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<\/a>Funny Car made its first-ever appearance at the 1966 World Finals in Tulsa, with Eddie Schartman picking up the victory. Sixty years of incredible history has followed, but only one driver will win the 1,000th Funny Car race. Heading into the 1,000th Funny Car race, here\u2019s the list of milestone winners thus far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 1. Eddie Schartman, 1966 Tulsa Finals
\u2022 100. Tripp Shumake, 1981 Atlanta
\u2022 200. Bruce Larson, 1989 Winternationals
\u2022 300. John Force, 1994 Topeka
\u2022 400. Tim Wilkerson, 1999 Chicago
\u2022 500. Wilkerson, 2003 U.S. Nationals in Indy
\u2022 600. Jack Beckman, 2008 Phoenix
\u2022 700. Johnny Gray, 2012 Englishtown
\u2022 800. Force, 2016 Denver
\u2022 900. Cruz Pedregon, 2021 Norwalk
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Beckman enters with plenty of Pomona momentum, winning last year\u2019s Winternationals and the In-N-Out Burger Finals to close out 2024. He\u2019s always performed well at his home track and, as a strong historian of the sport, Beckman knows how big this victory would be in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing.
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\u201cPomona happens to be my home track, just happens to be the 1,000th Funny Car race, and I happen to be the defending race champion. I’m hoping the planets are going to line up,\u201d Beckman said.\u00a0\u201cIt’s a nice feeling to be a part of this history. I’m a historian who’s also getting to put my thumbprint on some of the history. That’s pretty cool.
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\u201cI just didn’t think I’d be a part of this. I mean, I’ve done 30 races for John Force Racing, so\u00a031 races ago I wasn’t\u00a0racing. The fact that I’m back in the cockpit to have a chance to win the 1,000th\u00a0Funny Car race is the greatest news.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n