If Jordan Vandergriff has proven anything this season – his first driving a nitro Funny Car for legendary John Force Racing – it is that he can rise to the occasion and win.
That’s exactly what he did Monday at the rain-delayed NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in Martin, Mich.
Vandergriff, who qualified No. 16, wasn’t fazed by the challenge his position presented.
His surreal day ended with him clocking a 3.858-second elapsed time at 329.43 mph to oust Matt Hagan, who slowed to 8.357 seconds after smoking the tires off the starting line.
“You know what’s funny is, like, I’m in shock even sitting here right now,” Vandergriff said. “Like, it doesn’t even feel real. Like, to me that felt like Q3, Q4, because I didn’t have any runs on this racetrack until [Monday] and we struggled so much. I think I qualified with an 8-second at like 70, 80 mph, and came in 16th. And when we went to Round One, we thought we had it figured out, and it turned out, we didn’t have it figured out.
“Finally, Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker, and my guys looked at everything … and we finally dissected the singular problem that we thought, ‘Wait a second, maybe that needs to be changed.’ And we changed those, and we felt pretty confident about that once we found it. We went out there and went 80s – I think it went 87 second round. It surprised me too, even that run. I went out there and it, like, got to 200 feet and it was going, and I was like, ‘OK, this might make it this time.’ It was just an unbelievable weekend. A credit to my Cornwell Quality Tools team, and like I said, I’m in shock even sitting here. But you know what, we capitalized on some good luck, for sure.”
Vandergriff’s victory parade consisted of wins over 2024-25 NHRA champ Austin Prock – the driver he replaced at JFR in the offseason – before disposing of Daniel Wilkerson, J.R. Todd, and Hagan. Vandergriff’s lucky streak started in Round One when he smoked the tires but was handed the win when Prock had a red-light start.
“We capitalized on some good luck in that first round, and I’m just very fortunate to be part of this team and for this opportunity,” Vandergriff said. “We came out of Round One, diagnosed the problem and fixed it. Today’s win is a total credit to my entire team. Funny Car is a battle, and I recognize how hard these next five races are going to be. It wasn’t easy today and it’s not going to get any easier. It’s a gauntlet out there, but thankfully today was our day.”
Vandergriff’s third victory of his rookie Funny Car season was the first time in 23 years that a No. 16 qualifier went on to win the event.
“I’m with John Force Racing, you know? John Force has built an enterprise with the best team in drag racing, and we are fully staffed with smart people, with people who know their jobs, they’re experts at whatever they do out here,” Vandergriff said. “I’m just very fortunate. I’m very fortunate for this opportunity and to be with a team like this, with Chris Cunningham and Jason Bunker and all of my guys. And yeah, we dissected a problem. You know, we could have gone a couple races, we could have lost the first round and not figured it out and gone into Rockingham not knowing what the problem was. But we came out and we diagnosed that problem and fixed it. So yeah, it’s a credit to them, honestly. Like, today is thanks to my entire team.”
Vandergriff’s other victories this year have come at Valdosta, Ga., and Sonoma, Calif.
And getting a third win in Martin, Mich. – the first race of the six-race Countdown to the Championship – seemed highly unlikely based on how his Funny Car was performing, or not performing, in qualifying.
“I haven’t had a chance to really sit with it yet, but I try to stay even, you know? That’s my personality,” Vandergriff said. “I try to stay even keel, calm, collected most of the time. And honestly, after first round, I found myself a little frustrated. I was mad. We got the round win, and I just was like, ‘Man, we got the round win, but we didn’t fix any problems.’ We had the same problem we had all through qualifying. So, I didn’t celebrate anything after first round. I was just kind of like, ‘We’ve got to figure this out.’
“I thought we were going to go up Round Two and do the same thing and lose. But once we found that problem, I was like, ‘Okay, wait, if this is the problem and we run good here in round two, then we might have a shot.’ You have to capitalize on some opportunities, and opportunities were given to us. So as soon as that 89 ran down in round two, I was like, ‘Oh man, if we figured this thing out, you know, we have a good chance to win this whole race.’ And turns out we did. I’m sitting here with the medal and Wally, and we won the race to start the Countdown, which is pretty unbelievable.”
With the points being reset for the Countdown, Vandergriff was able to second in the points standings, just 23 markers behind Hagan.
“You can’t get excited, and I recognize how hard these next five races are going to be,” Vandergriff said. “It wasn’t easy today and it’s not going to be any easier. It’s easy to not get excited because you recognize the work you have to do to win this championship and what it takes to beat the other competitors out here. It’s a gauntlet. I looked at the semis, and it was me, Hagan, JR, and Jack [Beckman, his JFR teammate], you know? It’s anybody’s game. It’s just got to be your day, and today was our day. So, just very thankful to be a part of this team, John Force Racing.
“I’m stunned to be sitting here in this chair right now. I’m stunned to be where I am in the points right now. And, yeah, I’ve thought about that a lot. I’ve thought about just where we stand now this year. My first full year I ran part-time in 2019, so this is my first year of full-time competition. And honestly, that was just the goal for me. The goal for me all these years was I just want to race full-time. I just want an opportunity to race full-time and just see where I end up. I knew what I thought that I had … I’m a confident person. I thought that I had what it took to be here, and I just wanted a chance to prove it. So now I have it, and that I’m in this position. It’s nice. It’s nice. … The work’s not done, and I recognize that. There’s a lot more work to do.”
The 16th of 20 races is Sept. 25-27 for the inaugural NHRA Nationals at Rockingham (N.C.) Dragway.
