BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 21, 2026) – One year ago at Brainerd International Raceway, Jordan Vandergriff returned to NHRA Drag Racing competition after a six-year layoff and today finds him the No. 1 Qualifier in Funny Car heading into Sunday’s eliminations for the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.
Vandergriff wheeled John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car to a run of 3.879 seconds at 325.50 mph in his fourth and final qualifying run of the weekend. His third No. 1 qualifying positions this year are the second most by a driver in his or first season at John Force Racing. The only first year driver with more No. 1’s was Robert Hight who had five in 2005. Vandergriff will have a Bye run in the first round and will face the winner of first-round matchup between John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria and Dave Richards.
Jack Beckman qualified the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the No. 6 spot with his Q1 run of 3.903 seconds at 324.67 mph. He will face No. 11 qualifier Chad Green (3.972 seconds) in Round 1.
DeJoria qualified the Bandero Café SS Funny Car eighth with her Q4 run of 3.915 seconds at 326.08 mph. She will face No. 9 qualifier Dave Richards (3.924 seconds) in the first round.
Josh Hart qualified the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster in the 10th position, running 3.774 seconds at 327.35 mph in Q4. He will line up against No. 7 qualifier Tony Stewart (3.758 seconds) in the first round.
Beckman and Hart participated in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge based on their semifinal finishes at the July 26 NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.
Hart defeated Leah Pruett in the first round, running 3.774 seconds at 327.35 mph to the run of 4.786 at 151.58 mph by Pruett, who backed off the accelerator after an extended wheel stand.
In Beckman’s Rd. 1 matchup, the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car ran 3.926 seconds at 323.81 mph to Austin Prock’s low ET of the weekend run of 3.881 seconds at 327.19 mph.
Final eliminations are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“That Q4 run felt quicker than I’ve been all weekend and, as it turns out, it was quicker than everybody so far this weekend. That’s a credit to my guys: Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker, and the entire Cornwell Quality Tools team. They worked hard last night and whatever changes they made, it worked and we find ourselves with this yellow hat (awarded to the No. 1 Qualifier).”
“What a difference a year can make. I thought about what happened here for me last year. I got the opportunity I had been waiting on for a very long time and I still thank Shawn Reed for giving it to me. And then to get the call of a lifetime from John Force over this offseason to drive this Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy, and the success we’ve had already so far this year, it’s astonishing to me.
“It was a tough week for the Vandergriff family with the passing of my grandfather, Bob Vandergriff, Sr. He was the one responsible for our passion for NHRA drag racing. He really pioneered our love for this sport and he gave us all an opportunity and provided us with so much. He came from nothing from Missouri and he built a life for himself and his family so I was very fortunate to have him as my grandfather. We will miss him dearly and, hopefully, by tomorrow afternoon I can honor his name further.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The PEAK Chevy has a wide tune up window but we want to narrow the variants on clutch wear. We pushed hard in Q4 because we didn’t really have anything to lose. At first, we didn’t think we were going to be able to pick up but then when we saw Alexis (DeJoria) run a 3.91. We thought she got everything that was out there and then the Cornwell car ran 3.87. We were pushing to run a 3.89 and it looked good until it didn’t. The silver lining is we learned something from it, our clutch wear finally came back up to the high side, and now we should be able to split the difference.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We made a 3.943-second run in today’s first qualifying session. We were hoping to go a little quicker but I can’t complain. We have a very fast and consistent Bandero Café Chevy. It made it down the track, in the 3.90s in all four runs this weekend. There are a lot of good cars here, we’re all really close together. I’m excited about tomorrow. Anything could happen.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I have an awesome Speedmaster team and two really smart guys up top working relentlessly around the clock to get us into the Top 5 in the point standings before the Countdown to the Championship reset. I know this probably seems crazy to most people to be testing at this point in the season but this is a war, not just a weekend battle.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and eliminations at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
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Vandergriff wheeled John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car to a run of 3.879 seconds at 325.50 mph in his fourth and final qualifying run of the weekend. His third No. 1 qualifying positions this year are the second most by a driver in his or first season at John Force Racing. The only first year driver with more No. 1’s was Robert Hight who had five in 2005. Vandergriff will have a Bye run in the first round and will face the winner of first-round matchup between John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria and Dave Richards.
Jack Beckman qualified the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car in the No. 6 spot with his Q1 run of 3.903 seconds at 324.67 mph. He will face No. 11 qualifier Chad Green (3.972 seconds) in Round 1.
DeJoria qualified the Bandero Café SS Funny Car eighth with her Q4 run of 3.915 seconds at 326.08 mph. She will face No. 9 qualifier Dave Richards (3.924 seconds) in the first round.
Josh Hart qualified the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster in the 10th position, running 3.774 seconds at 327.35 mph in Q4. He will line up against No. 7 qualifier Tony Stewart (3.758 seconds) in the first round.
Beckman and Hart participated in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge based on their semifinal finishes at the July 26 NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.
Hart defeated Leah Pruett in the first round, running 3.774 seconds at 327.35 mph to the run of 4.786 at 151.58 mph by Pruett, who backed off the accelerator after an extended wheel stand.
In Beckman’s Rd. 1 matchup, the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car ran 3.926 seconds at 323.81 mph to Austin Prock’s low ET of the weekend run of 3.881 seconds at 327.19 mph.
Final eliminations are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“That Q4 run felt quicker than I’ve been all weekend and, as it turns out, it was quicker than everybody so far this weekend. That’s a credit to my guys: Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker, and the entire Cornwell Quality Tools team. They worked hard last night and whatever changes they made, it worked and we find ourselves with this yellow hat (awarded to the No. 1 Qualifier).”
“What a difference a year can make. I thought about what happened here for me last year. I got the opportunity I had been waiting on for a very long time and I still thank Shawn Reed for giving it to me. And then to get the call of a lifetime from John Force over this offseason to drive this Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy, and the success we’ve had already so far this year, it’s astonishing to me.
“It was a tough week for the Vandergriff family with the passing of my grandfather, Bob Vandergriff, Sr. He was the one responsible for our passion for NHRA drag racing. He really pioneered our love for this sport and he gave us all an opportunity and provided us with so much. He came from nothing from Missouri and he built a life for himself and his family so I was very fortunate to have him as my grandfather. We will miss him dearly and, hopefully, by tomorrow afternoon I can honor his name further.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The PEAK Chevy has a wide tune up window but we want to narrow the variants on clutch wear. We pushed hard in Q4 because we didn’t really have anything to lose. At first, we didn’t think we were going to be able to pick up but then when we saw Alexis (DeJoria) run a 3.91. We thought she got everything that was out there and then the Cornwell car ran 3.87. We were pushing to run a 3.89 and it looked good until it didn’t. The silver lining is we learned something from it, our clutch wear finally came back up to the high side, and now we should be able to split the difference.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We made a 3.943-second run in today’s first qualifying session. We were hoping to go a little quicker but I can’t complain. We have a very fast and consistent Bandero Café Chevy. It made it down the track, in the 3.90s in all four runs this weekend. There are a lot of good cars here, we’re all really close together. I’m excited about tomorrow. Anything could happen.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I have an awesome Speedmaster team and two really smart guys up top working relentlessly around the clock to get us into the Top 5 in the point standings before the Countdown to the Championship reset. I know this probably seems crazy to most people to be testing at this point in the season but this is a war, not just a weekend battle.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and eliminations at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
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Continue reading...
