Jack Beckman was third after Friday’s qualifying runs, but the PEAK SQUAD found a little bit extra in Saturday’s first run to move the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car to the No. 1 qualifying position for the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Beckman ran 3.866 seconds at 332.59 mph to supplant John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria’s Friday Q1 run of 3.882 seconds at 334.65 mph from the top spot. It was his third No. 1 Qualifier of the season (Chicago, Maryland) and the 36th of his Top Fuel career. The PEAK Chevy ran 3.944 seconds at 326.56 mph in the fourth and final qualifying session. Beckman will face No. 16 qualifier Dale Creasy Jr. (4.234 seconds) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
“Relative to the conditions, that pass (Q3) was probably one of the best runs of the year,” Beckman said. “We weren’t pushing to run an .86. We got everything there was out there — maybe a little bit more. The racing gods gave us a hundredth in Q3. We’ve got a car that’s basically good enough to win all the time. It’s just about eliminating that small stuff — that hundredth of a second, that five-thousandth of a second that can eat you alive. Every qualifying run matters. We’ve got to keep doing stuff like that.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team were knocked from the top spot but still qualified second with their Q1 run of 3.882 seconds at 334.65 mph Friday afternoon. The Bandero Chevy ran 3.913 seconds at 332.51 mph in in Q3 and 3.910 seconds at 328.30 mph in Q4. DeJoria will face No. 15 qualifier Bobby Bode (4.047 seconds at 319.90 mph) in round one.
Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car qualified seventh with their Q2 Friday night run of 3.906 seconds at 328.94 mph. Vandergriff ran 3.923 seconds at 329.26 mph in Saturday’s first session and had his hands full at the top end in the final session, slowing to a run of 4.176 seconds at 227.15 mph. The Cornwell Tools Chevy will like up against No. 10 qualifier Cruz Pedregon (3.928 seconds at 321.27 mph) in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations.
Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team’s Q1 run Friday afternoon of 3.717 seconds at 333.41 mph earned the No. 6 qualifying position. Hart ran 3.769 seconds at 330.80 mph in Saturday’s first session and smoked the tires in the final session. Hart will face No. 11 qualifier Tony Stewart (3.733 seconds at 337.50 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Final eliminations are scheduled for Sun., Oct. 4, beginning at 10 a.m. CT. Television coverage includes a second-day qualifying show scheduled to air Sun., Oct. 4, from 11 a.m.-noon on FS1. Elimination rounds will air Sun., Oct. 4, on FOX from 2-4 p.m. ET and 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET.
