BRISTOL, Tenn. — Funny Car teammates Jack Beckman and Jordan Vandergriff from John Force Racing will be racing for two trophies at this weekend’s Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, starting when they face off on Friday at scenic Bristol Dragway to complete last weekend’s race in New England.
Beckman, the 2013 Funny Car world champion, and his teammate, Funny Car newcomer Vandergriff, who won last month in Valdosta, will be racing on Friday in Bristol in the delayed Epping final.
The JFR teammates will face off under the lights on Friday during the second session of qualifying. Fans will be treated to a thrilling nitro session at night racing with Beckman and Vandergriff matching up in Funny Car, while Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon will take on Leah Pruett.
It also means Beckman and Vandergriff both have a chance to win Friday, pick up a Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory on Saturday and add a Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals triumph on Sunday.
“Q2 will be the night run and the hero shot,” said Beckman, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car. “I’ve always raced smart, which means you qualify shallow. It gives you the best possible elapsed time because you get to move further before it starts your elapsed time.
“Well, because Q2 is also going to count for qualifying and likely is going to be the best conditions we see in qualifying, I’m going to treat that aspect of it like a qualifying run. But it’s a big deal because it’s also the final round of the Epping national event. It was tough to lose the momentum to not finish it in New England, but the fact is we’re going to finish it at Bristol, they’re going to give a trophy to someone and I sure hope it’s the PEAK Squad.”
Vandergriff wheels the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car and has been on an impressive run. He earned his first NHRA win this season when he won the NHRA Southern Nationals at NHRA’s debut at South Georgia Motorsports Park and he also picked up his first career No. 1 qualifier last weekend in Epping.
He’ll look for the biggest weekend of his young career in Bristol and Vandergriff, who is third in points, also has a chance to move into the points lead ahead of leader Ron Capps with a successful three days.
“I’m trying to keep my mind in race day mode this whole week,” Vandergriff said. “We were left with a cliffhanger at the end of Sunday. I thought about it Sunday night and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to have to hit the ground running on Friday and be ready to race.’ So, I’m trying to really keep my mind in race mode. I haven’t really allowed myself to think that Epping is over, so I’m just staying ready for Friday night that way.”
