Driver, crew chief, tuner
The Seattle native shocked the world when he won the 1972 U.S. Nationals two weeks after getting his Top Fuel license. It wasn’t a fluke. The former stock car racer went on to collect two NHRA Top Fuel championships (1974, 1983), finished a close second five times (1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, and 1984), and as of 2022, has the 11th most NHRA Top Fuel victories with 19, despite racing at a time when there were only eight national events a year. Among them was a repeat win at the U.S. Nationals in 1973, where he reset both ends of the national record with runs of 5.96 and 243.90 mph. Beck also won seven AHRA and four IHRA events. Setting records became a hallmark of his career. He was the first Top Fuel driver in the 5.60s, 5.50s, 5.40s, and 5.30s. He retired in 1986. Beck was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2001, NHRA named him #24 on its list of Top 50 drivers.