POMONA, Calif. (April 12, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff was introduced as a kid to the sport of drag racing at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, his hometown track, and he hoped to earn his first Funny Car win there in the NHRA’s 1,000th Funny Car race but the semifinals finish he and his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team were able to achieve in the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals was still an experience he’ll always treasure.
John Force Racing teammates Josh Hart, Alexis DeJoria and Jack Beckman all ran strong in their first-round matchups before bowing out in the second round of the oil-down and rain-delayed third race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the semifinal matchup, Vandergriff grabbed the holeshot from three-time NHRA Funny Car Champion Ron Capps, 0.069 to 0.077, and ran his personal event-best elapsed time of 3.889 seconds at 334.15 mph but it wasn’t enough for Capps’ overall event-best elapsed time of 3.863 seconds at 330.31 mph.
“What a weekend for the John Force Racing Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet Funny Car,” said Vandergriff. “Being at my home track, having a lot of my friends and family out here and doing it for John at his home means a lot to me, too. So, getting to the semis was great but somebody was just a little quicker in the end. We’re getting there. I think we have something really strong to build on and I know a win is coming very soon.”
Vandergriff defeated Daniel Wilkerson in Round 1 with a run of 3.894 seconds at 334.57 mph and outlasted Chad Green in the second round with a run of 3.914 seconds at 330.63 mph to Green’s 3.970 seconds at 325.22 mph.
Hart ended up making a single run in Round 1 when Cameron Ferre was forced to shut off after completing the burnout, running his event-best elapsed time and speed of 3.698 seconds at 336.91 mph. The 2026 NHRA Gatornationals champion faced Tony Stewart in Round 2, cut a 0.065 light to Stewart’s 0.058, and was running nearly side by side to halfway before the Speedmaster Top Fueler slowed to a run of 3.968 seconds at 236.46 mph while Stewart ran 3.715 at 337.92.
“That one stings,” said Hart. “We were swinging for the fences with great conditions for record-breaking runs in the Speedmaster dragster. The fans kept the house vibes up even in the rain and all the down time so I am grateful to everyone who came out, and especially for those who stayed to the end.”
DeJoria defeated Dave Richards in Round 1, running 3.906 seconds at 330.07 mph to Richards’ 6.818 at 105.00. In Round 2, the SoCal native got the holeshot against three-time Funny Car Champion Ron Capps but the Bandero Café Chevy lost traction shortly after. DeJoria pedaled the throttle but Capps streaked to a run of 3.884 seconds at 323.34 mph while DeJoria clicked the lights in 6.941 seconds at 95.41 mph.
“We had a pretty consistent Bandero Café Chevy this weekend,” said DeJoria. “We made three-second runs every time down the track. Then, on Sunday, we made a really good run in Round 1 and were set to do so again in the second round. We were trying to run a 3.87 and just overpowered the track by a fraction. I had a good light and I’m pretty sure if it had stuck, we would have gotten the round win. This is the race we really wanted to win. It’s the 1,000th Funny Car race and it’s my home track at Pomona. But, on to the next. We’ve learned a lot and we’re just going to take that knowledge and continue our momentum.”
Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD won their first round of eliminations, defeating Jim Campbell with a run of 3.890 seconds at 332.75 mph. Despite the team’s best run of the event, they lost lane choice by one-thousandth-of-a-second to JR Todd. In the Round 2 matchup, the PEAK Chevy lost traction early and, despite Beckman pedaling the throttle, Todd streaked to the win with a run of 3.914 seconds at 334.65 mph to Beckman’s 4.760 seconds at 193.05 mph.
“There are a lot of runs where we have a parts issue,” said Beckman. “At the end of the first run, we burned a piston. Actually, it forced us to change the engine. There are also a lot of runs where you miss it and you say, ‘okay, we didn’t have the right clutch in it’. That was the second round run. The track was really getting tight. If you look at our overlays from runs at similar tracks, it’s a coin toss whether that run makes it or not. Unfortunately, that time it didn’t make it for us. You hate to lose those races because, had it stuck, who knows? But I think we finally have our PEAK Chevy back. We earned some qualifying points after a really odd Friday trying to figure out the racetrack. I think all the calls we made after that were spot on. The one in the second round was just that small percentile off.”
The unofficial 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after three of 20 races are: Doug Kalitta, 256; Shawn Langdon, 252; Josh Hart, 235; Tony Stewart, 224; Leah Pruett, 220; Maddi Gordon, 186; Justin Ashley, 157; Antron Brown, 139; Billy Torrence, 133; Clay Milliken, 114.
The unofficial 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after three of 20 races are: Ron Capps, 251; Matt Hagan, 251; JR Todd, 224; Chad Green, 223; Jordan Vandergriff, 205; Spencer Hyde, 189; Alexis DeJoria, 184; Daniel Wilkerson, 138; Paul Lee, 133; Jack Beckman, 119.
Next Race
The fourth of 20 events on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series calendar is the April 24-26 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C.
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