Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team led John Force Racing’s first-day qualifying efforts for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway but all four teams’ solid runs Friday night positioned them for success in Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions and Sunday’s first round of eliminations.
Vandergriff ran 3.899 seconds at 328.70 mph for the second-quickest Funny Car run of the day. Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team sit fifth with their run of 3.932 seconds at 331.20 mph while Jack Beckman and the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS Funny Car team are sixth with their run of 3.933 seconds at 314.97 mph.
“This was my first night session run in a Funny Car and it’s a lot different,” said Vandergriff. “The header flames make it a lot brighter, which kind of narrows your vision but it’s really cool driving these things at night. It’s been a great weekend so far for the Cornwell Tools team here in Charlotte.”
Josh Hart and the HendrickCars.com Top Fuel team established the fourth-quickest run of their class with a Friday evening run of 3.733 seconds at 324.59 mph.
“We wanted a little bit more, but I can’t put into words how proud I am to be flying the HendrickCars.com flag this weekend,” Hart said. “I got to meet Rick Hendrick for the first time and Kyle Larson was hanging out with us, too, so lots of cool first-time experiences. The car looks amazing. The fans here are awesome so It’s always great to be in Charlotte.”
Saturday’s qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12:30 and 3 p.m. ET. Sunday eliminations are slated for 12 p.m. ET.
Television coverage includes qualifying on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, April 24, and 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 26, with eliminations action at 7 p.m. ET to follow.
This story was originally published on April 25, 2026.
The post Jordan Vandergriff Leads John Force Racing in Friday Qualifying at zMAX first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
