BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 12, 2026) – It was a double dose of delayed gratification but, after rain rescheduled the Funny Car final in last week’s New England Nationals to today’s second qualifying session during the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, and then a three-hour rain delay today, Jack Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD earned their first victory of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Beckman grabbed the holeshot (.066 to .083) and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car streaked to a run of 4.017 seconds at 318.54 mph while his John Force Racing teammate Jordan Vandergriff’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS lost traction before halftrack and slowed to a run of 6.291 seconds at 106.68 mph.
It was Beckman’s 38th career NHRA Funny Car event victory, the fifth of his John Force Racing tenure and first since the Route 66 Nationals outside Chicago last May. The PEAK SQUAD had been to two previous finals in 2026, finishing runner-up at the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte in April and the Potomac Nationals in Maryland in May.
It was Vandergriff’s second final round of the season, having earned his career first NHRA Funny Car event in the Southern Nationals at South Georgia Speedway in early May.
The New England Nationals final was the 58th time John Force Racing teammates have lined up against each other in an NHRA final round and the fourth time it happened in the New England Nationals, despite it officially taking place at Bristol Dragway.
Beckman’s elapsed time in the Epping final round was good enough for second overall. Vandergriff’s Q1 Friday run of 5.375 seconds at 136.07 mph was good enough for the No. 11 spot while Alexis DeJoria used her Q1 run in the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car of 5.455 seconds at 133.67 mph to earn the No. 12 spot in Funny Car.
Josh Hart’s Q2 run of 3.815 seconds at 327.03 mph put the Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster in the No. 6 spot.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying on Sat., June 13, will feature the final two rounds at 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. Final eliminations are scheduled for Sunday, June 7, at 12 p.m. ET.
Quote from Jack Beckman, PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“Before you can be quick, you have to be consistent and to be consistent, you have to be predictable. I think we’re back in that window right now. To get a win like this, it was very gratifying.”
“I wouldn’t have cared if we ran this final round Friday night or next Tuesday. Our PEAK team left with the trophy and that’s all that matters. We hadn’t won in over a year. We had some struggles, but now we’ve made it down the track on 14 of our last 17 runs. That’s the kind of consistency that wins races. I’ve never raced a final round at a completely different venue a week later. I’ve raced late Sundays and Mondays, but never this. It was definitely unique.”
Quote from Josh Hart, Speedmaster Top Fuel Dragster:
“I was happy with that Q2 run. My crew chief was not but we always want a little bit more on the Speedmaster team so I’m good with that. We all came here to win. That’s what we’re gonna do. We have a lot of new things that we’re trying. We’re testing and we’re pushing as hard as we can to get this car where we know it needs to be, and that’s the fastest car on the planet.”
Quote from Jordan Vandergriff, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It was tough to lose but the silver lining is that our teammate Jack Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD got their first Wally of the season. They all told me they wanted their own diamond Wally so they have it now. But still, looking back into last week, it was still a great overall weekend for the Cornwell Quality Tools Funny Car. Chris Cunningham and Jason Bunker (crew chiefs), and all of my guys made our second final round of the year. It was a strong point day, as well, because we moved into third place. We come here to Bristol with a chance to win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge tomorrow and move up in points and get another win here Sunday. My goal is to leave here No. 1.”
TV Schedule
Television coverage on FS1 includes qualifying action at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, June 12, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, leading into eliminations at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday on FS1.
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