Skip to content
https://shop.fervogear.com/cart
Shock Early Exit for John Force Racing at Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley
Highlights
- All John Force Racing teams exited by second round at Thunder Valley
- Jack Beckman and Jordan Vandergriff reached Funny Car quarterfinals
- Rain delayed racing, causing schedule interruptions at Bristol Dragway
- Vandergriff suffered engine issue after strong first-round Funny Car run
- Josh Hart exited Top Fuel first round due to engine cylinder failure
- Next NHRA event: June 26-28 at Norwalk, Ohio
Rain and early eliminations define John Force Racing’s Thunder Valley Nationals, as all four entries exit by round two at Bristol Dragway after a stop-start Sunday.
The weather disruption compresses run plans and narrows tuning windows, with grip variables heightened by an unusual glue application that challenges crew chiefs across Funny Car and Top Fuel.
Jack Beckman arrives in form, having won the rain-delayed NHRA New England Nationals final and Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, setting expectations for a deep Bristol run.
Qualifying third, Beckman clears Jeff Arend in round one with a 4.032s at 320.20 mph against Arend’s 4.246s at 254.28 mph.
The quarterfinal turns on the tree. Daniel Wilkerson launches first with a .061s reaction to Beckman’s .079, then holds on, 4.041s at 319.52 mph to 4.065s at 319.07 mph.
Wilkerson’s holeshot decides Beckman’s quarterfinal: .061s RT to .079, then 4.041s beats 4.065s by a narrow margin.
Beckman cites inconsistent bite and a conservative opening lap that secured lane choice. The second run should land low 4.0s, even high 3.90s, but the car drifts short.
He frames Bristol as a data-gathering exercise, accepting two trophies for the weekend yet acknowledging the PEAK Chevy underdelivers on this surface profile.
Jordan Vandergriff advances past teammate Alexis DeJoria in round one with a 3.999s, then falls to Ron Capps, who logs the event’s quickest, a 3.980s, detailed in the Ron Capps Thunder Valley report.
Vandergriff reacts sharply at .043s but loses power late when a pan pressure switch cuts the engine, neutralizing a competitive lap against Capps’ pace.
A pan pressure switch shuts Vandergriff down after a .043s launch, undoing a promising path after a 3.999s opener.
The Cornwell Tools crew identifies the fault and plans updates for Norwalk. Vandergriff values seat time, completing his first three consecutive NHRA appearances.
DeJoria’s Bandero Café Chevy runs 4.028s in a narrow round-one loss to Vandergriff, who pairs reaction advantage with outright pace. The team takes encouragement from the car’s consistency through Sunday eliminations.
Top Fuel proves no kinder. Josh Hart nails the holeshot on Doug Kalitta and enjoys lane choice, but an engine cylinder fails, slowing him to 3.845s at 321.12 mph.
Hart’s holeshot fades when a cylinder fails, 3.845s at 321.12 mph against Kalitta’s winning 3.799s at 330.31 mph.
Kalitta answers with a 3.799s at 330.31 mph. Hart stresses personal targets over results narratives, keeping the Speedmaster group aligned on execution.
This is round ten of the 2026 Mission Foods season, leaving John Force Racing to reset before the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Norwalk on June 26–28.
Weather variability and grip sensitivity shape Bristol’s competitive order. The challenge now is translating Bristol data into robust baselines for a more conventional Norwalk surface.
Visual Summary
?
Jack Beckman
Quarterfinal Exit
J. Vandergriff
Quarterfinal Exit
?
A. DeJoria
First-Round Out
?
Josh Hart
First-Round Out
☔️
Early Exit for John Force Racing
?️?
Hours of Rain Delays
Weather shakes up
the order
the order
?⚡
Holeshot Heartbreak
Wilkerson edges Beckman by
.02 sec on the tree
.02 sec on the tree
??
Focus Moves to Norwalk
Teams regroup for June 26–28
Storms passed, but victory escaped John Force Racing at Bristol.
Nicholas Rivera delivers NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car news, including eliminator-round results and reaction-time stats. He brings track-side interviews, contender profiles, and championship-point breakdowns straight from drag-racing’s biggest national events.
