Sat, 17 Oct 2026, 14:46 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Dave Rowe

ENNIS, Texas - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 10.245/77.14, Now #3; Best prior run: 3.855/323.83, Was #3
Right Lane: Terry Haddock Runs 4.140/284.99, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.954/157.63, Was #20

12:57 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 61 degrees, relative humidity 57 percent, barometer 30.50 inches, adjusted altitude 813 feet, track temperature 77 degrees.

Pedregon hit the throttle and went up in smoke.

Haddock went down the groove with a clean, straight pass and improves but not enough to get in the field.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 3.899/324.61, Now #7; Best prior run: 3.960/319.83, Was #13
Right Lane: Austin Prock Runs 3.930/300.20, Now #13; Best prior run: 4.201/218.63, Was #19

Capps goes down the groove with a good pass but bangs the blower as he goes through the lights. When the blower explodes, the body of the car is ripped in half and flies into the air. Capps rolls to a stop in his now convertible and climbs out of the vehicle. The good news is, he moves up to the seventh spot.

Prock makes a clean straight pass and gets in the show in the 13th spot for now.

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Left Lane: Chris King Runs 4.038/311.22, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.077/268.02, Was #17
Right Lane: Jeff Diehl Runs 5.189/147.65, Now #20; Best prior run: 4.331/214.65, Was #20

King goes down the groove with a career best pass and he gets in the field on the bump spot.

Diehl starts spinning the tires at the hit. the car starts drifting toward the centerline, he tries to correct, gets the car heading back to the groove, then gives up on the run.

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Left Lane: Jim Campbell Runs 4.083/311.18, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.113/291.58, Was #18
Right Lane: Paul Lee Runs 12.590/51.97, Now #10; Best prior run: 3.921/326.80, Was #10

Campbell goes down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend but it isn't enough to get him in the show. Lee has traction problems and is off of the throttle early.

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Left Lane: Jeff Arend Runs 4.179/293.24, Now #17; Best prior run: 4.050/315.99, Was #17
Right Lane: Dave Richards Runs 5.225/142.32, Now #12; Best prior run: 3.925/333.68, Was #12

Arend was losing cylinders near the end of the run. Richards gets about 300 feet out and goes up in smoke.

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Left Lane: Hunter Green Runs 14.444/27.76, Now #15; Best prior run: 3.985/321.31, Was #15
Right Lane: Blake Alexander Runs 6.957/96.15, Now #9; Best prior run: 3.914/327.92, Was #9

Green goes up in smoke at the hit and is off of the throttle quickly. Alexander gets about 60 feet out, starts hazing the tires, then gives up on the run.

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Left Lane: Daniel Wilkerson Runs 3.943/323.37, Now #14; Best prior run: 3.937/330.35, Was #14
Right Lane: Chad Green Runs 3.964/318.95, Now #8; Best prior run: 3.910/330.32, Was #8

Wilkerson goes down the groove with a decent run but he doesn't improve. Green makes a clean, straight run but doesn't improve.

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Left Lane: Spencer Hyde Runs 3.954/325.47, Now #11; Best prior run: 3.922/323.93, Was #11
Right Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 4.168/228.81, Now #5; Best prior run: 3.874/337.13, Was #5

Hyde gets out of the groove late in the run, drifts toward the wall, but he stays with it and makes a decent pass. Todd has problems about 600 feet out and is out of power early.

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Left Lane: Jordan Vandergriff Runs 4.219/222.38, Now #6; Best prior run: 3.881/333.83, Was #6
Right Lane: Alexis DeJoria Runs 3.875/336.00, Now #4; Best prior run: 3.873/333.09, Was #4

Vandergriff gets about 600 feet out, hazes the tires and clicks it off. DeJoria makes another good, consistent pass, the quickest of the round so far, but doesn't improve.

Alexis DeJoria's incremental times: 60ft-0.874 sec., 330ft-2.242, 660ft-3.145/288.28 mph.

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Left Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 4.208/219.96, Now #1; Best prior run: 3.852/330.13, Was #1
Right Lane: Matt Hagan Runs 5.237/139.44, Now #2; Best prior run: 3.855/334.80, Was #2

Beckman gets about 500 feet out and strikes the tires. hagan loses traction about 200 feet out and gives up on the run.