The battle-tested teams at John Force Racing (JFR) know how important the NHRA Midwest Nationals are. If you’re going to make a move towards winning the Countdown or stand your ground and repeat as champion, this is the weekend to make your mark. Each JFR team has turned up its focus for this weekend and is ready to go to war all weekend long.

Beckman Ready To Defend Midwest Nationals Crown

In September of 2024, Jack Beckman was still fresh in his role of filling in for the injured John Force after nearly four years out of the seat. He pulled off a storybook win, defeating Ron Capps in the final round at the Midwest Nationals. The victory not only marked his return to the winner’s circle, but also delivered a huge moment for John Force Racing and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Funny Car program.

“Well, after almost four years out of the sport, obviously I never thought I’d hold another trophy up in the winner’s circle, so that was quite literally beyond my wildest expectations. Not only was I back in the sport, but I was back in the winner’s circle. It was as big a win as I’ve ever had,” Beckman says.

Beckman heads back to St. Louis this weekend, sitting fourth in Funny Car points, just four markers behind Capps, 19 back of Matt Hagan, and 98 behind teammate Austin Prock. The fight inside the top five is tight, and every round matters with only four races left in the Countdown.

The PEAK team showed plenty of consistency at Charlotte, rattling off three straight 3.93-second passes, but Beckman admits he left something on the table behind the wheel.

“I just flat missed the tree in the second round at Charlotte, and we had the quickest car in our quad there and only had to finish in the top two to advance into the final round. As a driver, your job is not to mess up the crew’s job. On occasion, the driver can save the run when it shakes or spins or does something unexpected. What you never want to do is have the best car and my lack of execution cost us the win. So, I don’t think that I’m extra motivated to go to St. Louis. I think I’m fully aware of that It’s not quite due or die right now, but the way Austin’s car is running, unless we want to run for second place. It’s pretty much do or die for us,” Beckman states.

Beckman has already won in St. Louis multiple times, and he’ll need another strong showing this weekend if he wants to keep his title hopes alive. For the PEAK Chevy and the PEAK Squad, the Midwest Nationals could very well be the turning point in this year’s championship fight.

Prock Aims To Keep The “Prock Rocket” Hot At Midwest Nationals

The Austin Prock and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team are in full wrecking crew mode heads into the NHRA Mission Foods Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. If there’s a formula for success in drag racing, Prock and his John Force Racing crew have it figured out.

The reigning Funny Car champ already has eight wins in 2025, fresh off a victory at Charlotte. It’s the third time this season Prock has stacked back-to-back wins, a streak that included his epic three-race tear at Sonoma, Brainerd, and the U.S. Nationals. With that level of dominance, Prock sits firmly atop the standings with 2,298 points. His nearest challengers are Matt Hagan (-79), Ron Capps (-94), and Jack Beckman (-98).

“It’s cool. I think it just says a lot about this Cornwell Tools race team. They give me a consistently good car each weekend we go out. Our total package has been good enough to earn 16 wins in the last two years so, if we want to go for our second championship in a row, we’re going to have to probably win two or three more, at least. That would put us in a whole other league of success so it’s exciting. It’s not just one of us. It’s all of us working together and just clicking when it needs to, and it’s bred a lot of success,” Prock states.

Prock’s playoff numbers speak for themselves. Last year, he won three of the six Countdown races, and he’s already one-for-two this year. Still, he insists nothing has changed in their approach.

“Yeah, it is impressive, but we don’t really approach it any differently. We approach each race weekend the same, and obviously, we want to go out there and have the most competitive car and allow me to do my job. It just happens to work out. When the countdown comes on, it is crunch time. If you want to win a world championship, you have to be dominant in the playoffs, and it’s just all working right now,” Prock explains.

The one gap on Prock’s résumé? A win at St. Louis. He’s looking to change that this weekend.

“I haven’t won at St. Louis yet, but my dad had a lot of success there. That place has got a special place in my heart. In 2018, I got to go there and make some licensing passes in John Force’s PEAK Camaro. That was definitely exciting for me. We had the car to beat last year. We were lights out there. The Cornwell Tools Chevy was a few hundredths (of a second) quicker than everybody in the field throughout qualifying and then rolling into Sunday. We exited in the semifinals, so we’d like to go a few more rounds this year and, hopefully, try to extend our point lead.”

With the way the Cornwell Tools Chevy is running, don’t be surprised if Prock finally checks World Wide Technology Raceway off the list and keeps the rest of the Funny Car field chasing him into the final stretch of the Countdown.

Brittany Force Looks To Build On Consistency Heading Into Midwest Nationals

The NHRA Mission Foods Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway marks the halfway point of the 2025 Countdown to the Championship, and Brittany Force knows it’s time to make a move. The two-time Top Fuel world champion (2017, 2022) and her HendrickCars.com team sit sixth in the standings after climbing a spot last weekend at Charlotte.

Force is 13 points back from Clay Millican, 40 behind Tony Stewart, 49 behind Shawn Langdon, 70 back of Justin Ashley, and 108 behind the current leader, Doug Kalitta. With just four races left, every round of competition counts, and Force understands the urgency.

“Consistency is where this team has fallen short this season, and, with that being our main focus, we definitely made progress last weekend in Charlotte. The car made six solid runs throughout the weekend. Our car went down the track every lap, which is never easy to do. However, we got taken out on a holeshot in round two, which is such a disappointing loss. As hard as a holeshot loss is, I’m putting it behind me and moving to the next race with my HendrickCars.com team’s full support,” Force says.

Despite the early exit, Charlotte provided positive momentum. The car’s ability to make clean, repeatable runs gives Force confidence that the team has turned a corner at the right time.

“We are still in the hunt for this championship as we moved up to the sixth position following Charlotte. Our team needs to carry over the consistency we found last weekend heading into St Louis. Our goal is to qualify in the Top 3, pick up qualifying points and go rounds on race day. We need to finish strong at The Midwest Nationals if we want to make that jump up in points.”

With the Countdown officially hitting its stride, Force and her HendrickCars.com crew know there’s little margin for error if they want to stay in the fight for another championship.