INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Sept. 5, 2026) – More unseasonably hot weather and then rain at Indianapolis Raceway Park kept the John Force Racing teams guessing about the best way to get down the track Saturday during Day 2 of the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
At day’s end, it’s positioning on the qualifying sheet that counts most and the John Force Racing team are positioned as follows: No. 3 – Jack Beckman and the PEAK 1996 John Force championship tribute Chevrolet SS Funny Car team; No. 5 – Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Night Stalker Chevrolet SS Funny Car team; No. 9 – Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team; No. 10 – Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools chrome patriotic stars and stripes Chevrolet SS Funny Car team.
Beckman, DeJoria, and Hart did not improve on their Q1 runs while Vandergriff used his Q3 run of 4.002 seconds at 315.45 mph to move from 12th to 10th.
DeJoria provided what was, unfortunately, the most spectacular run of the day in Q3 when the engine in the Night Stalker Chevy dropped cylinders during the run and backfired at the finish line. The explosion damaged the body beyond repair but John Force Racing is still planning on giving the fans the Night Stalker livery for Monday’s first round of eliminations.
Vandergriff lined up against J.R. Todd in Saturday’s first qualifying session, which also served as a semifinal race for the Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Both cars lost traction early but each driver pedaled in the hope of regaining traction. The Cornwell Tools Chevy lost traction again and shut off while Todd pedaled a second time and gathered up enough steam to make it the finish line for the win. The box score shows Vandergriff ran 5.427 seconds at 148.10 mph to Todd’s 4.538 seconds at 264.55 mph.
Sunday will feature the final two rounds of qualifying at 12 and 2:45 p.m. ET. The PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Call Out is scheduled for 12:45 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 4 p.m. The first round of eliminations for the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 7.
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK 1996 John Force Tribute Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It was a little bit frustrating in Q3 to have run earlier with a really hot track temperature, have the rain drop the track temperature by 20 degrees and then watch all those cars have a shot at a much cooler race track when qualifying resumed. We were fortunate that we stayed third after all that, only dropping two spots. If the forecast is fairly accurate, tomorrow’s first run should give us an equalizer and maybe a chance to step on it to get back to the pole position. Our focus tomorrow will be threefold: gobble up all the qualifying points possible, win three rounds to lock up the Funny Car Call Out, and gather data for Monday.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Night Stalker Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We were in the right lane and took off okay. I was in the groove when I started to feel a little vibration but I was still going forward in the groove. It dropped a cylinder on the left side at about half track and it moved around a little but I was still going forward. We then dropped a cylinder on the right side but the guys couldn’t see it because the sun was glaring so bad and they didn’t shut the car off. I didn’t know so I just took it to the finish line … and there goes the Night Stalker. I’m OK. I’ve definitely been through worse and I’m just glad I was able to keep it off the wall and save the chassis. We have a backup body and we’re working to have a second set of Night Stalker vinyl to have another body ready for Monday’s eliminations. That’s all we have to do. I absolutely love this paint scheme so we’ll make it work.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chrome Stars & Stripes Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It’s been a strange day. You just don’t see this kind of heat very often in Indiana at the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals. I’ve been to the last few and I can’t remember it being this hot. We ran into some unique conditions: being on the starting line ready to qualify, getting called back for rain and lightning, and then going back to make the run with changed conditions. We expect better than a 4 flat but we have two more shots at it tomorrow in what should be cooler conditions. We’ll be all right.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“Record breaking heat for the U.S. Nationals means no record breaking speed or elapsed time to be had for the Speedmaster team or anyone else in the Top Fuel field. Tomorrow’s final two qualifying runs will set the field and it looks like temperatures are falling in our favor.”
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.
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