John Force Racing Ready For Inaugural NHRA Nationals At The Rock

If there’s one thing Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools team have proven during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, it’s that they don’t need a notebook full of data to be fast.

Vandergriff heads to the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway, sitting second in the Funny Car standings after winning the rain-delayed NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. That victory was his second at one of the four new venues added to the 2026 schedule and his third overall this season.

He won’t be the only John Force Racing driver with plenty on the line at Rockingham.

Jack Beckman enters the second race of the Countdown to the Championship third in Funny Car points and will carry the HendrickCars.com colors in NASCAR country. Alexis DeJoria is looking to make a move from seventh in the standings, while Josh Hart hopes an open-minded approach to a new track will help get his Top Fuel program moving forward.

Vandergriff’s record at new NHRA venues in 2026 has been impressive. The Atlanta-area driver earned his first career Funny Car victory May 3 at the NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park. It came in only his fifth career Funny Car start.

Four weeks later, Vandergriff reached the semifinals at Maryland International Speedway during the NHRA Potomac Nationals before losing to JFR teammate Beckman, then came Michigan. Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools team struggled mightily during qualifying at U.S. 131, ending up 16th in the field. Their fortunes changed during eliminations, and they turned the final qualifying position into a race victory.

Now Vandergriff gets another new track.

“I know really nothing about the Rockingham track other than that it’s got a sick name and it seems like a cool place to race. I know it’s another new race for us on the schedule this year and a new market for us. What better way to start the Countdown than two new racetracks for us? It’s gonna even the playing field even more for everybody and I look forward to seeing what Rockingham is all about.”

The Michigan victory couldn’t have come at a better time. Vandergriff enters Rockingham second in the Funny Car standings and only 23 points behind the leader. In other words, he’s roughly one competition round away from the top spot.

For a driver competing in his first full Funny Car season, Vandergriff has quickly gone from newcomer to legitimate championship contender.

“The win at Michigan, especially coming from the No. 16 spot, means that all the momentum is on our side heading into Rockingham. We’re second in points, just a round back of the leader which is a great place to be going to a new track because we’ve had a good record at these new tracks so far this year.”

Vandergriff isn’t the only JFR Funny Car driver sitting within striking distance of the championship lead. Beckman enters Rockingham third in the standings, 31 points behind Vandergriff and 54 out of first. The PEAK team has been rolling since Maryland in late May. Over the previous nine races, Beckman has collected victories at Epping and Indianapolis, runner-up finishes at Maryland and Norwalk, and a No. 1 qualifying position at Maryland.

Rockingham won’t be completely unfamiliar territory for Beckman, he’s been there before, buth e just hasn’t made a full-throttle Funny Car run down the track.

“I love inaugural races because I get to race on a track I haven’t before. I’ve been to Rockingham, I think it was 2009, to film a TV commercial. We did a couple burnouts and a couple 80 mph deploy-the-parachute runs but I’ve never floored the throttle at Rockingham. It’s always great to race in NASCAR country. Gearheads are gearheads but, sometimes you need to remind people who might like vanilla ice cream to try chocolate chip. It’s also pretty good. I love getting feedback from NASCAR fans, especially the first timers. I think the flavor of ice cream we have to offer is fantastic.”

Beckman previously carried the colors at Charlotte, where he reached the final round but came up one win light short of the victory.

He’d like a different ending at Rockingham.

“I am always proud to represent John and John Force Racing but to represent Rick Hendrick, or Mr. H as he’s known, at both Charlotte and Rockingham is special. One of the primary jobs of a race car driver is to represent your sponsors in a professional and credible manner. I have talked to Mr. Hendrick on getting used cars before and he has been so helpful. Rick Hendrick is a quality human being. He’s a gearhead who started his racing career down the quarter mile and his museum features a number of iconic drag race vehicles. He gets it. He knows the NHRA provides a great demographic. He and John have a special relationship, and this will be the second time this year, we get to sport the HendrickCars.com colors on our Chevy SS Funny Car. We didn’t close the deal the first time (runner-up at Charlotte) but, the way we’re running lately, I would love to stand in that winner’s circle on Sunday and have another tribute to Rick Hendrick and everything that HendrickCars.com and his team have done for us.”

Nitro racing is driven by data, crew chiefs study enormous amounts of information before sending a 12,000-horsepower race car down the track.

Josh Hart is taking a slightly different approach to Rockingham. The Speedmaster Top Fuel driver has no firsthand racing experience at The Rock, but he isn’t worried about what he doesn’t know.

Instead, Hart is putting his confidence in the Dave Grubnic and John Collins-led team.

“I think that for a driver, the less that I know, the better. You have to put your faith and your trust in your team, which I have done all year long and they’ve delivered. So, we go to Rockingham without a lot of notes but with an open mind so I’m very confident that we’ll deliver.”

Hart has already shown what the Speedmaster dragster can do this season. He opened 2026 by winning the NHRA Gatornationals. Now the objective is to get that performance back during the most important portion of the schedule. A new track means everyone has less information than usual, which could make Rockingham an ideal place for Hart and his team to make a move.

Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café team know exactly where they stand. There’s been progress throughout the season, but with the Countdown underway, progress needs to turn into more round wins. DeJoria heads to Rockingham seventh in the Funny Car standings after 15 of 20 races. She’s only 11 points behind sixth and 51 points out of fifth. Her 16 round wins this season already exceed last year’s total by five.

There are still 20 possible rounds of competition remaining in the season, giving DeJoria and crew chiefs Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg opportunities to keep climbing.

Rockingham will also be another completely new experience for DeJoria, who celebrates her birthday September 24.

“I haven’t heard much of anything about the surface at Rockingham. I’ve never raced there before either but I’m just excited we get another new track on the schedule to show a new group of fans what NHRA nitro racing is all about.”

DeJoria left Michigan with a round win and a qualifying bonus point, it was forward progress, but the Bandero Café team wants more.

“We’re seventh in the standings after the first race in the Countdown to the Championship. Getting a round win and a bonus point at Michigan was good but we’re focused on stepping up our game for these next races.”

The inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock represents another unknown for most of the nitro pits, but John Force Racing has done a pretty good job handling unknowns this season. The first Countdown race showed how quickly the championship picture can change, Rockingham provides the next opportunity.