Mon, 23 Mar 2026, 21:46 PM No Desert Magic for JFR at Firebird

Courtesy of John Force Racing Photography John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase Hart, Vandergriff bow out in Rd. 2 while Beckman and DeJoria’s days end after first

 

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Firebird Motorsports Park proved to be an unfortunate Achilles’ heel for John Force Racing as none of its four teams advanced further than the second round of eliminations Sunday in the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals.

Josh Hart

The Burnyzz Speed Shop / Speedmaster Top Fuel team with Josh Hart and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team with Jordan Vandergriff were eliminated in the second round of competition while the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car of Jack Beckman and the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car of Alexis DeJoria bowed out in Round 1.

Hart defeated Justin Ashley in Round 1 (4.000 seconds to 4.115) to set up the second-round matchup with Leah Pruett. Hart got the holeshot (.075 to .098) but hazed the tires midway through the run, slowing to 4.081 seconds at 275.62 mph to Pruett’s 4.887 at 319.52.

“The Burnyzz Speed Shop / Speedmaster dragster struggled big time in the heat, but the bottom line for me is I'm getting better at the lights and racing is fun again. “I’m super proud to be a very small part of such an awesome team, so proud of John Force Racing and the entirety of this group. We're off to California.”

Jordan Vandergriff

Vandergriff got the automatic win in Rd. 1 when DeJoria red-lit and then went on to run the second-quickest pass of the session (3.984 seconds at 318.62 mph), giving him lane choice for Rd. 2 against Matt Hagan. Hagan took the holeshot by one-hundredth-of-a-second and they were even halfway through the run when both cars smoked the tires. Both drivers tried to pedal but their engines had clicked off so they coasted across the finish line, Hagan taking the win at 4.621 seconds at 189.71 mph to Vandergriff’s 4.650 at 181.86.

“We were having a good side-by-side run until we both smoked the tires at half-track,” said Vandergriff. “It felt clean early, and then I felt it start to pull the tires loose. I lifted and tried to give it a stab again but there was nothing there. I think if I had more runs, I might have caught it quicker. But you know what? I’m just a few runs into this career here and I think I'm doing okay so far.”

Alexis DeJoria

As was the case at Gainesville two weeks prior when Vandergriff and Beckman faced each other in the first round, the all-John Force Racing first-round matchup at Firebird meant that one car would not advance to the second round of eliminations. This time it was DeJoria and the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car team.

“It was a tricky weekend for the Bandero Chevy team,” said DeJoria. “We weren’t able to make any full pulls down the racetrack and we were lucky to get in on our first run Friday, going 4.08, smoking the tires and having to drive a bit at the top end. This morning, we had to race, one of our teammates, Jordan Vandergriff so we knew at least one of us is going to the 2nd round, but it always sucks when you have to go up against a teammate. It's been ridiculously hot out here. I feel really bad for the guys. They've been working so hard, and there's 106 degree weather, just so I could go out there and not do my job on the starting line.”

Jack Beckman

Beckman had lane choice as the No. 2 Qualifier, left the starting line just six-thousandths-of-a-second (.085 to .091) after Wilkerson. The Peak SQUAD Chevy SS was driving away past half-track but slowed nearing the finish line, which allowed Wilkerson to sneak past at the lights. Beckman ran 4.021 seconds at 273.88 mph to Wilkerson’s 4.001 seconds at 322.06 mph.

“We heard a piston and it could have happened as early as the burnout,” said Beckman. “These things are very finicky on the burnout. We're going to address that moving forward to Pomona. The car was on low ET of the meet, and I know everybody says that, but if you look at our numbers, we are 200ths quicker than every single car out there to 660 foot. And then what happens is, as the pistons stops sealing, the combustion gases get down into the oil pan. NHRA mandates a pan pressure switch so when it gets to a certain level, it disconnects the throttle. That is in place to prevent all that pressure from pushing the oil and gaskets out onto the racetrack. I get it. It bit us on that run. We needed 30 more feet of acceleration and we would have got it done but it's something we can address. We've gotten beaten up, two races this year. I don’t think we're gonna get beaten up next race.”

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings after two races are: 1. Doug Kalitta, 176; 2. Josh Hart, 174; 3. Shawn Langdon, 170; 4. Leah Pruett, 158; 5. Maddi Gordon, 152; 6. Tony Stewart, 108; 7. Antron Brown, 107; 8. Tony Schumacher, 101; 9. Billy Torrence, 78; 10. (tie) Justin Ashley, 65 and Shawn Reed, 65.

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings after two races are: 1. Chad Green, 174; 2. Spencer Hyde, 156; 3. Ron Capps, 151; 4. J.R. Todd, 140; 5. Matt Hagan, 135; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 126; 7. Jordan Vandergriff, 125; 8. Paul Lee, 111; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 107; 10. Jack Beckman, 64.

Next Event
The third of 20 events on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is the April 10-12 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.