POMONA, CA – April 11, 2026 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Top Fuel’s Leah Pruett jumped to the top spot on the final pass of Friday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, taking the provisional No. 1 spot for Tony Stewart Racing at the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.
Jordan Vandergriff (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the third of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Pruett returned to the driver’s seat to start the season and has been outstanding thus far, including Friday’s top run of 3.724 at 329.75-mph in her 12,000-horsepower Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters dragster. It comes a race after Pruett advanced to the final round in Phoenix as she continues to build momentum early in the year.
If Friday’s run holds at her home track, Pruett would pick up her 16th career No. 1 spot and first of the season during what she hopes is a big weekend in Pomona.
“What we’re seeing today is the cohesiveness of our whole team, the collaboration that has happened over the last year and a half,” Pruett said. “Tony’s [Stewart] competitiveness last year shows how this team has gelled so well and worked really, really hard.
“Temperatures will be cool tomorrow and my opinion is 3.72 is not going to hold, not by any means. But that doesn’t mean that we still can’t come out hopefully up on top, as we work our way into having a solid 3.66-.67 foundation. That’s where our focus is right now, and I think you see that in the overall qualifying position that we’ve been in.”
Josh Hart, who won in Gainesville, is currently second with a run of 3.733 at 336.15, and Phoenix winner Shawn Langdon sits third after going 3.745 at 338.51.
At the 1,000th Funny Car race in NHRA history, Jordan Vandergriff continues to impress early in his Funny Car career for John Force Racing, vaulting to the No. 1 spot with a strong pass of 3.951 at 327.90 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS.
It’s just Vandergriff’s third career start in Funny Car and 15th in his career and he’s on track to earn his first career No. 1 qualifier. That would continue his rapid climb in the loaded Funny Car ranks, coming after a semifinal appearance at the season-opening Gatornationals. There’s added incentive for Vandergriff, too, racing at his home track as he eyes his first career No. 1 spot.
“This is definitely a new experience for me,” Vandergriff said. “I’ve never been in this position before, but I’m happy to be here. Coming into this race, I just had a feeling we were going to do well. The first two races were so hot, but we knew what we had, especially in testing before the season started. So coming here, we knew that we had a good race car. That second run felt pretty perfect, and now we’re No. 1. I’m really proud of the team.
“Racing at my home track is very motivating. I have my entire family here, and this is the home track for John Force Racing, too. Pomona has always meant something special. This is where drag racing was introduced to me, and now that I’m here on the same track, it’s pretty surreal.”
Vandergriff’s JFR teammate, Alexis DeJoria, is second with a 3.989 at 328.30 and Phoenix winner Ron Capps is third after a pass of 4.007 at 314.17.
Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson put on a show at a track where he’s won 16 times in his standout career, making the quickest run in both qualifying sessions on Friday, including a 6.544 at 209.39 to close out the day in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro that puts him in the provisional spot in Pomona.
He’s the defending event winner at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals and Anderson always seems to run well at the historic facility. The six-time world champion hopes that continues this weekend, especially after stubbing his toe in Phoenix, losing in a first-round upset to Chris McGaha after qualifying No. 1.
“We come here and we got a decent racetrack that we’re all used to. The grip numbers are back up where we’re used to, and you can run fast,” Anderson said. “Quite honestly, we all missed in the first session. We all should have run better, but that’s because we were too shy. After the first run, everybody learned, so everybody stepped up and it’ll continue to get better tomorrow.
“The field is nowhere near set. It’s going to reset, probably from top to bottom again. This is a great Pro Stock track. You’re going to see this Pro Stock field probably end up being three-hundredths [of a second] from top to bottom, from No. 1 to No. 16.”
Reigning world champion and Phoenix event winner Dallas Glenn is currently second with a 6.553 at 209.17 and Greg Stanfield sits third after his 6.568 at 209.07.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. PT on Saturday at the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
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POMONA, CA — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 66th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Leah Pruett, 3.724 seconds, 329.75 mph; 2. Josh Hart, 3.733, 336.15; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.745, 338.51; 4. Shawn Reed, 3.755, 330.31; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3.756, 338.34; 6. Billy Torrence, 3.774, 334.32; 7. Tony Stewart, 3.815, 325.85; 8. Maddi Gordon, 3.819, 326.56; 9. Will Smith, 3.870, 324.20; 10. Clay Millican, 4.272, 200.71; 11. Justin Ashley, 5.016, 144.72; 12. Tony Schumacher, 5.339, 132.82; 13. Antron Brown, 6.044, 113.13; 14. Cameron Ferre, 6.331, 89.05; 15. Ron August, 6.942, 83.45.
Funny Car — 1. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.951, 327.90; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.989, 328.30; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 4.007, 314.17; 4. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 4.015, 312.86; 5. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.037, 324.75; 6. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.051, 317.27; 7. Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.060, 318.09; 8. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.067, 317.87; 9. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.082, 322.19; 10. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.143, 308.07; 11. Dylan Winefsky, Charger, 4.303, 232.31; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.317, 217.04; 13. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.337, 216.65; 14. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.679, 179.09; 15. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.954, 184.04; 16. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 5.471, 140.30. Not Qualified: 17. Jim Campbell, 5.547, 129.24; 18. Todd Lesenko, 5.774, 124.04.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.544, 209.52; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.553, 209.43; 3. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.568, 209.07; 4. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.572, 209.69; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.575, 209.98; 6. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.575, 209.52; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.575, 209.65; 8. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.579, 208.71; 9. Dave Connolly, Camaro, 6.580, 210.01; 10. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.584, 207.91; 11. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.590, 209.30; 12. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.600, 207.98; 13. Joey Grose, Camaro, 6.616, 208.46; 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.624, 208.84; 15. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.627, 207.08; 16. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.628, 208.04. Not Qualified: 17. Chris McGaha, 6.643, 209.30; 18. Mason McGaha, 6.670, 208.23; 19. Jeg Coughlin, 6.675, 209.23.
To purchase tickets to the 2026 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission areas with the purchase of an adult ticket.
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 JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports and NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™ 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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