ADEL, Ga. (May 1, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team set the pace for John Force Racing with their No. 2 qualifying spot after Day 1 of the NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
The Atlanta-area resident ran 3.924 seconds at 325.14 mph in the day’s first qualifying session, capturing the second overall spot in nitro Funny Car behind only J.R. Todd’s 3.887-second run.
Josh Hart put the Speedmaster Top Fueler in the No. 7 spot with his Q2 run of 3.855 seconds at 275.22 mph. Alexis DeJoria sits 10th with her Q2 run of 3.968 seconds at 326.63 mph in the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car. Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team are 11th with their Q2 run of 3.973 seconds at 326.24 mph.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions, which will include Beckman’s participation in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge earned from his runner-up finish in last week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, are scheduled for 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Sunday, May 3, at 11 a.m. ET.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“Our Q1 run was fantastic and it keeps us number two. In Q2, we knew the left lane was a little tricky so we went up there going for it and it definitely went up in smoke very quickly. Every run in the Cornwell Tools Chevy is a learning experience at this point and that’s good. I might have caught it a little quicker, because it’s all about feeling the race car, so the more runs I get, the better I’ll get.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I don’t think anybody on this Speedmaster team wants to start in the No. 7 spot. We were smoking the tires from about 800 feet on that second run. I stayed in it, and typically you wouldn’t do that, but we had to improve. I know we’ll get a good game plan together for tomorrow and get a couple good runs in if the weather holds. On Sunday, you have to race them all anyway so this JFR team will get it figured out and we’ll park it in the winner’s circle at the end of the day.”
Quote from Crew Chief Mike Neff, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We were trying to run a little better than that, wanting to run a low 90. We ended up putting in a little more clutch than we wanted and it didn’t quite turn out the way we were hoping. But we needed to get the Bandero Chevy down the track, too. Everybody’s really bunched up right now. So, it was good to get one on the board and the weather looks like it might clear out after lunch tomorrow so definitely hoping to get another one or two more runs in.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The right lane is significantly better than the left lane from 10 feet to 150 feet. We put a right lane tune up in the PEAK Chevy for Q1 but we were in the left lane. We were then forced to soften it up for Q2 and had a left lane tune up in it. The right lane would have taken way more but we slid it down the track. We’re 11th right now and hoping the weather allows us to get some more runs in tomorrow. We need data here and we need to move up the qualifying order.”
Television Schedule
Television FS1 coverage includes a qualifying show Sat., May 2, from 9:30 – 11 p.m. ET, a second qualifying Sun., May 3, from 1 – 2 p.m. ET and a finals show Sun., May 3, from 7 – 10 p.m. ET.
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The Atlanta-area resident ran 3.924 seconds at 325.14 mph in the day’s first qualifying session, capturing the second overall spot in nitro Funny Car behind only J.R. Todd’s 3.887-second run.
Josh Hart put the Speedmaster Top Fueler in the No. 7 spot with his Q2 run of 3.855 seconds at 275.22 mph. Alexis DeJoria sits 10th with her Q2 run of 3.968 seconds at 326.63 mph in the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car. Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team are 11th with their Q2 run of 3.973 seconds at 326.24 mph.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions, which will include Beckman’s participation in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge earned from his runner-up finish in last week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, are scheduled for 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Sunday, May 3, at 11 a.m. ET.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“Our Q1 run was fantastic and it keeps us number two. In Q2, we knew the left lane was a little tricky so we went up there going for it and it definitely went up in smoke very quickly. Every run in the Cornwell Tools Chevy is a learning experience at this point and that’s good. I might have caught it a little quicker, because it’s all about feeling the race car, so the more runs I get, the better I’ll get.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I don’t think anybody on this Speedmaster team wants to start in the No. 7 spot. We were smoking the tires from about 800 feet on that second run. I stayed in it, and typically you wouldn’t do that, but we had to improve. I know we’ll get a good game plan together for tomorrow and get a couple good runs in if the weather holds. On Sunday, you have to race them all anyway so this JFR team will get it figured out and we’ll park it in the winner’s circle at the end of the day.”
Quote from Crew Chief Mike Neff, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We were trying to run a little better than that, wanting to run a low 90. We ended up putting in a little more clutch than we wanted and it didn’t quite turn out the way we were hoping. But we needed to get the Bandero Chevy down the track, too. Everybody’s really bunched up right now. So, it was good to get one on the board and the weather looks like it might clear out after lunch tomorrow so definitely hoping to get another one or two more runs in.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The right lane is significantly better than the left lane from 10 feet to 150 feet. We put a right lane tune up in the PEAK Chevy for Q1 but we were in the left lane. We were then forced to soften it up for Q2 and had a left lane tune up in it. The right lane would have taken way more but we slid it down the track. We’re 11th right now and hoping the weather allows us to get some more runs in tomorrow. We need data here and we need to move up the qualifying order.”
Television Schedule
Television FS1 coverage includes a qualifying show Sat., May 2, from 9:30 – 11 p.m. ET, a second qualifying Sun., May 3, from 1 – 2 p.m. ET and a finals show Sun., May 3, from 7 – 10 p.m. ET.
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