Joliet, Ill. (May 15, 2026) – Jack Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD picked up where they left off last year at Route 66 Raceway with the defending Funny Car champions of the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK taking the provisional top spot after the first day of qualifying.
Fast Jack posted a lap of 3.913 seconds at 329.99 mph in the John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car during the day’s second session after a second-quickest run in Q1 of 3.957 seconds at 324.28 mph.
Alexis DeJoria posted the 10th quickest Funny Car run of 3.994 seconds at 329.42 mph in the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS. Josh Hart was 12th after Day 1 with a best run of 3.846 seconds at 318.47 mph in the Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster.
Jordan Vandergriff, who earned his first career NHRA Funny Car event two weeks ago at the Southern Nationals in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car, ran the fifth-quickest run of the day in Q2 (3.941 seconds at 328.78 mph) but was disqualified after it was found a parachute pin had not been removed before the run. Vandergriff’s first run, 4.906 seconds at 121.56 mph, placed the team in the 16th qualifying position.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12 and 2:30 p.m. CT. Both Vandergriff and DeJoria will participate in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, earned from his victory and her semifinal finish in the May 3 Southern Nationals at South Georgia Raceway in Valdosta, Ga. Sunday’s first round of eliminations is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“That last run was entertaining and scary. It was just a handful but it was entertaining. I hope everybody in the stands was half as entertained as I was. I’m just incredibly satisfied that we’ve got some bonus points so far. The PEAK SQUAD has made two absolutely solid runs, one in each lane. We have great data. We can now afford to push on Saturday and if we push too hard, that’ll teach us something as well. So, it really just sets us up for a lot more race day success.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I think it’s a great start to qualifying for the Bandero team here in Chicago. We made it down the left lane in Q1 but I had my hands full at the top end. Everybody knows once you pass the grandstands here in the Windy City, you get a little shifty down track. We managed to keep it in and got down with a 4.01 and then backed it up in the right lane with a 3.99. We have a very consistent car and now we can just step on it tomorrow.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I think everybody on the Speedmaster team expects more and it’s going to require a little bit of patience but we’re getting there. It was an A to B run with a surprise at the top, which is not what we wanted. So, we’ll regroup and I have all the confidence in the world that our JFR team will get it figured out. David Grubnic and John Collins are two of the smartest cats you can have in your corner. The guys are doing a great job mechanically so we’ll be fine.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We had a mad thrash between Q1 and Q2. We found little oil pressure in our engine during the warmup so we had to swap engines and we really thrashed. This was the Cornwell Tools team’s first real test in a situation like that and we succeeded in that we ran in 3.94. We didn’t even warm the engine up. We just took it to the starting line and ran it but, unfortunately, we were DQ’d because we left a parachute pin in. It was a learning experience that we’ll take into tomorrow and regroup.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage on FS1includes qualifying on Friday, May 15, from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. ET, a second qualifying show on Saturday, May 16, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET, and the eliminations broadcast on Sunday, May 17, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET.
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Fast Jack posted a lap of 3.913 seconds at 329.99 mph in the John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car during the day’s second session after a second-quickest run in Q1 of 3.957 seconds at 324.28 mph.
Alexis DeJoria posted the 10th quickest Funny Car run of 3.994 seconds at 329.42 mph in the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS. Josh Hart was 12th after Day 1 with a best run of 3.846 seconds at 318.47 mph in the Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster.
Jordan Vandergriff, who earned his first career NHRA Funny Car event two weeks ago at the Southern Nationals in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car, ran the fifth-quickest run of the day in Q2 (3.941 seconds at 328.78 mph) but was disqualified after it was found a parachute pin had not been removed before the run. Vandergriff’s first run, 4.906 seconds at 121.56 mph, placed the team in the 16th qualifying position.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12 and 2:30 p.m. CT. Both Vandergriff and DeJoria will participate in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, earned from his victory and her semifinal finish in the May 3 Southern Nationals at South Georgia Raceway in Valdosta, Ga. Sunday’s first round of eliminations is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“That last run was entertaining and scary. It was just a handful but it was entertaining. I hope everybody in the stands was half as entertained as I was. I’m just incredibly satisfied that we’ve got some bonus points so far. The PEAK SQUAD has made two absolutely solid runs, one in each lane. We have great data. We can now afford to push on Saturday and if we push too hard, that’ll teach us something as well. So, it really just sets us up for a lot more race day success.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I think it’s a great start to qualifying for the Bandero team here in Chicago. We made it down the left lane in Q1 but I had my hands full at the top end. Everybody knows once you pass the grandstands here in the Windy City, you get a little shifty down track. We managed to keep it in and got down with a 4.01 and then backed it up in the right lane with a 3.99. We have a very consistent car and now we can just step on it tomorrow.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I think everybody on the Speedmaster team expects more and it’s going to require a little bit of patience but we’re getting there. It was an A to B run with a surprise at the top, which is not what we wanted. So, we’ll regroup and I have all the confidence in the world that our JFR team will get it figured out. David Grubnic and John Collins are two of the smartest cats you can have in your corner. The guys are doing a great job mechanically so we’ll be fine.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We had a mad thrash between Q1 and Q2. We found little oil pressure in our engine during the warmup so we had to swap engines and we really thrashed. This was the Cornwell Tools team’s first real test in a situation like that and we succeeded in that we ran in 3.94. We didn’t even warm the engine up. We just took it to the starting line and ran it but, unfortunately, we were DQ’d because we left a parachute pin in. It was a learning experience that we’ll take into tomorrow and regroup.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage on FS1includes qualifying on Friday, May 15, from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. ET, a second qualifying show on Saturday, May 16, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET, and the eliminations broadcast on Sunday, May 17, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET.
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