The 2026 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season was all about J.C. Beattie Jr. in Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises, as he dominated the class all season long in his nitrous-fed ATI Performance Products ’18 Camaro. Beattie Jr. picked up four event wins in six races – including the ProLine Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger at Virginia Motorsports Park – and added four No. 1 Qualifier awards to his résumé en route to his first PDRA world championship.
Beattie Jr.’s dominance is a far cry from where his program was just a year and a half ago. He admits that it was a struggle early on, and experiencing such a high degree of success this year is a result of all the time and effort he and his team poured into his program.
“We’ve been playing around for a couple years with NA (naturally aspirated), trying to make it work, and then this bullet showed up from Reher,” said Beattie Jr. “We had our growing pains, like anybody else – anything from forgetting to turn the nitrous on, a steering wheel falling off, relays turning off and shutting the car off, just all the gremlins.
“I try not to take anything for granted with everything we have,” Beattie Jr. continued. “My son, he’s like, ‘When we get nitrous, are we gonna win a race?’ I said, ‘We’re gonna win a race, that’s all there is to it.’ Did I expect to win four? Absolutely not. I’ve got a good hot rod, and we just executed everything we could do.”
Beattie Jr. made his presence known in Pro 632 from the get-go, qualifying No. 1 at the season-opening KTR Carolina Nationals at Darlington Dragway. Due to weather, eliminations were delayed until the second race of the season, the Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals at Galot Motorsports Park. Beattie Jr. not only took home the PDRA 660 Man for the delayed event; he doubled up and won both races in the same weekend, quickly proving he would be the man to beat as the season progressed.
Consistency played a key role in his success as well. Beattie Jr. qualified in the top half of the field at every race, with his worst starting position being fourth at the Hoosier North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway. Maryland was his only first-round loss as well, allowing championship runner-up Jeff Pittman to briefly cut into the deficit; at every other event this season, Beattie Jr. progressed all the way to the final round, with four event wins and a runner-up finish to Ryan Altman at the Thunder Valley Throwdown in Bristol, Tennessee.
“Championship wise, if you show up and you go rounds, you don’t even have to win many to win the championship,” said Beattie. Jr. “You just got to show up and be there at the end. Jeff was there right beside us most of the year. We would trade seven thousandths here and there, back and forth.”
Beattie Jr. then finished the season in the same manner he started it, qualifying No. 1 and winning the final two events of the year – PDRA Drag Wars at Galot and the World Finals at VMP – to put an exclamation point on an unforgettable season.
Making the PDRA World Finals event win and season championship even more memorable for Beattie Jr. was getting to share the moment with his son, James Beattie III, whose final-round appearance in Pro Jr. Dragster earned him the 2026 points championship in come-from-behind fashion. It was his second championship, as he had previously won the title in Top Jr. Dragster.
“I don’t know what else to do now. How do you top this?” Beattie Jr. said as the two celebrated in the VMP winner’s circle. “Him and I need to win a race together, I guess. That’s the only box we didn’t check. This is his first year in 7.90, and we knew he could do well, but to win the championship, a lot of stuff had to go right this weekend. Neither of us knew what to say. I heard them announce it and I still didn’t really believe it. I’ve told him before when he won a race, ‘My buddy, you never know when you’re gonna win your next one with this sport.’ It is the toughest, nail biting, nitpicking sport that just wears you out. It’s a blast to be a part of it by having him win.”
Jeff Pittman finished second in the championship points standings with an event win at the PDRA Hoosier North vs. South Shootout and two runner-up finishes in his Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales ’68 Chevelle. David Cook Jr. rounded out the top three in points at season’s end, piloting his Nelson-powered Copy&PrintWarehouse.com ’10 GTO.
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will celebrate its 2026 world champions at the PDRA Championship Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 11 during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show weekend in Indianapolis.
