BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2026) – The conclusion of last year’s Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals left Jordan Vandergriff wondering if he’d ever race again but this year finds the driver of John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car with every reason to believe he and his team can and will leave with the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car regular season championship.
The 2025 event was the second and final for Vandergriff who filled in for injured Top Fuel driver Shawn Reed. He qualified second but was eliminated in the first round by Kyle Wurtzel. He got out of the car at the top end wondering if he’d ever get back behind the wheel.
So far this season, the Cornwell Tools Chevy team has earned two wins (Valdosta, Sonoma), two runners-up (Epping, Brainerd) and three No. 1 Qualifier spots (Epping, Sonoma, Brainerd).
Vandergriff enters the Sept. 4-7 Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals just seven points back of leader Matt Hagan and where each round of eliminations will earn 30 championship points instead of the standard 20 points. Vandergriff finished runner-up to Hagan two weeks ago at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.
The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after 13 of 20 races are: 1. Matt Hagan, 938; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 931; 3. Ron Capps, 926; 4. J.R. Todd, 916; 5. Jack Beckman, 864; 6. Austin Prock, 771; 7. Chad Green, 755; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 737; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 615; 10. Spencer Hyde, 610.
Quotes
What’s your mindset with the regular season championship on the line?
“I think the mindset is that we control our own destiny. One of the Cornwell Tools crew guys, Tristan Norton, said ‘Listen, if we win, we win.’ The points show that whoever’s going to go the farthest is going to win this regular season championship so that’s where we want to be. We want to control our own destiny. If we can just focus on us and win the race, then all those other problems go away and we come away as a regular season champion.”
What are your thoughts now on the decisions you made in the final round at Brainerd that put you in the position you’re now in?
“I think we’re right where we want to be. We were the No. 1 qualifier and we made the final. I’d say those are pretty good stats. It was unfortunate that we didn’t come away with the win but it put us just seven points out of first, which is basically a dead heat. If we had won, we would have been 13 points up or something like that. It’s basically a dead heat between the top four cars. We’ve put ourselves in the conversation and showed we have a strong Cornwell Quality Tools Chevy race car that can compete for the championship. We’re right where we want to be and we’re in control of our own destiny.”
What were your thoughts when you got out of the car after last year’s first-round loss at Indy, which was the conclusion of your two-race opportunity with Shawn Reed Racing?
“Looking back on last year’s Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals, we qualified second but, unfortunately, went out in the first round. I remember getting out of the race car at the top end and putting my stuff in the Suburban and realizing, in that moment, that I didn’t know when the next time I’d be able to drive again. I kind of took a moment for myself, looked back at the race car, looked at the racetrack. I took it all in and said to myself this might be the last time and, if it is, what’s going to happen next? Fast forward a year and I’m so fortunate it wasn’t the last time. I was very fortunate to get the call from John Force to represent Cornwell Quality Tools at the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals and my life has become a good dream scenario.”
What does it mean to you to compete in the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals during the 75th anniversary season?
“As if the stakes couldn’t get any higher, it’s the 75th anniversary of NHRA. It is not only the U.S. Nationals but the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals. This is the granddaddy of them all, and every kid growing up wants to win the U.S. Nationals. People will always refer to you as the U.S. Nationals winner regardless of whatever else they do in their career. I was doing the ESPN announcing last year and Justin (Ashley) won and I said to him, ‘Now we will forever refer to you as the U.S. Nationals winner.’ And now I want to be referred to as a U.S. Nationals winner. It means everything. It’s our Super Bowl. It’s our Daytona 500. It’s the U.S. Nationals. It’s the Big Go! If people say it doesn’t mean more, they’re lying to you. It means more and I want it.”
Weekend Appearances
On Sat., Sept. 5, Vandergriff will be signing autographs at the following locations: 9:30-10 a.m. at the Mission Foods midway display; 10-10:30 at the Cornwell Tools midway display; and 11-11:30 with John Force at the John Force Racing merchandise trailer on the on the midway.
Track Schedule
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature one round at 6:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 4, two rounds at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 5 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 12 and 2:45 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 7.
The first round of the Funny Car All-Star Callout takes place at 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, with the semifinals at 2:15 p.m. and the final round at 3:40 p.m. A special broadcast of the Callout takes place on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 3 and 10:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and eliminations at 12 p.m. on FS1 on Monday, shifting to FOX at 2 p.m.
Race Results
| Indianapolis | Race Result | Round by Round Results | Qualified | Event Record |
| 2019 (TF) | 1st round | Lost to Antron Brown | 11th | 0-1 |
| 2020 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2022 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2023 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2024 | Did Not Compete | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2025 (TF) | 1st round | Lost to Kyle Wurtzel | 2nd | 0-2 |
Wins: 0
No. 1 Qualifiers: 0
Event Record: 0
2026 Results
| Event | Qualify | Round by Round | Round Record | Points Position |
| Gainesville | 8 | Beat Jack Beckman, John Smith; lost to Chad Green | 2-1 | 4 |
| Phoenix | 5 | Beat Alexis DeJoria, lost to Matt Hagan | 3-2 | 7 |
| Pomona1 | 3 | Beat Daniel Wilkerson, Chad Green; lost to Ron Capps | 5-3 | 5 |
| Charlotte | 2 | Won 1st quad; lost in 2nd quad | 6-4 | 5 |
| Valdosta | 3 | Beat Jeff Arend, Spencer Hyde, Hunter Green, Ron Capps | 10-4 | 4 |
| Chicago | 10 | Lost to Chad Green | 10-5 | 5 |
| Maryland | 4 | Beat Dave Richards, Chad Green; lost to Jack Beckman | 12-6 | 5 |
| Epping | 1 | Beat Jeff Arend, Chad Green, J.R. Todd; lost to Jack Beckman | 15-7 | 4 |
| Bristol | 13 | Beat Alexis DeJoria; lost to Ron Capps | 16-8 | 4 |
| Norwalk | 11 | Lost to J.R. Todd | 16-9 | 5 |
| Sonoma | 1 | Beat Jason Rupert, Matt Hagan, Austin Prock, Daniel Wilkerson | 20-9 | 2 |
| Seattle | 9 | Beat Spencer Hyde; lost to J.R. Todd | 21-10 | 4 |
| Brainerd | 1 | Bye, beat Alexis DeJoria, J.R. Todd; lost to Matt Hagan | 24-11 | 2 |
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