Joliet, Ill. (May 16, 2026) – An action-packed Saturday afternoon for John Force Racing at Route 66 Raceway cemented a No. 1 qualifying spot for Jack Beckman, produced the thrill of victory for Alexis DeJoria and the agony of defeat for Jordan Vandergriff in an all-JFR Funny Car Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final, and a last-chance record-setting run for Josh Hart to set up Sunday’s eliminations of the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK.
Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team earned his 34th career No. 1 Qualifier position with Friday’s Q2 run of 3.913 seconds at 329.99 mph and then backed it up in Q4 today with a run of 3.915 seconds at 329.99 mph. It was the 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion’s second consecutive Route 66 Nationals low qualifier, having done so last year on his way to earning his 37th Funny Car event win.
Beckman will line up against No. 16 qualifier Chris King (4.142 seconds, 266.79 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Vandergriff and DeJoria reached the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge after first-round wins in Q3 against Chad Green and J.R. Todd, respectively. Each had qualified for the event as at least semifinalists in the Southern Nationals two weeks ago. The two cars completed their burnouts and backups but, while DeJoria’s Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car moved forward to the Pre-Stage line, Vandergriff’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car stood still.
It quickly became obvious the Cornwell Chevy had a mechanical issue and the decision was made to shut down. DeJoria staged and launched on the single run but the Bandero Café Chevy shook the rear tires almost immediately off the line, coasting to a slow but winning run of 8.301 seconds at 82.43 mph.
Vandergriff ended up 10th in qualifying with a run of 3.977 seconds at 325.92 mph. He will meet No. 7 qualifier Chad Green (3.942 seconds, 322.88 mph) in the first round.
DeJoria ended up 12th in qualifying with a run of 3.994 seconds at 329.42 mph. She’ll match up against No. 5 qualifier Spencer Hyde (3.930 seconds, 329.26 mph) in Round 1.
Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team struggled through the first three rounds of qualifying before firing off the fourth-quickest run of the event, 3.752 seconds at a track record 341.25 mph, in Q4 Saturday afternoon. It was the fastest run of Hart’s career and the first (and only) 340-mph run in Route 66 Raceway history.
Hart will face No. 13 qualifier Justin Ashley (3.797 seconds, 332.02 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Sunday’s first round of eliminations for the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. Elimination rounds will be broadcast on FS1 from 5 – 8 p.m. ET.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We’re finally back to winning. It came at the cost of my teammate and it was a lackluster final but we got the ‘W’ and that’s all that matters. I just had a feeling we were going to win it today. I knew it in my heart. I definitely didn’t expect to win like that. We’ve been really consistent. That last pass was the only time we didn’t get down the track. Getting to bring a win to JFR is huge. Working with John Force is just a dream come true. After going to the finals in Gainesville (at the season opener), I thought for sure we would get a win soon after that, but it took a little longer. We’ve had some ups and downs. Some of the tracks have been pretty tricky. We’ve had to do some pedal jobs. Sometimes you come out on the good side and sometimes you don’t. That’s the challenge of this class and part of what I love about it. We’re just getting started and we’ve got a lot left to show.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We earn qualifying points in three out of four runs. We thought we could run an 88 to an 89. All the big hitter cars in front of us weren’t putting up big numbers, and I thought ‘Maybe it’s just not out there.’ I’ll take it. We’re starting out like we did last year. We’re in the yellow hat (No. 1 qualifier), and that wasn’t without its adventures, but it ended up perfectly for the PEAK team. It’s awesome to have all the PEAK employees’ names are on the hood of our Chevy SS so they’re riding with us every run.
Dan and Tim (crew chiefs Hood and Fabrisi) have made great calls all weekend. On three out of the four qualifying runs, we got great data. I think we’re getting our PEAK Chevy back. I think we’re getting to that tune-up zone, getting that margin of error as wide as can be. At this point a year ago, even when we missed it, we were a Top 3 car. But that margin had narrowed a little bit. Hopefully, we’re kind of widening the margins again.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I was clapping the whole way during the shutdown. You know, we’ve struggled the last couple of races but you can’t ever lose confidence in your guys, and I have not. John Collins and David Grubnic are amazing. We communicate excellently and all the guys have been doing a wonder with this Speedmaster machine. We just keep picking at it and getting the driver room more comfortable. Everybody’s gelling together properly. So, for Speedmaster and Burnyzz Speed Shop, Bandero, PEAK, Cornwell, everybody that’s supporting this operation, I’m very grateful and very blessed to be in the seat. We’ll keep chasing Sean Langdon’s 345 (mph mark) and we’ll break it.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I did the burnout, backed it up, came forward as they were pushing me to line, and stopped at Chris (Cunningham, crew chief). When I went to stage, I let the clutch out to roll forward and there was no movement. So, I got on the radio said, ‘Hey, I got nothing.’ I felt a little push. I think it was Trace (Coe, crew member) who gave me a little push. That’s the only movement I had. I tried to let it (the clutch) out again but it wasn’t going anywhere. It’s terrible because I think we might have had that one. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat.”
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Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team earned his 34th career No. 1 Qualifier position with Friday’s Q2 run of 3.913 seconds at 329.99 mph and then backed it up in Q4 today with a run of 3.915 seconds at 329.99 mph. It was the 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion’s second consecutive Route 66 Nationals low qualifier, having done so last year on his way to earning his 37th Funny Car event win.
Beckman will line up against No. 16 qualifier Chris King (4.142 seconds, 266.79 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Vandergriff and DeJoria reached the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge after first-round wins in Q3 against Chad Green and J.R. Todd, respectively. Each had qualified for the event as at least semifinalists in the Southern Nationals two weeks ago. The two cars completed their burnouts and backups but, while DeJoria’s Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car moved forward to the Pre-Stage line, Vandergriff’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car stood still.
It quickly became obvious the Cornwell Chevy had a mechanical issue and the decision was made to shut down. DeJoria staged and launched on the single run but the Bandero Café Chevy shook the rear tires almost immediately off the line, coasting to a slow but winning run of 8.301 seconds at 82.43 mph.
Vandergriff ended up 10th in qualifying with a run of 3.977 seconds at 325.92 mph. He will meet No. 7 qualifier Chad Green (3.942 seconds, 322.88 mph) in the first round.
DeJoria ended up 12th in qualifying with a run of 3.994 seconds at 329.42 mph. She’ll match up against No. 5 qualifier Spencer Hyde (3.930 seconds, 329.26 mph) in Round 1.
Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team struggled through the first three rounds of qualifying before firing off the fourth-quickest run of the event, 3.752 seconds at a track record 341.25 mph, in Q4 Saturday afternoon. It was the fastest run of Hart’s career and the first (and only) 340-mph run in Route 66 Raceway history.
Hart will face No. 13 qualifier Justin Ashley (3.797 seconds, 332.02 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Sunday’s first round of eliminations for the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. Elimination rounds will be broadcast on FS1 from 5 – 8 p.m. ET.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We’re finally back to winning. It came at the cost of my teammate and it was a lackluster final but we got the ‘W’ and that’s all that matters. I just had a feeling we were going to win it today. I knew it in my heart. I definitely didn’t expect to win like that. We’ve been really consistent. That last pass was the only time we didn’t get down the track. Getting to bring a win to JFR is huge. Working with John Force is just a dream come true. After going to the finals in Gainesville (at the season opener), I thought for sure we would get a win soon after that, but it took a little longer. We’ve had some ups and downs. Some of the tracks have been pretty tricky. We’ve had to do some pedal jobs. Sometimes you come out on the good side and sometimes you don’t. That’s the challenge of this class and part of what I love about it. We’re just getting started and we’ve got a lot left to show.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We earn qualifying points in three out of four runs. We thought we could run an 88 to an 89. All the big hitter cars in front of us weren’t putting up big numbers, and I thought ‘Maybe it’s just not out there.’ I’ll take it. We’re starting out like we did last year. We’re in the yellow hat (No. 1 qualifier), and that wasn’t without its adventures, but it ended up perfectly for the PEAK team. It’s awesome to have all the PEAK employees’ names are on the hood of our Chevy SS so they’re riding with us every run.
Dan and Tim (crew chiefs Hood and Fabrisi) have made great calls all weekend. On three out of the four qualifying runs, we got great data. I think we’re getting our PEAK Chevy back. I think we’re getting to that tune-up zone, getting that margin of error as wide as can be. At this point a year ago, even when we missed it, we were a Top 3 car. But that margin had narrowed a little bit. Hopefully, we’re kind of widening the margins again.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I was clapping the whole way during the shutdown. You know, we’ve struggled the last couple of races but you can’t ever lose confidence in your guys, and I have not. John Collins and David Grubnic are amazing. We communicate excellently and all the guys have been doing a wonder with this Speedmaster machine. We just keep picking at it and getting the driver room more comfortable. Everybody’s gelling together properly. So, for Speedmaster and Burnyzz Speed Shop, Bandero, PEAK, Cornwell, everybody that’s supporting this operation, I’m very grateful and very blessed to be in the seat. We’ll keep chasing Sean Langdon’s 345 (mph mark) and we’ll break it.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I did the burnout, backed it up, came forward as they were pushing me to line, and stopped at Chris (Cunningham, crew chief). When I went to stage, I let the clutch out to roll forward and there was no movement. So, I got on the radio said, ‘Hey, I got nothing.’ I felt a little push. I think it was Trace (Coe, crew member) who gave me a little push. That’s the only movement I had. I tried to let it (the clutch) out again but it wasn’t going anywhere. It’s terrible because I think we might have had that one. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat.”
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