Beckman, Landon and Hartford Win Mission #2FAST2TASTY Challenge in Pomona

B. Force, Prock and Anderson pick up No. 1 qualifiers at 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals

POMONA, CA – March 30, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Defending world champion Austin Prock and his John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman dominated the Funny Car ranks on Saturday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, as Prock powered to the No. 1 qualifier position at the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals and Jack Beckman won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge specialty race.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, while Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) qualified No. 1 at the third of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Beckman went 3.831-seconds at 330.72 seconds in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeating Paul Lee in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and claiming his first win in the specialty race.

“Paul Lee’s car is an A-level competitive car and when we went 3.83 in round one, we were feeling pretty spicy and then they go 3.82 and got lane choice, but we knew it didn’t matter,” Beckman said.

“These conditions are A-plus-plus, as good as it gets out there. The issue when the track gets as good as the crew chiefs don’t have much data on this. We know what to do when the track gets good, but when the track gets great, you can count on one hand, typically, the number of runs a year you get when the track is phenomenal. In all likelihood, all the runs tomorrow are going to be in those type of conditions.”

Prock, who clinched the world title in Pomona last season and set a Funny Car record with 15 No. 1 qualifiers in 2024, went a blistering 3.816-seconds at 338.26 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS to take the No. 1 position into raceday for the 20th time in his career. Prock will open eliminations against Blake Alexander as he looks for his first victory of 2025.

“Our race car hasn’t run bad all year long, it’s just things haven’t been really going our way like they did last year,” Prock said. “We’ve been trying to do that all weekend long and just been tickling the thing. I’m really proud of how diligent everybody’s been working and making progress each run and just getting it A to B.

“The boys were high-fiving before we even got in the water box, like they knew, it was either going to be hero or zero, and we ended up on the good end of it. I’m really proud of John Force Racing and John Force is so proud right now of the whole team.”

Lee is qualified second with a 3.829 at 331.45 and Ron Capps is third after going 3.830 at 328.94.

In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon kept Kalitta Motorsports rolling and continued his recent dominance as well, beating teammate Doug Kalitta in the final round with a run of 3.662 at a near-record 338.68 in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Careers dragster. It denied Kalitta a chance at a perfect weekend, but Langdon kept rolling along, capturing his second straight Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory.

Langdon also won the event in Phoenix last weekend as the car continues to perform at an extremely high level. The run in the Challenge final was his best of the weekend and puts him third heading into eliminations, while the speed marked the second-fastest run in Top Fuel history. The points leader will now have a chance to double-up for the second straight race in his red-hot early-season start.

“Honestly, it’s a great feeling to come back from the run and see the smile on Connie’s [Kalitta] face and see the smiles on the team’s faces. All their hard work, everything’s paying off,” Kalitta said. “The cars are running good, which is great. They’re responding well to what the crew chiefs have been doing.

“It’s obviously a great feeling when everything’s clicking, and the biggest thing now is we got a good, fast, consistent race car. Now it’s just a matter of maintaining it and trying to see if we can kick off a couple wins along the way and get ready for the Countdown at the end of the year.”

Brittany Force earned her first top qualifier of the year on the strength of Friday’s 3.646 at 334.82 in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster. She’ll open eliminations against Steve Chrisman as she looks for her first career Winternationals win. She added a 53rd career No. 1 qualifier to her accomplishments on Saturday, but a victory at her home track – and a chance for JFR double-up – would make the weekend even better.

“We’ve had some really strong performance on track,” Force said. “We earned a No. 1 qualifier. We went 3.64 twice, and then a 3.69 today. We want to turn on four win lights tomorrow. Looking at our ladder, we could have a bye second round, which is awesome for us. I love this place. It’s just home for me. I grew up out of here at this racetrack and in the stands. You just have that good feeling coming out here and we want to do well. My whole family’s out here, I’ve had all my friends this weekend, popping in and out, and it’s just our home race track, so we want to finish strong.”

Kalitta qualified second with a 3.657 at 335.15.

In Pro Stock, Matt Hartford defeated Greg Anderson in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, going 6.496 at 210.67 in his GETTRX/Total Seal Camaro to get his second win in the specialty race. The first came two years in Pomona as the veteran continued his strong performance at the historic facility. Next up on Hartford’s list is an event win, which would be his first since the 2023 campaign.

“This is as good a car as I’ve ever had. It’s hateful,” Hartford said. “Over the winter, we made a very easy decision to make sure that we continued in our older chassis and to try to reinvent the wheel every run or make changes that we don’t know. Let’s use facts and work off data.

“A win is the next thing for us, but you’ve got to get through first round and take it one round at a time. When you look at the qualifying sheet, I can promise you of the 16 cars, none of them you want to race first round because they’re all good. The conditions tomorrow are going to be hateful. If you think the runs that you’ve seen over the last four runs were good, wait until tomorrow. The cars are all going to pick up tomorrow.”

Anderson held on to his second No. 1 spot this season, improving to a 6.490 at 210.77 on Saturday in his HendrickCars.com Camaro, handing the defending world champion his 134th career top qualifier. Anderson made two more runs in the 6.40s on Saturday, which could bode well as he seeks his second straight win and his 16th overall at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

“Running 6.40s seems to be the price of poker out here this weekend,” Anderson said. “You better run 6.40 or you’re probably going to go home. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of cars that can do it. I think only two of them didn’t today, but there’s a lot of them that can do it and you’re going to see more of it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. It should be a hell of a race.

“You kind of need to have a lot of luck because there’s too many good cars, too many good drivers and too many good race teams. You better not only have a fast race car, but you also better have some luck.”

Hartford qualified second with a 6.490 at 210.67 and Deric Kramer is third after going 6.511 at 210.80.

Eliminations for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

***

POMONA, CA — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.646 seconds, 338.34 mph vs. 14. Steven Chrisman, 5.362, 131.05; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.657, 335.15 vs. 13. Scott Palmer, 3.818, 313.80; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.662, 338.68 vs. 12. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.741, 334.24; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.665, 337.50 vs. 11. Jasmine Salinas, 3.700, 324.83; 5. Clay Millican, 3.674, 332.59 vs. 10. Shawn Reed, 3.698, 333.91; 6. Josh Hart, 3.675, 332.34 vs. 9. Justin Ashley, 3.695, 333.66; 7. Antron Brown, 3.695, 337.16 vs. 8. Tony Stewart, 3.695, 329.75.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.816, 338.26 vs. 16. Blake Alexander, Dodge Charger, 4.011, 324.98; 2. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.829, 331.45 vs. 15. Bobby Bode, Toyota GR Supra, 3.978, 323.12; 3. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.830, 330.47 vs. 14. Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 3.971, 271.08; 4. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.831, 332.59 vs. 13. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 3.963, 296.70; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.885, 331.77 vs. 12. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.954, 320.97; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.886, 328.78 vs. 11. Steven Densham, Mustang, 3.942, 317.79; 7. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.896, 333.99 vs. 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.924, 324.28; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.903, 328.78 vs. 9. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.921, 324.75.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Bob Tasca III, 4.057, 271.13; 18. Jason Rupert, 4.104, 253.80; 19. Buddy Hull, 4.340, 280.31.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.490, 211.26 vs. 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.554, 209.79; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.490, 210.67 vs. 15. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.553, 210.57; 3. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.511, 210.80 vs. 14. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 210.34; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.515, 210.80 vs. 13. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.538, 209.82; 5. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.516, 210.93 vs. 12. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.537, 210.54; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.517, 209.82 vs. 11. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.537, 210.41; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.519, 211.10 vs. 10. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.532, 210.11; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.530, 210.97 vs. 9. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.531, 209.33.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris McGaha, 6.586, 208.91; 18. Kenny Delco, 6.594, 208.81; 19. Joey Grose, 6.652, 207.40.

About Mission Foods

MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/

About NHRA

NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With more than 100 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

####