KENT, Wash. (July 24, 2026) – Alexis DeJoria’s second qualifying run Friday of 3.955 seconds at 326.56 mph was the quickest of the session at Pacific Raceways and put the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the No. 2 spot after the first day of qualifying for the Muckleshoot Resort Casino NHRA Northwest Nationals.
DeJoria, who won the 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car class, earned a $2,500 Oris watch from local jeweler Ben Bridge for having the quickest Funny Car run of Q2.
Her John Force Racing Funny Car teammate Jack Beckman put the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the No. 4 spot with his run of 3.975 seconds at 322.73 mph while last week’s winner, Jordan Vandergriff, had issues in both runs and posted the 15th-quickest run of 4.495 seconds at 193.77 mph. In Top Fuel, the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster dropped cylinders in both runs and sits 12th with a best run of 3.939 seconds at 290.51 mph.
Local temperatures will be at least 10 degrees cooler for Saturday’s two qualifying sessions scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I know it’s qualifying, but anytime I come up against one of my teammates (she lined up against Vandergriff in Q2), I get an extra little boost of ‘I want to kick your butt.’ That run felt great. The Bandero Café Chevy went right down the groove. The top end was a little greasy but that’s nothing new for Funny Car. It’s part of the fun. With that good run today, they’re talking about cooler temperatures tomorrow in the 60s and low 70s. That’s throw down weather and we have the capability to do just that. Tomorrow’s going to be a good day.”
“That Oris watch is absolutely gorgeous. These Friday qualifying programs give everybody an extra incentive, and it’s exciting for the fans who won a watch, as well. We want the Wallys most of all but any time you get something unique from a specific track is special.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It’s always frustrating when you don’t go to the top of the chart but, a lot of times, these cars don’t run quite as quick as we tune them for. They might be a couple hundredths slower than the tuneup we plug into it. But sometimes they run quicker than we set them up for. I have a strong suspicion that Cruz’s (provisional No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon) first qualifier run did just that and kudos to them. That was an outstanding run for the conditions. I’m pleased with the PEAK Chevy. We were second low in the first session and third in the second session which gave us three bonus points. This is going to be one of those odd races because we didn’t have a Friday night qualifying session and Q2 is usually the hero run. It looks like we’re going to get cooler weather tomorrow so Saturday’s runs should supersede today’s. It’s awesome going to bed tonight knowing when I wake up tomorrow, we’ll have a very legitimate shot back at the pole position.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We were chasing it a little bit today. I think our 60-foot times looked good on both runs but we smoked the tires in Q1 and put a hole out in Q2 so Chris (Cunningham, crew chief) shut me off early. It’s not what we wanted but I think we were game planning for tomorrow anyway. Saturday is going to be the day that sets the field so we are still very confident in this Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy for tomorrow.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“The stars are aligning for the John Force Racing Speedmaster team tomorrow. The weather will be cooler and in our favor for Q3 and Q4.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, July 24, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 on FS1, leading into eliminations Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.
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DeJoria, who won the 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car class, earned a $2,500 Oris watch from local jeweler Ben Bridge for having the quickest Funny Car run of Q2.
Her John Force Racing Funny Car teammate Jack Beckman put the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the No. 4 spot with his run of 3.975 seconds at 322.73 mph while last week’s winner, Jordan Vandergriff, had issues in both runs and posted the 15th-quickest run of 4.495 seconds at 193.77 mph. In Top Fuel, the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster dropped cylinders in both runs and sits 12th with a best run of 3.939 seconds at 290.51 mph.
Local temperatures will be at least 10 degrees cooler for Saturday’s two qualifying sessions scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I know it’s qualifying, but anytime I come up against one of my teammates (she lined up against Vandergriff in Q2), I get an extra little boost of ‘I want to kick your butt.’ That run felt great. The Bandero Café Chevy went right down the groove. The top end was a little greasy but that’s nothing new for Funny Car. It’s part of the fun. With that good run today, they’re talking about cooler temperatures tomorrow in the 60s and low 70s. That’s throw down weather and we have the capability to do just that. Tomorrow’s going to be a good day.”
“That Oris watch is absolutely gorgeous. These Friday qualifying programs give everybody an extra incentive, and it’s exciting for the fans who won a watch, as well. We want the Wallys most of all but any time you get something unique from a specific track is special.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It’s always frustrating when you don’t go to the top of the chart but, a lot of times, these cars don’t run quite as quick as we tune them for. They might be a couple hundredths slower than the tuneup we plug into it. But sometimes they run quicker than we set them up for. I have a strong suspicion that Cruz’s (provisional No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon) first qualifier run did just that and kudos to them. That was an outstanding run for the conditions. I’m pleased with the PEAK Chevy. We were second low in the first session and third in the second session which gave us three bonus points. This is going to be one of those odd races because we didn’t have a Friday night qualifying session and Q2 is usually the hero run. It looks like we’re going to get cooler weather tomorrow so Saturday’s runs should supersede today’s. It’s awesome going to bed tonight knowing when I wake up tomorrow, we’ll have a very legitimate shot back at the pole position.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We were chasing it a little bit today. I think our 60-foot times looked good on both runs but we smoked the tires in Q1 and put a hole out in Q2 so Chris (Cunningham, crew chief) shut me off early. It’s not what we wanted but I think we were game planning for tomorrow anyway. Saturday is going to be the day that sets the field so we are still very confident in this Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy for tomorrow.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“The stars are aligning for the John Force Racing Speedmaster team tomorrow. The weather will be cooler and in our favor for Q3 and Q4.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, July 24, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 on FS1, leading into eliminations Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.
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