NORWALK, Ohio (Aug. 1, 2026) – Jordan Vandergriff and John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car grabbed the lead off the starting line against Ron Capps but came up short in the first round of eliminations of the 49th annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Vandergriff’s reaction time provided a solid holeshot advantage (.027 to .059) but soon after a fire bottle malfunction tripped the safety system and shut down the 12,000-horsepower engine on the Cornwell Tools Chevy. That allowed Capps to streak past to a run of 3.896 seconds at 333.94 mph to Vandergriff’s 5.411 seconds at 105.92 mph.
“We had fun competing in the Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire here at Summit Motorsports Park,” said Vandergriff. “It didn’t go our way but it was just an honor to be part of this great event. Thank you to the Bader family and everybody involved. My first experience here was really cool and I can’t wait until next year to have another shot at it.
“We had a fire bottle malfunction and it tripped the safety system and threw everything out. I was out on Capps and we were on a good pass. The numbers show that we were gonna run quicker than a 3.91 at least, and that would have got it done. But that’s drag racing. We’ll go to Brainerd in a few weeks with a great Cornwell Tools Chevy ace car and a shot at the regular season championship.”
Capps faced his teammate and protégé Maddi Gordon in the Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire King of Nitro Funny Car vs. Top Fuel dragster final, with Capps taking the win after the staggered start with a run of 3.843 seconds at 333.91 mph to Gordon’s 3.733 seconds at 338.09 mph.
The 13th of 20 races of the 2026 NHRA MIssion Foods Drag Racing Series is the Aug. 20-23 NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after 12 of 20 races are: 1. Shawn Langdon, 1,107; 2. Doug Kalitta, 1,102; 3. Leah Pruett, 898; 4. Antron Brown, 755; 5. Tony Stewart, 700; 6. Maddi Gordon, 681; 7. Josh Hart, 673; 8. Billy Torrence, 618; 9. Justin Ashley, 535; 10. Clay Millican, 489.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 12 of 20 races are: 1. Ron Capps, 884; 2. Jack Beckman, 847; 3. J.R. Todd, 842; 4. Jordan Vandergriff, 830; 5. Matt Hagan, 820; 6. Chad Green, 703; 7. Austin Prock, 687; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 685; 9. Spencer Hyde, 578; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, 577.
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