wrap to pay tribute to the late Frank Tiegs , a Northwest agriculture icon who supported JFR and its drivers through a few of his dozen-plus brands , namely Flav-R-Pac and Montana Brand Tools . “ It has been a rollercoaster of emotions for our family since Richmond , but my dad has made great progress and we are all so proud of him . He has transferred now to a rehabilitation center closer to home .
“ Our team ’ s current focus is to improve our starting position in the Countdown ,” Brittany said . “ We ’ ve made great strides in our last few races and I ’ m eager to take that next step and put our Flav-R-Pac dragster in the winner ’ s circle for the Tiegs family and my dad .
“ It ’ s going to be hard to not have my dad at the track with me this weekend ,” Force added , “ but I know he will be watching from his rehab facility . Watching him fight his way back is what now motivates me to get back into the winner ’ s circle .”
Also in the days leading up to the Northwest Nationals , JFR announced the initial stages in the team ’ s plan to get Force ’ s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS back in competition to continue contending for a world championship .
“ After conversations with John ’ s team and with our partners , especially Brian Bohlander at PEAK and Jim Campbell at Chevrolet , and with John ’ s input and approval , we have begun taking the steps necessary to get the PEAK Chevy back on the racetrack ,” said Robert Hight , the president of JFR .
THE NEXT GENERATION Force has always been a believer in developing the next wave of talent in the sport , from JFR President Robert Hight ( bottom left ) to daughter Brittany Force ( bottom right ).
The statement went on to say a to-be-announced driver would take over the driving duties of Force ’ s PEAK machine at Norwalk ’ s 47th Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire to get reacclimated and relicensed in a Funny Car .
While fans started speculating about the identity of the mystery driver , Prock went out and swept the Northwest Nationals , qualifying No . 1 , winning the Mission Foods # 2Fast2Tasty Challenge , and winning the overall event .
“ There ’ s nothing better than racing for family and racing for John Force ,” said Prock after securing his fourth win of the season . “ An amazing day , another great day for this Cornwell Tools Camaro . I mean this year has been unreal , man . I can ’ t even put into words all the success that we ’ ve had . It ’ s just been a blur and I ’ ve been hanging on .
“[ Force ] told me before I got here , he said , ‘ Hold down the fort for me ,’ and we did just that ,” Prock added .
A couple days after the Seattle race , Force was discharged from Barrow Neurological Institute . The JFR statement noted that Force will continue to receive treatment for his TBI , but on an outpatient basis near his California home . “ He finally gets to sleep in his own bed ,” said daughter Ashley Force-Hood .
On Tuesday , July 30th , JFR confirmed rumors when the team announced Jack Beckman as Force ’ s replacement driver for the balance of the 2024 season . The 2012 Funny Car world champion would make his debut in the PEAK Funny Car at Summit Motorsports Park ’ s Night Under Fire , where Force has been a headliner for decades .
“ 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 ,” said Robert Hight . “ 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 was one of the top guesses fans would
102 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 190