GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 7, 2025) – Josh Hart has wanted to earn a yellow NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing ballcap for being the top qualifier since he debuted in the Top Fuel ranks in 2021 and, in his first race driving for John Force Racing, he did just that for Sunday’s AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at his adopted home track of Gainesville Raceway.
Hart drove the Burnyzz Speed Shops / Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster to a lap of 3.658 seconds at 340.30 mph Friday night under the lights and much cooler conditions than the hot and sticky conditions the competitors dealt with Saturday. Hart and his Dave Grubnic / John Collins led team will face No. 16 qualifier Dan Mercier (3.885 seconds at 266.32 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Jordan Vandergriff, making his Funny Car debut with John Force Racing, qualified the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS eighth from his Q2 run Friday night of 3.990 seconds at 318.47 mph and will face teammate and 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion Jack Beckman in the first round of eliminations. Beckman had been bumped from the field of 16 by the time he rolled to the starting line for his final qualifying attempt but the PEAK SQUAD came through when it counted, making Beckman the ninth seed with a run of 4.029 seconds at 324.83 mph in the heat of the day.
Alexis DeJoria, also making her John Force Racing debut at the 2026 season-opening Gatornationals, used her Q3 run early Saturday afternoon to earn the 11th spot in the qualifying order for the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car program. The six-time NHRA event winner will square up in Round 1 of eliminations against No.6 qualifier Cruz Pedregon, whose best last of the four event’s four qualifying sessions was 3.948 seconds at 329.91 mph.
Final eliminations are scheduled on Sunday, March 8, at 10 a.m. ET.
Quote from Josh Hart, Burnyzz Speed Shop / Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“The fans are awesome. The energy is always good here. My wife always attends this race, so maybe it’s just a level of comfort. It’s the first place that I ever went down a drag strip. If I could figure out how to get that comfortable at all the other race tracks, maybe we could really chase a championship. We’ve literally broke every single one of my career bests already this weekend. So I have all the confidence in the world. (Crew chief David Grubnic) is like the Babe Ruth of drag racing. He can almost call a shot. We’ll be ready for race day and I believe him.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The same PEAK Chevy that had a great test session two weeks ago here and great test runs earlier this week showed up for the Gatornationals but it’s not the same racetrack that it was four days ago. We just had to keep listening to the race track. By the time we rolled up for the last qualifying session, not only had we been bumped out of the show, there was also a two-car incident on the race track and a long delay. The track prep was coming to question there. There was so much drama and, as a driver, your job is to try to stay calm. But I’m also telling myself, ‘Be ready to pedal the car. If this thing does anything stupid, get off the throttle as quick as you can to minimize the tire spin, and roll into it because it’s a hot, nasty race track.’ But the PEAK Squad made the perfect call for those conditions, slid it right on through and qualified ninth. You can win from any qualifying position.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It feels great to have the Cornwell Tools Chevy qualified but I’m still wondering if it qualifies me as a real Funny Car driver yet. But it really is just an honor to be qualified in this Funny Car Class in my very first race. And, to do it for John Force Racing means the world to me. To do it with John and have him believe in me just means the world to me. It shows that this car and team are good and we are gonna pick up where it left off. We have Chris Cunningham and Jason Bunker as a crew team duo and they’re gonna take this thing all the way to the winner’s circle.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Premium Chevrolet SS:
“It’s been a tricky weekend so far for the Bandero Chevrolet SS team but we’re in the show and ready to race Sunday. Not a lot of cars made it down, and the cars that did were not running the record numbers. We made it down the track twice, and we are ready for tomorrow. We are safely in the show and I can’t wait.
TV Schedule
Television coverage on Sunday, March 8, includes qualifying action from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET on FS1 and then eliminations coverage from 12-3 p.m. ET on FS1.
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Hart drove the Burnyzz Speed Shops / Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster to a lap of 3.658 seconds at 340.30 mph Friday night under the lights and much cooler conditions than the hot and sticky conditions the competitors dealt with Saturday. Hart and his Dave Grubnic / John Collins led team will face No. 16 qualifier Dan Mercier (3.885 seconds at 266.32 mph) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Jordan Vandergriff, making his Funny Car debut with John Force Racing, qualified the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS eighth from his Q2 run Friday night of 3.990 seconds at 318.47 mph and will face teammate and 2012 NHRA Funny Car World Champion Jack Beckman in the first round of eliminations. Beckman had been bumped from the field of 16 by the time he rolled to the starting line for his final qualifying attempt but the PEAK SQUAD came through when it counted, making Beckman the ninth seed with a run of 4.029 seconds at 324.83 mph in the heat of the day.
Alexis DeJoria, also making her John Force Racing debut at the 2026 season-opening Gatornationals, used her Q3 run early Saturday afternoon to earn the 11th spot in the qualifying order for the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car program. The six-time NHRA event winner will square up in Round 1 of eliminations against No.6 qualifier Cruz Pedregon, whose best last of the four event’s four qualifying sessions was 3.948 seconds at 329.91 mph.
Final eliminations are scheduled on Sunday, March 8, at 10 a.m. ET.
Quote from Josh Hart, Burnyzz Speed Shop / Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“The fans are awesome. The energy is always good here. My wife always attends this race, so maybe it’s just a level of comfort. It’s the first place that I ever went down a drag strip. If I could figure out how to get that comfortable at all the other race tracks, maybe we could really chase a championship. We’ve literally broke every single one of my career bests already this weekend. So I have all the confidence in the world. (Crew chief David Grubnic) is like the Babe Ruth of drag racing. He can almost call a shot. We’ll be ready for race day and I believe him.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The same PEAK Chevy that had a great test session two weeks ago here and great test runs earlier this week showed up for the Gatornationals but it’s not the same racetrack that it was four days ago. We just had to keep listening to the race track. By the time we rolled up for the last qualifying session, not only had we been bumped out of the show, there was also a two-car incident on the race track and a long delay. The track prep was coming to question there. There was so much drama and, as a driver, your job is to try to stay calm. But I’m also telling myself, ‘Be ready to pedal the car. If this thing does anything stupid, get off the throttle as quick as you can to minimize the tire spin, and roll into it because it’s a hot, nasty race track.’ But the PEAK Squad made the perfect call for those conditions, slid it right on through and qualified ninth. You can win from any qualifying position.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It feels great to have the Cornwell Tools Chevy qualified but I’m still wondering if it qualifies me as a real Funny Car driver yet. But it really is just an honor to be qualified in this Funny Car Class in my very first race. And, to do it for John Force Racing means the world to me. To do it with John and have him believe in me just means the world to me. It shows that this car and team are good and we are gonna pick up where it left off. We have Chris Cunningham and Jason Bunker as a crew team duo and they’re gonna take this thing all the way to the winner’s circle.
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Premium Chevrolet SS:
“It’s been a tricky weekend so far for the Bandero Chevrolet SS team but we’re in the show and ready to race Sunday. Not a lot of cars made it down, and the cars that did were not running the record numbers. We made it down the track twice, and we are ready for tomorrow. We are safely in the show and I can’t wait.
TV Schedule
Television coverage on Sunday, March 8, includes qualifying action from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET on FS1 and then eliminations coverage from 12-3 p.m. ET on FS1.
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