Jordan Vandergriff at the New England Nationals – NHRA Photo
VANDERGRIFF, KALITTA & ANDERSON POWER TO MISSION #2FAST2TASY CHALLENGE WINS AT SOLD-OUT NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY
Vandergriff, Langdon and Anderson claim No. 1 spots at NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto
EPPING, N.H. (June 6, 2026) – Funny Car newcomer Jordan Vandergriff
earned his first career No. 1 qualifier on Saturday at New England
Dragway and also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in the process,
rolling to a spectacular Saturday for John Force Racing in front of a
sellout crowd at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won the
Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, while Shawn Langdon (Funny
Car) and Anderson (Pro Stock) qualified No. 1 at the eighth of 20 races
during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Vandergriff closed out Saturday in impressive fashion, going
3.913-seconds at 323.58 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools
Chevrolet SS to edge out points leader Ron Capps in the final round of
the bonus race. It was a thrilling way to end a standout session in
Funny Car in front of a capacity crowd, as Vandergriff also swiped the
top qualifier from teammates Alexis DeJoria and Jack Beckman.
DeJoria was the provisional No. 1 spot on Friday and Beckman topped that
effort in Saturday’s final session, only to see Vandergriff vault to
the top for the first time in his career. It gives John Force Racing the
top three qualifying spots heading into Sunday, as Vandergriff will open
eliminations against Jeff Arend in hopes of his second win this year.
“Right when I crossed the finish line and the parachutes hit, I
thought, ‘God, that felt quick.’ To get the Mission #2Fast2Tasty
Challenge win and the No. 1 qualifier in the same day is
unbelievable,” Vandergriff said. “I never thought I was going to get
one of these No. 1 qualifier hats, but now I’ve got one. We’re one,
two, and three (in qualifying). That’s a testament to John Force, what
he’s built, the equipment he has and the people he has working for
him.
“Right now, we’re the best three Funny Cars on the property. Jack
Beckman has helped me a lot with driving and Alexis DeJoria has helped
me with handling the emotions. Having teammates like that is huge. To be
eight races into my Funny Car career with two Mission wins, a Wally and
now a No. 1 qualifier — it’s pretty incredible.”
Beckman’s 3.921 at 327.35 puts him second, while DeJoria qualified
third with a 3.929 at 312.42.
Another Saturday meant another dominant performance for Kalitta
Motorsports in the Top Fuel ranks, with defending world champion Doug
Kalitta beating teammate Shawn Langdon in the finals of the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.776 at 333.82 in his
12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster.
It hands Kalitta his third Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the
year, as he and Langdon have combined for five of the six wins in the
bonus race this season. The duo dominated the specialty event last year
and not much has changed in 2026, as Kalitta ruled the day in front of a
packed house on Saturday.
“We missed the run last night in the money round, but we recovered
really well today. We got down the track in the first session and then
stayed hooked up in that final session when it got pretty tricky,”
Kalitta said.
“The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge is a great deal for the fans. It’s a
great idea, and Shawn and I have both been fortunate enough to win a few
of them. It’s definitely nice to come away with a win. The Mission race
adds something extra. It raises the intensity and gives you another
opportunity to practice under real race conditions.”
Langdon had plenty to celebrate on Saturday, too, as the points leader
qualified No. 1 for the second straight race thanks to Friday’s 3.709
at 334.98 in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster. He’s won
three straight races and four of the past six, and will look to keep
that impressive streak going on Sunday.
“The focus is getting everything back to normal and going rounds,”
Langdon said. “The main thing is outrunning the winner of the 8-9
matchup and keeping lane choice for the second round. The great thing
about this team is that if Doug wins, we win. If I win, we win. We have
two really good race cars and we’re all pulling in the same direction.
“We learned something from that run and that’s valuable. We’ll take
the information, come back tomorrow and try to put ourselves in a
position to win the race.”
Leah Pruett took second with a 3.712 at 335.73 and Josh Hart is third
thanks to a 3.724 at 337.92.
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson has a chance to make it a clean sweep this
weekend at a track that has treated him very well, winning the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday with a 6.545 at 209.17 in his
HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to hold off Troy Coughlin Jr. in the
final round.
Coughlin had a huge starting-line advantage, but Anderson tracked him
down, winning the bonus race for the second time this year.
He also qualified No. 1 for the fifth time this season on the strength
of Friday’s 6.508 at 210.67, earning the GESi Pro Stock No. 1
Qualifier Award bonus. Anderson is Pro Stock’s winningest driver at
New England Dragway and also the defending event winner, giving the
six-time world champion plenty of momentum heading into Sunday.
“I did not do a great job as a driver, but I think I did a good job
with the shifting. The racecar bailed me out today,” Anderson said.
“You can’t win without some good luck. It doesn’t matter how good
your car runs or how well you drive — you have to have some fortunate
breaks.
“I believe I’ve had the fastest car all year long and it’s bailed
me out a lot of times. Sometimes you win by your driving, sometimes you
win by horsepower. Today, horsepower got the job done. We’ve got some
homework to do before tomorrow. I feel like I have the racecar that can
win tomorrow. We just need to figure out a couple of things.”
Matt Latino qualified second with 6.525 at 210.77 and his father, Eric,
took third with a 6.534 at 210.57.
Eliminations for the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto
are set to begin at 10:30 am ET on Sunday at New England Dragway.
***
EPPING, N.H. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the
13th annual NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto at New
England Dragway, the eighth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag
Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended
Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.709 seconds, 335.48 mph vs. Bye; 2. Leah
Pruett, 3.712, 335.73 vs. 15. Scott Farley, broke; 3. Josh Hart, 3.724,
337.92 vs. 14. Rit Pustari, 9.189, 71.97; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.734, 335.82
vs. 13. Will Smith, 3.848, 327.27; 5. Shawn Reed, 3.745, 331.61 vs. 12.
Antron Brown, 3.822, 327.66; 6. Billy Torrence, 3.768, 332.26 vs. 11.
Tony Schumacher, 3.820, 332.18; 7. Tony Stewart, 3.771, 333.49 vs.
10. Maddi Gordon, 3.808, 332.75; 8. Justin Ashley, 3.780, 318.47 vs. 9.
Clay Millican, 3.806, 333.82.
Funny Car — 1. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.913, 326.32 vs. 16.
Jeff Arend, Dodge Charger, 4.152, 264.18; 2. Jack Beckman, Camaro,
3.921, 327.35 vs. 15. Phil Burkart, Ford Mustang, 4.075, 311.05; 3.
Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.929, 329.50 vs. 14. Cruz Pedregon, Charger,
4.008, 317.64; 4. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.940, 334.15 vs. 13.
Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.001, 319.75; 5. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.942,
328.14
vs. 12. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.999, 320.97; 6. Ron Capps, GR Supra,
3.945, 328.22 vs. 11. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.988, 320.20; 7. Matt
Hagan, Charger, 3.954, 328.46 vs. 10. Del Worsham, Toyota Supra, 3.986,
326.87; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.971, 319.52 vs. 9. Dave Richards,
Mustang, 3.974, 331.53.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.508, 210.67 vs. Bye; 2.
Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.525, 210.97 vs. 15. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart,
6.621, 209.36; 3. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.534, 210.57 vs. 14. Kenny
Delco, Camaro, 6.605, 209.20; 4. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.534, 210.08 vs.
13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.583, 210.64; 5. Dallas Glenn, Camaro,
6.537, 210.57 vs. 12. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.557, 211.76; 6. Matt
Hartford,
Camaro, 6.539, 210.34 vs. 11. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.551, 209.56; 7.
Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.540, 210.73 vs. 10. Cody Anderson, Camaro,
6.551, 209.79; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.542, 210.57 vs. 9. Jeg
Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 210.14.
EPPING, N.H. — Saturday’s final results from the NHRA Mission
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at 13th annual NHRA New England Nationals
presented by bproauto at New England Dragway.
Top Fuel Challenge — Doug Kalitta, 3.776 seconds, 333.82 mph def. Shawn
Langdon, 5.182 seconds, 132.50 mph.
Funny Car Challenge — Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.913, 323.58
def. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.953, 328.14.
Pro Stock Challenge — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.545, 209.17 def.
Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.592, 208.20.
EPPING, N.H. — Final round-by-round results from the NHRA Mission
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at 13th annual NHRA New England Nationals
presented by bproauto at New England Dragway.
TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Doug Kalitta, 3.734, 335.82 def. Leah Pruett, 5.214,
138.57; Shawn Langdon, 3.736, 332.10 def. Billy Torrence, 4.368, 185.00;
FINAL — D. Kalitta, 3.776, 333.82 def. S. Langdon, 5.182, 132.50.
FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.945, 328.22 def. Austin
Prock, Ford Mustang, 4.449, 201.40; Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro,
4.614, 178.95 def. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 5.190, 143.80;
FINAL — J. Vandergriff, 3.913, 323.58 def. R. Capps, 3.953, 328.14.
PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Troy Coughlin Jr., Chevy Camaro, 6.583, 208.33 def. Dallas
Glenn, Camaro, 6.564, 210.28; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.549, 209.92 def.
Greg Stanfield, Camaro, Foul – Red Light;
FINAL — G. Anderson, 6.545, 209.17 def. T. Coughlin Jr., 6.592, 208.20.
-NHRA-