How the Door Just Opened for John Force to Win a 17th NHRA Funny Car Championship

• 2012 Funny Car champion Jack Beckman will replace John Force for the final eight races of the NHRA season.

• And, get this, John Force could still win the NHRA Funny Car championship.

• If a driver is unable to compete, the race team may bring in a substitute who can earn points for the original driver in a maximum of eight tour events—and there's eight events left on the schedule.

John Force is out for the rest of the 2024 NHRA Funny Car season after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a crash at Virginia Motorsports Park on June 23.

And, believe it or not, he could still win the NHRA Funny Car Championship—this year.

On Tuesday, John Force Racing made a move that could—on paper, anyway—get the sport's winningest driver his 17th NHRA Funny Car championship. The team announced that it has hired 2012 Funny Car champion Jack Beckman to replace Force for the final eight races of the season.

And the 75-year-old John Force, who competed in just nine races this season, could still win a championship if Beckman gets on a roll the final two races of the regular season and then the six races of the Countdown to the Championship Playoffs.

How's that, you ask?

According to NHRA rules, when a driver is unable to compete, the race team may bring in a substitute who can earn points for the original driver in a maximum of eight tour events. This means when Beckman begins his eight-event run in the JFR PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car at the 42nd Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., on August 16, he’ll be earning points for Force in a quest for Force's 17th championship.

Force was second in the points behind teammate Austin Prock at the time of his accident, and he currently sits sixth in the driver standings with two races remaining before the points reset for the Countdown to the Championship.

Apparently, John Force Racing is all-in on embracing the opportunity for Force to win yet another title. The team has branded Beckman's effort as, "Joint Task Force – Mission Championship." There's no mention of asterisks if Force were to win the title.

Force, meanwhile, is home in California recovering from his brain injury.

“When you think about someone who can handle the driving, can deal with the media, take care of the sponsors and take care of the fans, there was only one obvious choice and that was Jack Beckman,” JFR team president Robert Hight said. “Plus, he has history with Chris Cunningham (co-crew chief on the PEAK Chevy with Dan Hood and Tim Fabrisi) and has the respect of John’s family.”

Beckman has won 33 events in Funny Car, and he last raced in 2020 before losing his ride in a Don Schumacher Racing downsize.

"It's been nearly four years since I stood on the throttle, and I thought that feeling was something I'd never experience again," said the 58-year-old Beckman. "Though the circumstances that brought me back are regrettable, the opportunity presented to me is beyond my ability to find words. I'm not replacing John...nobody could ever do that.

"John is one of a kind, and his impact on this sport, and my life, cannot be overemphasized. I know how fortunate I am to have been picked to fill in for John, and I should be easy to spot in the pits. I'll be the guy who can't stop smiling."

Beckman’s best season outside of his 2012 championship came in 2015 when he advanced to nine final rounds and won seven races coming up just 56-points shy of being a two-time Funny Car champion.

Don't count out Beckman in his pursuit of a championship for Force. Even though the Beckman/Force entry is sixth in the Funny Car points standings, Force won the most recent of his 16 championships in 2013 after starting the Countdown from the No. 4 position.

Beckman won his Funny Car championship from the No. 3 starting position. Hight made history in 2009 for himself and JFR when he won his first championship from the No. 10 starting position.