B. Force, Beckman, Anderson & Herrera Roll Under the Lights at Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – (August 30, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Two-time Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force made the fastest run in Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park history on Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 position at the prestigious Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 14th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Force went 3.666-seconds at a track-record 339.79 mph in her 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools dragster, putting Force on pace for her fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 56th in her career.

It was another track record in a spectacular record-setting year for Force, but what she’s really after is her first U.S. Nationals victory.

“This is what our team’s been chasing all season long, building everything up,” Force said. “All our hard work has come to this point at Indy this weekend, when the points reset, and now it’s game on for this Countdown. So, it was an exciting way to do that. Put a 3.66 on the board. It was a killer run for David Grubnic and all these guys and in Cornwell colors.

“An Indy win would be huge. It’s what every driver wants. It’s definitely been on my bucket list for a long time. We’ve accomplished a lot, but one thing we haven’t done is win here in Indy. I was runner-up twice a few years ago, and so we’ve been successful here, but we’ve never been able to take it to the winner’s circle, and we’d love to do that.”

Jordan Vandergriff is second with a career-best 3.683 at 333.33 and T.J. Zizzo is third after running 3.695 at 333.08.

In Funny Car, Jack Beckman delivered a special moment while running the “Brute Force” tribute car, going 3.865 at 332.26 in his 12,000-horsepower Peak Chevrolet SS to kick off what he hopes is a big weekend. Beckman and John Force Racing revealed the special tribute car earlier this week and there is already an impressive highlight as Beckman aims for his fifth No. 1 qualifier this season.

His teammate, points leader Austin Prock, will wrap up the regular-season championship in qualifying, but Beckman can still have a huge weekend in Indy, including a win on Monday and a PlayNHRA All-Star Callout victory on Sunday.

“When you’re strapped in that car towing up in the staging lanes, last pair at Indy driving a John Force Brute Force tribute car, that’s about as good as it gets,” Beckman said. “I’m trying to do a better job of living in the moment. I just try to tell myself, just stop, pause, take a breath, look around and let it sink in a little bit. I don’t know if that run will hold [for No. 1], but I know it was the best of Friday night. Pretty cool. I’m going to stop, take a breath, look around and enjoy it.”

Ron Capps is currently second thanks to a run of 3.877 at 331.69 and Alexis DeJoria is third after going 3.891 at 329.02.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson has made several impressive runs during the season and he added to it on Friday in Indy, shattering the track record with a standout pass of 6.491 at 210.44 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. He was the only car to reach the 6.40s as the reigning world champion separated himself from the pack in a major way to kick off the biggest weekend of the season.

Already a five-race winner this year, Anderson is also locked in a heated battle with KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn for the regular-season championship. Glenn entered the weekend with a nine-point lead, with the title coming down to who does the best on championship Monday in Indy. Anderson also paid respects to former team owner Ken Black, who passed away earlier this week.

“Today was cool. It’s rare to have this sort of air at Indy in August. It’s a Pro Stock racer’s dream,” Anderson said. “This is what we live for. It’s nice to get in the car in a firesuit and not have sweat dripping into your eyes.

“This is for Ken Black, who we lost this week. It’s a sad, sad deal, but we’re going to celebrate. I’m not going to pout. He’d want us to go out and win this race and that’s exactly what I’m going to try my best to do. No one who met Ken didn’t like him and I wouldn’t be here without him. I was so lucky to meet him when I did.”

Glenn is second with a 6.523 at 209.59 and Erica Enders is third after going 6.528 at 211.26.

A year after winning at The Big Go for the first time in his career, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera set the track E.T. record on the opening night of the race, going 6.739 at 200.98 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Herrera, the back-to-back world champion, is after his fourth No. 1 qualifier this season and 27th in his career as he looks to get on track to make a run at his third straight title.

Last year’s Indy win was another special moment for Herrera and he would love to repeat it this weekend, especially after Friday’s strong start.

“It’s hard to prepare for five runs here at Indy because you know anything can happen. I was shocked that we ran 6.73, but we just treated it like a test lap and we hit it hard,” Herrera said. “I don’t think we could have run any faster. That’s all she’s got. I don’t think that will be beaten the next two days.

“This is Indiana, so you never know what you’re going to get as far as weather. It’s perfect today. We figured that we might run 6.75 or 6.76, but that was a picture-perfect run. I don’t think the bike moved a quarter of an inch from side-to-side and that almost never happens.”

Matt Smith is currently second with a 6.779 at 199.88 and Richard Gadson, who won the most recent PSM race in Sonoma, is third after his run of 6.782 at 200.47.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Friday’s results after the first one of five rounds of qualifying for the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, 14th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.666 seconds, 339.79 mph; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 3.683, 333.33; 3. T.J. Zizzo, 3.695, 333.08; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.697, 329.99; 5. Antron Brown, 3.702, 332.75; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.712, 337.24; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.727, 332.10; 8. Josh Hart, 3.734, 333.00; 9. Tripp Tatum, 3.737, 316.60; 10. Tony Stewart, 3.744, 328.78; 11. Justin Ashley, 3.757, 333.41; 12. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.799, 296.63; 13. Clay Millican, 4.109, 205.60; 14. Tony Schumacher, 8.239, 86.86; 15. Ida Zetterstrom, 9.855, 64.55; 16. Jasmine Salinas, 10.760, 74.44.

Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.865, 332.26; 2. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.877, 331.69; 3. Alexis DeJoria, Dodge Charger, 3.891, 329.02; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.893, 330.88; 5. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.900, 324.83; 6. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.904, 323.50; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.909, 313.22; 8. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.927, 322.81; 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.935, 299.93; 10. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.952, 325.30; 11. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.962, 307.02; 12. Austin Prock, Camaro, 4.084, 238.17; 13. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.164, 230.53; 14. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.242, 233.28; 15. Chris King, Charger, 4.309, 235.31; 16. Julie Nataas, GR Supra, 4.401, 199.52.
Not Qualified: 17. Cruz Pedregon, 4.570, 160.08; 18. Dave Richards, 5.309, 145.42; 19. Alex Laughlin, 8.402, 82.69.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.491, 210.44; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.523, 209.59; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.528, 211.26; 4. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.529, 210.08; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.532, 210.44; 6. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.533, 209.04; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.538, 209.69; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.540, 209.79; 9. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.541, 209.88; 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.545, 210.18; 11. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.549, 209.62; 12. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.579, 209.20; 13. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.583, 209.79; 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.591, 209.30; 15. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.606, 209.98; 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.624, 205.16.
Not Qualified: 17. Greg Stanfield, 10.453, 87.61; 18. Troy Coughlin Jr., 10.514, 85.18; 19. David Cuadra, 22.605, 45.74.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.739, 200.98; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.779, 199.88; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.782, 200.47; 4. John Hall, Beull, 6.786, 189.34; 5. Brayden Davis, Suzuki, 6.795, 199.17; 6. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.817, 199.29; 7. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.835, 197.86; 8. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.857, 200.26; 9. Dystany Spurlock, Buell, 6.867, 197.25; 10. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.874, 193.96; 11. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.885, 195.85; 12. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.888, 195.73; 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.905, 195.00; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.927, 195.68; 15. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 7.153, 189.73; 16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.156, 189.12.
Not Qualified: 17. Hector Arana Jr, 7.186, 192.77; 18. Charles Poskey, 7.213, 188.38; 19. Wesley Wells, 7.277, 182.72.

To purchase tickets to the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. All children 12 and under will be admitted free in the general admission area with a paid adult. For more information about NHRA, visit www.NHRA.com.

About Mission Foods

MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/

About NHRA

NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With more than 100 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association 

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