BRAINERD, MN (Aug. 23, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff finished just a few feet short of a storybook weekend at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals but the John Force Racing Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car driver still earned his fourth final-round appearance of the season and is second in the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series point standings heading into the regular season finale Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals in two weeks.
Alexis DeJoria lost a close second-round matchup against teammate Vandergriff in Round 2 while competition for Jack Beckman and Josh Hart ended in the day’s opening round.
The Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car lined up for the final round against Matt Hagan who had lane choice. Vandergriff grabbed a slight edge off the starting line (.061 to .064) and looked headed toward his third win of the season when the Cornwell Tools Chevy made a move to the centerline. Wary of costing his team championship points if he crossed the centerline, he backed off the throttle which allowed Hagan to take the win with a run of 3.946 seconds at 320.13 mph over Vandergriff’s 4.038 seconds at 266.27 mph.
“Heading into the final, we knew he had a little bit of a performance advantage on us,” said Vandergriff. “We left hard and were running strong but the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy made a move to the left like we dropped a cylinder. I started tracking toward the center and figured I better be safe than sorry. I didn’t want to lose points to a penalty so I pedaled it but it just wasn’t enough for Matt’s 94.”
Vandergriff’s other final round appearances this season were at Valdosta (win), Epping (runner-up) and Sonoma (win). He also finished runner-up at Dallas in 2019 when he competed in 11 Top Fuel events.
“I think I’ve done a good job so far this year, but I know there are moments I haven’t been through yet. I think this final round was one of them and I’ll be a better driver for it. All in all, it was a great weekend for this Cornwell Quality Tools team. We were the No. 1 Qualifier, made it to the final round and are second in the points, giving us a lot of momentum heading into the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals. The top four in the Funny Car point standings are all within one round so it will be anybody’s ball game. We’re just fortunate to be one of the cars in the mix so it’s going to be fun.”
Vandergriff had a bye in the first round, defeated DeJoria in their second round matchup and J.R. Todd in the semifinals (3.977 seconds to 5.800 seconds).
DeJoria had lane choice in her second-round matchup against Vandergriff. Both cars made identical 3.956-second runs but it was only the nearly three-hundredths-of-a-second reaction time difference (.058 to .087) that provided Vandergriff the victory. The Bandero Café Chevy made a solid 3.927-second pass at 328.14 mph in Round 1 to defeat No. 9 qualifier Dave Richard’s 5.358 seconds at 135.63 mph to set up the second-round matchup with Vandergriff.
“The Bandero Café Chevy SS team is at its best right now,” said DeJoria. “All four of our qualifying runs were in the 3.90s and then two more on race day. This is still a new team to John Force Racing so we’re going to test here Monday with the other teams. We’re solid in the points for the Countdown to the Championship and I’ll have all my family supporting us at Indy. We’ll take all the good luck we can get.”
Beckman got the jump on No. 11 qualifier Chad Green off the starting line (.068 to .086) but smoked the tires a couple hundred feet out. Unbeknownst to Beckman, Green had struck the tires right off the line so Beckman pedaled the throttle of the PEAK Chevy. In doing so, however, he crossed the centerline for an automatic disqualification. It was his second centerline infraction of the season, costing the team 20 championship points and a drop from second to fifth in the regular season point standings.
“It went out there and puffed the tires but, as a driver, you have three things to do: leave on time; keep it in the groove; and, if something happens, react appropriately,” said Beckman. “I just got way behind the car. Chad had problems, too, but I couldn’t see him so I didn’t know if he was getting ready to pass me. But you have to get the car squared up before you get back on the throttle. When I pedaled it the second time, I had the wheel all the way left which is one of the worst things you can do as a driver. This is a gut check, because I let the PEAK SQUAD down. We had a car good enough to win but we didn’t have a driver good enough to win so we’ll stay and test tomorrow to work on some things in the clutch for the Countdown. We’ll lick our wounds, go to Indy in a couple weeks and, hopefully, win that one.”
Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster lined up against No. 7 qualifier Tony Stewart in Round 1. Hart cut a solid .078 light and ran 3.789 seconds at 330.47 mph but Stewart had a .047 reaction time and a run of 3.726 seconds at 334.32 mph.
“We realize we have been behind the pace,” said Hart. “This John Force Racing Speedmaster team is a championship caliber program and we won’t stop until the results prove it.”
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after 13 of 20 races are: 1. Doug Kalitta, 1,232; 2. Shawn Langdon, 1,165; 3. Leah Pruett, 974; 4. Antron Brown, 808; 5. Maddi Gordon, 784; 6. Tony Stewart, 753; 7. Josh Hart, 705; 8. Billy Torrence, 655; 9. Justin Ashley, 609; 10. Clay Millican, 540.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 13 of 20 races are: 1. Matt Hagan, 938; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 931; 3. Ron Capps, 926; 4. J.R. Todd, 916; 5. Jack Beckman, 864; 6. Austin Prock, 771; 7. Chad Green, 755; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 737; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 615; 10. Spencer Hyde, 610.
NEXT RACE
The 14th of 20 races of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Seri4s is the Sept. 2-7 Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park.
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Alexis DeJoria lost a close second-round matchup against teammate Vandergriff in Round 2 while competition for Jack Beckman and Josh Hart ended in the day’s opening round.
The Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car lined up for the final round against Matt Hagan who had lane choice. Vandergriff grabbed a slight edge off the starting line (.061 to .064) and looked headed toward his third win of the season when the Cornwell Tools Chevy made a move to the centerline. Wary of costing his team championship points if he crossed the centerline, he backed off the throttle which allowed Hagan to take the win with a run of 3.946 seconds at 320.13 mph over Vandergriff’s 4.038 seconds at 266.27 mph.
“Heading into the final, we knew he had a little bit of a performance advantage on us,” said Vandergriff. “We left hard and were running strong but the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy made a move to the left like we dropped a cylinder. I started tracking toward the center and figured I better be safe than sorry. I didn’t want to lose points to a penalty so I pedaled it but it just wasn’t enough for Matt’s 94.”
Vandergriff’s other final round appearances this season were at Valdosta (win), Epping (runner-up) and Sonoma (win). He also finished runner-up at Dallas in 2019 when he competed in 11 Top Fuel events.
“I think I’ve done a good job so far this year, but I know there are moments I haven’t been through yet. I think this final round was one of them and I’ll be a better driver for it. All in all, it was a great weekend for this Cornwell Quality Tools team. We were the No. 1 Qualifier, made it to the final round and are second in the points, giving us a lot of momentum heading into the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals. The top four in the Funny Car point standings are all within one round so it will be anybody’s ball game. We’re just fortunate to be one of the cars in the mix so it’s going to be fun.”
Vandergriff had a bye in the first round, defeated DeJoria in their second round matchup and J.R. Todd in the semifinals (3.977 seconds to 5.800 seconds).
DeJoria had lane choice in her second-round matchup against Vandergriff. Both cars made identical 3.956-second runs but it was only the nearly three-hundredths-of-a-second reaction time difference (.058 to .087) that provided Vandergriff the victory. The Bandero Café Chevy made a solid 3.927-second pass at 328.14 mph in Round 1 to defeat No. 9 qualifier Dave Richard’s 5.358 seconds at 135.63 mph to set up the second-round matchup with Vandergriff.
“The Bandero Café Chevy SS team is at its best right now,” said DeJoria. “All four of our qualifying runs were in the 3.90s and then two more on race day. This is still a new team to John Force Racing so we’re going to test here Monday with the other teams. We’re solid in the points for the Countdown to the Championship and I’ll have all my family supporting us at Indy. We’ll take all the good luck we can get.”
Beckman got the jump on No. 11 qualifier Chad Green off the starting line (.068 to .086) but smoked the tires a couple hundred feet out. Unbeknownst to Beckman, Green had struck the tires right off the line so Beckman pedaled the throttle of the PEAK Chevy. In doing so, however, he crossed the centerline for an automatic disqualification. It was his second centerline infraction of the season, costing the team 20 championship points and a drop from second to fifth in the regular season point standings.
“It went out there and puffed the tires but, as a driver, you have three things to do: leave on time; keep it in the groove; and, if something happens, react appropriately,” said Beckman. “I just got way behind the car. Chad had problems, too, but I couldn’t see him so I didn’t know if he was getting ready to pass me. But you have to get the car squared up before you get back on the throttle. When I pedaled it the second time, I had the wheel all the way left which is one of the worst things you can do as a driver. This is a gut check, because I let the PEAK SQUAD down. We had a car good enough to win but we didn’t have a driver good enough to win so we’ll stay and test tomorrow to work on some things in the clutch for the Countdown. We’ll lick our wounds, go to Indy in a couple weeks and, hopefully, win that one.”
Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster lined up against No. 7 qualifier Tony Stewart in Round 1. Hart cut a solid .078 light and ran 3.789 seconds at 330.47 mph but Stewart had a .047 reaction time and a run of 3.726 seconds at 334.32 mph.
“We realize we have been behind the pace,” said Hart. “This John Force Racing Speedmaster team is a championship caliber program and we won’t stop until the results prove it.”
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after 13 of 20 races are: 1. Doug Kalitta, 1,232; 2. Shawn Langdon, 1,165; 3. Leah Pruett, 974; 4. Antron Brown, 808; 5. Maddi Gordon, 784; 6. Tony Stewart, 753; 7. Josh Hart, 705; 8. Billy Torrence, 655; 9. Justin Ashley, 609; 10. Clay Millican, 540.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 13 of 20 races are: 1. Matt Hagan, 938; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 931; 3. Ron Capps, 926; 4. J.R. Todd, 916; 5. Jack Beckman, 864; 6. Austin Prock, 771; 7. Chad Green, 755; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 737; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 615; 10. Spencer Hyde, 610.
NEXT RACE
The 14th of 20 races of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Seri4s is the Sept. 2-7 Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park.
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