When Jade Cook climbed behind the wheel of a Funny Car for the first time in 2021, she had no idea just how far her passion would take her. Coming from a family of “tinkerers,” as she calls it, Cook started out in a nitrous-assisted Oldsmobile Cutlass named “Nemesis.” Since then, she has become a force in the Funny Car Chaos series, where the Texas native has made a name for herself while currently running a 450ci big-block Chevy with a Centrifugal Specialties supercharger.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #195, the Women of Power Issue, in July/August of 2025.
After years of driving a Jr. Dragster and later a small-tire ’80s-model Corvette, Cook’s FCC rookie season in 2021 quickly set the tone for what was to come: third place in points and Rookie of the Year honors. She matched that third-place finish again in 2024, despite a season that saw her switching cars mid-season after breaking her own entry at the opener.
“It’s crazy,” Cook admits. “I don’t ever go into a season thinking I’m going to be on top of the points ladder, especially my first season. Every time I won a race that year, I was like, ‘That didn’t actually happen.’ It never feels real, honestly.”
During the two years in between her Rookie of the Year campaign and last season, Cook faced a plethora of issues with the car. Bad luck and parts failures seemed to follow her around, to the point where she believed she was simply going to the track to “break stuff.” So when the 2024 FCC season began and Cook’s Funny Car broke again, it would have been easy to give in. Instead, she turned the generosity of her brother, Chance Biffle, into a historic moment.
“My brother drag races with me in the series,” says Cook. “He said, ‘Jade, I know this is more important to you than it is to me, and you’re more than likely going to do better with it than I would.’ He offered to let me drive his car, which is a normal roots-blown big-block Chevy, and I had never driven a traditional blower anything.”
Despite having never driven a roots-blown Funny Car previously, Cook qualified in the “D” Field at the season-opening Chaos Classic at the Texas Motorplex, and went on to win the event, proving her versatility as a driver. After a few races driving her brother’s car, she got “Nemesis” fixed and immediately won the Chaos “C” Field at Cordova Dragway. Another “D” Field win at Mo-Kan Dragway in the season finale secured a third-place finish in points behind Shayne Lawson and Kirk Williams – both FCC series champions – cementing herself once again as a top competitor in the series.
“It just never feels real when you win a race,” Cook says. “Almost every time I’m coming back from a win, I’m like, ‘Did I just do that? Did that just happen? Admit it.’ And then finishing third in points again, I was really excited. I felt like I redeemed myself after those two years that were absolutely trash.”
With momentum on her side for 2025, Cook returned to the Texas Motorplex in May and went back-to-back at the Chaos Classic – this time winning the “C” Field in her own car. It was the sixth event win of her FCC career, with victories coming in the B, C, and D fields.
“I thought it couldn’t get any crazier,” says Cook. “I thought winning in Chance’s car was the tippity-top because I had never been in it before. I was like, ‘Nothing will ever top this.’ Then when I back-to-backed it, I was like, ‘OK, so I do deserve this.’ It was insane.”
In addition to competing in Funny Car Chaos this season, Jade plans to run a centrifugally-supercharged Altered her family owns at events close to home. She also wants to get back to her small-tire roots, driving her Corvette in drag-and-drive events or the incredibly popular Lil’ Gangstas class.
“My dad and I come up with things together,” Cook says. “There’s really no definitive, ‘What are we going to do?’ But yeah, small-tire was fun and I just kind of have an itch. Like I said, we’re tinkerers. We just like to go play.”
