Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team waited until the final run of the fourth and final qualifying session of the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway to set low elapsed time and, in doing so, the Funny Car rookie captured both his first career No. 1 qualifying award and second career NHRA Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Vandergriff ran 3.913 seconds at 323.58 mph to Ron Capps’ 3.953 seconds at 328.16 to earn his second Mission Foods Challenge white winner’s ballcap. But it was the yellow ballcap for setting low ET in qualifying that he was most proud of.
His John Force Racing teammates were right there with him. Jack Beckman qualified the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car second and Alexis DeJoria qualified the Bandero Chevrolet SS Funny Car third, marking the first time they have swept the top three spots. In Top Fuel, Josh Hart put the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster in the third spot, as well, with his Friday Q2 run of 3.724 seconds at 337.92 mph.
Round one of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, held during Saturday’s first qualifying session, pitted Beckman and Vandergriff against each other based on their semifinal matchup in last week’s semifinals in Maryland, where Beckman went on to finish runner up. Vandergriff’s Cornwell Tools Chevy got the holeshot and it was a close race until just past halftrack when both cars lost traction. They each coasted across the finish line but this time it was Vandergriff who took the win and the transfer spot into the final round against Ron Capps, who earned lane choice.
“Right when I crossed the finish line and the parachutes hit, I thought, ‘God, that felt quick.’ To get the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win and the No. 1 qualifier in the same day is unbelievable,” said Vandergriff. “I never thought I was going to get one of these No. 1 qualifier hats, but now I’ve got one. We’re one, two, and three (in qualifying). That’s a testament to John Force, what he’s built, the equipment he has and the people he has working for him. Right now, we’re the best three Funny Cars on the property. Jack Beckman has helped me a lot with driving and Alexis DeJoria has helped me with handling the emotions. Having teammates like that is huge. To be eight races into my Funny Car career with two Mission wins, a Wally and now a No. 1 qualifier – it’s pretty incredible.”
Heading into Q4, DeJoria held the No. 1 spot will her Friday night Q2 run of 3.929 seconds at 312.42 mph, Vandergriff was second with his Q2 run of 3.932 seconds at 326.32 mph and Beckman was sixth with his Q2 run of 3.950 seconds at 323.81 mph.
“Well, we finally did it. John’s wishes came true. We got the JFR cars into the top three qualifying spots,” DeJoria said. “I was happy to carry the No. 1 qualifier on Friday. I thought if anybody could go around us, it’d be one of our cars. It’s an all JFR affair on the top half of the field.”
With Vandergriff in the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final round, DeJoria and Beckman ran together in Q4. Beckman moved to the provisional top spot with a run of 3.921 seconds at 327.35 mph to DeJoria’s 3.934 seconds at 329.50 mph
It was at the 2024 NHRA New England Nationals that 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion and team owner John Force earned his record 157th and final NHRA Funny Car victory.
In Sunday’s first round of elimination, Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team will face No. 16 qualifier Jeff Arend whose best qualifying run was 4.152 seconds at 264.18 mph.
Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team will line up against No. 15 qualifier Phil Burkart who ran 4.075 seconds at 311.05 mph.
DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team will be matched up against Cruz Pedregon, who qualified 15th with a run of 4.008 seconds at 316.97 mph.
Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster team will face Rit Pustari, who qualified 14th with a best run of 9.189 seconds at 71.97 mph.Final eliminations have been moved up by 30 minutes and are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 7.Broadcast of eliminations will air from 3-6 p.m. ET on FOX.
