The Dragzine Podcast: Jordan Vandergriff’s Road To John Force Racing

Drag racing is all about going fast in a straight line. Jordan Vandergriff’s path to his seat in a nitro Funny Car at John Force Racing was far from linear.

For the longest time, drag racing was just something Vandergriff enjoyed from the stands while watching his uncle Bob Vandergriff Jr. make laps in a Top Fuel dragster. Eventually, Vandergriff would get his opportunity behind the wheel of a race car at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. That led to a stint driving a Top Alcohol Dragster, and that pushed Vandergriff even further toward a life centered around drag racing.

When Vandergriff made the choice to pursue racing on a more serious level, his uncle Bob told him to make the move to Brownsburg and put in the work. This was his acceptance letter to drag racing’s Hard Knocks University.

Vandergriff started with little mechanical experience and performed whatever jobs were necessary. His responsibilities included preparing parts, cleaning tires on the rigs, grinding clutch discs, building racks, traveling in the transporters, and working race weekends. Spending time as a crew member gave him an understanding of how the entire racing operation worked, and that would pay off.

The family Top Fuel dragster soon became Vandergriff’s ride, but the aftermath of COVID cut that short. Vandergriff was willing to do what it took to get back into the driver’s seat, and that led to him getting in front of the camera as part of the NHRA on FOX broadcast team.

John Force saw the drive Vandergriff possessed, which ultimately led to his opportunity to drive the Cornwell Quality Tools Funny Car. On this episode of The Dragzine Podcast, Vandergriff shares some great stories about his journey to driving for one of the biggest legends in drag racing. You can download this episode here on Podbean and here on iTunes.