles.

The Prock Rocket Is Ready To Blast The Competition At Pacific Raceways

Reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion Austin Prock heads into the 36th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways with confidence, momentum—and plenty of history on his side. Prock enters this weekend’s race riding a two-event winning streak on the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour. He’s ready to get back behind the wheel of his Funny Car and is looking to make it three wins in a row.

“I’m ready to get back in the office, and I’m itching for that first session on Friday night,” Prock said of his return to the Northwest. “The fans are in for a treat. The conditions should be good. The trees (that surround the track) will be letting off some fresh O2, the Gs’ will be high, and the front end will be light on the ‘Prock Rocket.’”

A major factor in Prock’s success is the seasoned crew led by his father, Jimmy Prock, which also guided three-time world champion Robert Hight to multiple victories in the same car. Since 2020, the Cornwell Chevy team has appeared in 40 final rounds with 26 wins—including back-to-back victories at Pacific Raceways in 2022 (Hight) and 2023 (Prock).

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

“I really, truly enjoy drag racing,” Prock said, alluding to his past success driving quarter midgets and sprint cars out of Tony Stewart’s shop with the help of his brother, Thomas, now a key member of the Cornwell crew. “I loved running the Top Fuel car (in the 2019, 2022, and 2023 seasons), but Funny Car is where I belong.

“I’ve said before that I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa (1970s era Funny Car driver Tom Prock), and I am having an absolute blast,” he beamed. “I’m loving every second of it. I love the challenge of these cars. I love sitting behind the engine.  I love the body dropping. And to top it off, I’m doing it with my family.”

Jack Beckman Eyes 500th Round Win at NHRA Northwest Nationals

Veteran Funny Car driver “Fast Jack” Beckman is on the cusp of a significant milestone in his storied NHRA career. The 2012 Funny Car world champion enters this weekend’s 36th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways needing just two more round wins to become only the 26th professional driver in NHRA history to reach 500 career round wins in the sport’s premier categories.

Beckman’s team took the entire two-week break between the Norwalk event and this weekend’s race to make sure it was ready to go. The team is ready to take advantage of the conditions and qualifying sessions so it can put its JFR Funny Car in the winner’s circle.

“I’m not sure what I’m most looking forward to,” said Beckman, “making our first qualifying run Friday at close to 10 p.m. when the conditions are going to be spectacular, getting to make THREE more qualifying hits on Saturday, or seeing all the great Northwest fans for the first time since 2019.”

Beckman quickly returned to his winning ways with the JFR team. In the final eight races of 2024, he won two events and finished second in the championship standings, trailing only teammate Austin Prock. This season, he’s added two more wins, including a victory at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, where he’s currently undefeated in his last four Funny Car starts.

With momentum on his side and history within reach, Beckman is poised to make Pacific Raceways the backdrop for his 500th round win—a milestone that seemed unlikely just two years ago.

Brittany Force Ready To Build Her Legacy At Pacific Raceways

Over the years, Pacific Raceways has been good to the Force family. John Force earned nine Wallys at the track and Courney Force scored her first career win at the facility in 2012. Now, Brittany is ready to make her own memories at this historic facility.

“I stood in my sister Courtney’s first winner’s circle back in 2012,” she said, recalling her younger sibling’s final round Funny Car win over Matt Hagan, “and I watched my dad make his way through the stands with the fans to celebrate his 150th win (in 2019) alongside Austin Prock,” who won the same race in a JFR Top Fuel dragster.

“The goal this week is to stand in that same winners’ circle with my nine talented HendrickCars.com crewmates,” she said, “and the key to doing that is consistent runs in qualifying and on race day.”

Force enters the Seattle race weekend looking to regain the dominant form that carried her to the 2022 Top Fuel title, a season that included 10 No. 1 qualifying efforts and 17 top-speed awards. Guided by the experienced duo of crew chiefs David Grubnic and John Collins, the team has begun to rebuild the consistency and power that made them the most feared pairing in the class just two seasons ago.

With the booming 341.59 national speed record that Force hung on the Top Fuel field this year, it’s clear the team has found something. As the team continues to build momentum and chip away at performance, the Northwest Nationals will be the perfect stage for them to initiate a strong run at the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.