KENT, Wash. (July 25, 2026) – Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team returned to form by capturing their second No. 1 qualifying spot of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season with an impressive 3.685-second 335.40-mph blast in the final qualifying session of the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
The Speedmaster team earned their first No. 1 qualifying spot in the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., and then went on to win the event in Hart’s John Force Racing debut. The team will have a bye run in Sunday’s first round of eliminations and then in Round 2 face the winner of the Tony Stewart / Maddi Gordon first-round matchup.
Saturday’s second and final qualifying session also proved beneficial for the three other John Force Racing entries, as each made their quickest run of the weekend heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
Jack Beckman put the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car into the No. 2 qualifying position with a Q4 run of 3.890 seconds at 327.43 mph and will face No. 15 qualifier Tim Gibbons (4.091 seconds) in Round 1.
Alexis DeJoria’s Q4 run of 3.900 seconds at a career-best 337.41 mph was the third quickest of the event. She’ll line up the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car on Sunday morning against No. 14 qualifier Dave Richards (4.083 seconds).
Jordan Vandergriff put in a solid Q4 run of 3.936 seconds at 330.07 mph to earn the No. 9 spot. He and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team will match up against No. 8 qualifier Spencer Hyde (3.929 seconds) in Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Beckman and Vandergriff participated in the first round of Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge based on the former’s semifinal finish and the latter’s victory in last Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
Beckman lined up against Daniel Wilkerson, his semifinals opponent last week at Sonoma. The PEAK Chevy lost traction soon off the starting line, and Wilkerson’s car did the same soon after, but it was enough to take the win with a run of 4.895 seconds to Beckman’s 6.873 seconds.
Vandergriff and Austin Prock left almost identically (.067 to .063, respectively) in their #2Fast2Tasty matchup but the Cornwell Tools Chevy lost traction early, slowing to a run of 6.821 seconds while Prock’s car lost traction toward the finish line but took the win with a run of 4.181 seconds at 265.95 mph.
Race day will kick off with nitro eliminations on Sunday, July 26 at 10 a.m. PT.
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“This No. 1 qualifier award belongs to Dave Grubnic, John Collins and all the guys on the Speedmaster team. They’ve been working so hard these past few weeks. I just go out there, do my job and hope I don’t screw it up so I’m very blessed to be here. It’s just so cool to be able to drive for John Force Racing and all the energy from these great fans here is amazing.”
“I have a lot of emotions. I just learned that the rug can be yanked out from underneath you at any point so you do everything you can to think it through, stay calm no matter what the situation, and usually you prevail. I teach that to my kids, to just breathe. If you can think objectively, you’ll make it through anything.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“We had a really good Friday, earning bonus points in Q1 and Q2, so we had high expectations for today. We stumbled in Q3, though, which was the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. That’s tough because you want to win everything and get down the track all the time, but sometimes those stumbles show you a direction that puts you on the right path. Tim and Dan (Fabrisi and Hood, crew chiefs) made the perfect call for Q4 and we laid down low ET of the final session, got three bonus points and moved up to the second slot. That sets up the PEAK SQUAD for a successful Sunday and now it’s time to convert that qualifying success into winning four rounds.”
Quote from Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“The Bandero Café Chevy team really did a great job this weekend. We were the No. 2 qualifier yesterday and picked up points setting low ET in Q2. We had a great run today in the final session, which put us No. 3, so I can’t wait for first round tomorrow morning. The temperature should be in the mid-60s for first round tomorrow and not get much warmer throughout the rest of the day so the racing should be fantastic. I won my first Top Alcohol Funny Car race here in 2011 so I’d love to get my first win for John Force Racing here tomorrow.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I didn’t have much concern going into the final qualifying session because I know Chris Cunningham and Jason Bunker (crew chiefs) are going to figure it out and they’re going to have a good Cornwell Tools Chevy. The conditions kind of came back to us for the final qualifying session. We really just needed one solid run and that’s exactly what we got with that 3.93. It puts us ninth, just barely missing lane choice, but that’s okay because I don’t think it’s going to matter tomorrow. Q4 is always important for Sunday so we’ll see what we have tomorrow morning.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage includes final qualifying action at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 on FS1, leading into eliminations Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.
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