The Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team of Alexis DeJoria carried the John Force Racing banner proudly at Route 66 Raceway on the way to their second runner-up finish of the season in the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK.
DeJoria left the starting line a mere six-thousandths-of-a-second behind Chad Green and made a strong run of 3.965 seconds at 328.86 mph but it wasn’t enough to get around Green’s winning run of 3.945 seconds at 324.75 mph. The two teams had met in the final round of this year’s season-opening Gatornationals with the same result. DeJoria has six NHRA Funny Car titles in 18 final-round appearances.
It was a mixed day of competition at Route 66 Raceway for the balance of the John Force Racing quartet. Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team earned a semifinals finish. Defending Route 66 Nationals Champion and this year’s No. 1 Qualifier Jack Beckman and the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car team bowed out in Round 2. Jordan Vandergriff, coming off his and the revamped Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team’s first career win two weeks ago at the Southern Nationals, lost in the first round for just the first time this season.
DeJoria defeated No. 5 qualifier Spencer Hyde in Round 1, running 3.947 seconds at 326.48 mph to Hyde’s tire-spinning 9.969 seconds at 80.24 mph. In Round 2, she took out Dave Richards, who also spun the tires, with a run of 4.005 seconds at 327.98 mph. She then earned her second final round appearance of the season and 26th of her career with a 4.006-second run at 326.56 mph to defeat Matt Hagan’s run of 4.061 seconds at 315.71 mph.
“That was awesome. We had a great consistent Bandero Chevy all weekend. We had the most consistent car all weekend, making it down the track all but one time. That says a lot about this team. They just work so hard, and being a part of a multi-car team like John Force Racing is amazing. When one team goes out, everybody else comes up and helps you out and it’s incredible to watch. That’s what a family team is all about. We went to another final, our second this year. I thought we had it. I didn’t see him all the way down. Nothing to hang our head about. had a decent light so we’ll just take this and move on. We got some good points this weekend. And, man, I’m coming for that Route 66 Nationals trophy next year.”
Hart had lane choice for his semifinal matchup against Shawn Langdon. He grabbed the holeshot (.047 to .068) and ran 3.823 seconds at 333.16 mph but Langdon beat him to the finish line by 12-thousandths of a second with his run of 3.790 seconds at 332.10 mph.
The 2026 Gatornationals winner defeated No. 13 qualifier Justin Ashley in Round 1. Ashley is known as having the best reaction times in the Top Fuel category but it was Hart who grabbed the holeshot (.035 to .044) which made the difference, running 3.790 seconds at 338.26 mph to Ashley’s quicker 3.785 seconds at 322.11 mph. He then eliminated Tony Stewart in Rd. 2, running 3.782 seconds at 330.63 mph to Stewart’s tire-spinning 6.384-second run at 95.98 mph.
“It’s like the movie Happy Gilmore over here: the driver learned how to putt again,” said Hart. “This John Force Racing Speedmaster team got our mojo back this weekend and the driver was back to normal. I can’t wait for the new race in Maryland in a couple weeks to get our next shot at another win.”
Beckman defeated No. 16 qualifier Chris King in Round 1, running 3.945 seconds at 325.53 mph to King’s 4.233 seconds at 270.64 mph. The PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car had lane choice in Round 2 but smoked the tires right off the starting line, allowing Hagan to take the win with a run of 4.026 seconds at 324.75 mph to Beckman’s 12.291 seconds at 61.86 mph.
“I thought we had a fast PEAK hot rod that could go back to back here,” said Beckman. “We really, really, really need to get that first win out of the way and you aren’t going to win multiple races until you win the first one. It’s just been frustrating. We’ve had flashes of brilliance and then go out there and smoke the tires as soon as we step on the throttle. There were a couple other Funny Cars that did the same thing as us but that doesn’t help our situation. On the positive side, we made up some points in qualifying so we’re just going to have to capitalize on when we put ourselves in a position like we did with qualifying here. Everybody’s looking forward to Maryland. Someone’s going to get the inaugural trophy there and I’d sure like it to be us.”
Vandergriff didn’t have lane choice in Round 1 against No. 7 qualifier Green, lost the reaction time battle (.068 to Green’s .056), and ran 3.952 seconds at 328.38 mph to Green’s 3.943 seconds at 324.12 mph.“The highs and lows of drag racing, coming off my first win at South Georgia only to go out in the first round in Chicago,” said Vandergriff. “We just had the most trying weekend for our Cornwell Quality Tools team. It was a great effort in Round 1 but it just wasn’t enough. If we had done better in qualifying and if we don’t sacrifice a couple runs, I think we’re in a different position right now. But we know we still have a great race car, so thank you to Cornwell Quality Tools, PEAK, Chevrolet, Bandero, Speedmaster, Burnyzz, HendrickCars.com and everybody else. We will get back at it in Maryland.”
This story was originally published on May 18, 2026. 
The post John Force Racing Recap: DeJoria Runners-up, Hart Earns Semifinal Finish at NHRA Route 66 Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
