Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team earned their second consecutive No. 1 qualifying spot of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and John Force Racing’s other three teams all earned lane choice for the first round of eliminations in Sunday’s inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway.
Beckman earned his 35th career No. 1 spot with Saturday’s Q3 run of 3.935 seconds at 326.79 mph. The PEAK Chevy was on another strong run in Q4 but clicked off early as planned by crew chiefs Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi planned to gather further data for eliminations.
Beckman will face No. 16 qualifier Joe Morrison, whose best run was just 10.872 seconds at 82.58 mph, in round one of eliminations.
“It’s no secret, we’ve been stumbling a little bit with the PEAK Chevy and we haven’t been ourselves like last year, when our car could do no wrong,” said Beckman. “We’re just kind of struggling this year, but it’s because we did some things to try to be quicker, and a lot of times that step backwards takes a while before you recuperate from that, but to know that every dart we’re throwing is hitting near the bullseye means we could make good tune-up calls for tomorrow. This is one of those Saturdays where I’m counting down the hours till the national anthem. I can’t wait to get back out here tomorrow.”
Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team made their best run in Q2 Friday, a lap of 3.970 seconds at 321.88 mph which was good enough for fourth place on the 16-car ladder. The Cornwell Tools Chevy was consistent throughout all four qualifying passes, running 4.076 seconds at 306.05 mph in Q1, 4.006 seconds at 321.58 mph in Q3 and 4.002 seconds at 322.81 mph in Q4.
Vandergriff will line up in Sunday’s first round of eliminations against Dave Richards, who qualified 13th with a run of 4.058 seconds at 321.42 mph.
“So far this weekend here in Maryland, our Cornwell Tools Chevy has been really consistent and that gives us a lot of confidence,” Vandergriff said. “The last time we had a car that was this good was in South Georgia so that gives me a good feeling about tomorrow. I had a good feeling coming in here this weekend when I saw the track for the first time and I feel the same after these qualifying sessions. I’m going to go after it tomorrow to try to get win number two for Cornwell Quality Tools.”
Alexis DeJoria and her Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team qualified seventh with a Q4 run Saturday of 3.997 seconds at 326.16 mph. In the first round of Sunday’s eliminations, she’ll face Ron Capps who qualified 10th with a run of 4.024 seconds at 321.65 mph.
In DeJoria’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge first-round matchup Saturday against Matt Hagan, the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car moved one-thousandth-of-a-second quicker than Hagan’s. Both cars lost traction halfway through their runs, but Hagan prevailed, running 4.347 seconds at 217.32 mph to DeJoria’s 4.539 seconds at 189.07 mph.
Josh Hart qualified the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster in the seventh position with his Friday Q2 run of 3.811 seconds at 333.91 mph. In Sunday’s first round, he will face Clay Millican who qualified 10th with a run of 3.839 seconds at 321.88 mph.
Hart faced Shawn Langdon in the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, a rematch of their semifinal matchup two weeks ago at Route 66 Speedway. Langdon left first and didn’t look back, running 3.760 seconds at 335.23 mph (low elapsed time of the round) while the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster slowed near the finish line to a run of 3.890 seconds at 294.18 mph.
Sunday’s first round of eliminations is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. Coverage of eliminations will be broadcast Sunday, May 31, from 3-6 p.m. ET on FS1.
This story was originally published on May 30, 2026. 
