NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2026) – All four John Force Racing teams took advantage of unseasonably cool temperatures to post solid qualifying runs Friday for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals after a strong chance of rain in the Norwalk area forced NHRA officials to move up the day’s qualifying sessions by six hours.
The two Friday sessions were originally scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET but were eventually run at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team made two solid runs, going 3.947 seconds at 331.53 in Q1 (second quickest of the round) and a quicker 3.918 seconds at 330.63 mph in Q2, which was good enough for third quickest of the day.
Josh Hart and the Speedmaster team posted the fifth-quickest Top Fuel time with a Q2 run of 3.803 seconds at 332.34 mph after dropping a cylinder in Q1.
Jordan Vandergriff put the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car into the sixth spot with a Q2 run of 3.936 seconds at 329.18 mph after smoking the tires in Q1.
Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team smoked the tires in Q1 but came back in Q2 with a solid run of 3.945 seconds at 327.59 mph to grab the No. 8 spot.
Qualifying sessions for Sat., June 27, are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“Dan and Tim (crew chiefs Hood and Fabrisi) made a blood pact, after just flat getting outrun in the second round at Bristol, that we need to be more aggressive. And in Q1, we were a little too aggressive which put us in a doubly odd position. The right lane’s much smoother. The left lane has a pretty noticeable bump at 150 feet and that’s where we were going to have to make our Q2 run. We also had to be the first pair out so we didn’t have the benefit of watching any of the other cars. The track was cooling down by the minute as we rolled out there for Q2 so, to make sure we got past that bump, we launched and then slowed the clutch down going over the bump. Once the PEAK Chevy got over the bump, let me tell you, I could feel it. Once the car settled, we accelerated but it’s like a sprinter stutter stepping. You never recover the lost momentum but we knew that would happen. After the Q1 stumble, I’m actually very satisfied with our 3.94. If the cloud cover comes back tomorrow, we’ll definitely have a chance to push harder.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The Friday sessions went really well for our Bandero Café team. On the first run, we qualified second with a 3.94-second run and earned two bonus points. On the second run, they tuned it up a bit. We were the second-to-last pair so we got to see all the cars in front of us and they were running really good numbers. So, we went out and ran a 3.91 or 90. We dropped to third but still walked away with another bonus point for a total of three today. The rain stayed away and we feel really good going so far.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“On Day 1 at Norwalk, the Speedmaster team set out to get fresh data and qualify in the Top 5. Mission accomplished. We are sitting fifth and ready to whip this car back into shape for tomorrow. The rain delay right before we made our run through us a curve. I mean, you get hyped up and you’re ready to go to the starting line every time. When something like that happens, it’s hard not to let it deflate your sails a little bit. So, you sit there, you try to stay calm, maybe loosen your belts a little bit so you can breathe, but you don’t you don’t have control over it. There’s nothing anybody can do. You just wait it out. And then when they say, fire them up, you try to get the same thing going on inside your mind or you try to get your mind right, go up there and go A to B. I’m focusing on hitting my driving weight so it’s good to sit inside the car and smolder a little bit. They might feed me tonight.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The Cornwell Quality Tools team definitely picked up from Q1 with that 3.936-second run. I haven’t looked at the numbers too closely, but if you look at our 60-foot to 330 time, I think they’re gonna be almost identical. I think we pushed a little too hard in Q1 so we pulled it back a little, maybe too much. Most importantly, the 3.936 is very impressive for this team. We wanted to get down the racetrack in that right lane and we did. So, thank you to Cornwell’s Quality Tools for a great week, introducing me to everybody at the headquarters, at the distribution center, and at the manufacturing plant. So many awesome and great people and I am so happy to represent them.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action on Sunday, June 28, from 12 – 2 p.m. ET on FS1, leading into eliminations from 5:30 – 9 p.m. ET on FOX.
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