Vandergriff tunes out the noise as he focuses on the future with John Force Racing

Jordan Vandergriff has heard all the chatter surrounding his new ride with John Force Racing.

The biggest thing? Vandergriff has big shoes to fill by driving the Funny Car that won the last two championships. Austin Prock vacated the car after last season, choosing to leave for Tasca Racing and taking his family with him.

But there is an important note that needs to be added to Vandergriff’s file. Yes, he is driving the same Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet that Prock had been a force in, but it is not the same race team. Not even close.

“I’ve heard that I have big shoes to fill a lot over the last few months, and my response to that is, ‘Good. Why would I want little shoes to fill?’” said Vandergriff. “I want the challenge. What this car has done is impressive, and I want to be able to step in and nobody notices the difference. And yeah, this team is an entirely new race team.

“The last guy with his family left and took his family and his whole team, besides one person. We have Chris Cunningham as my crew chief now, along with Jason Bunker and they’re a great duo. … Then my entire team is new.”

Fortunately, the NHRA went through a chaotic silly season of driver and team movement. There was plenty of talent to choose from in replacing crew members from in-house at John Force Racing or looking elsewhere. But those who now make up Vandergriff’s team, including him, have worked together.

“It’s a whole bunch of new people, but they did leave behind one guy, and he means a lot to me,” Vandergriff said, “So, everything we do this year is going to be for him. He’s leading this team. He came from the last one, so he’s a big part of what we’re doing now.”

The season kicked off with Vandergriff and company proving they don’t need, or want, any excuses when it comes to performance. The mindset is for them to be good right off the bat, and that was shown in Gainesville at the start of the month as Vandergriff advanced to the semifinals.

It’s the first time Vandergriff has driven a Funny Car after previous experience in a Top Fuel dragster. But most of that came during the 2019 and 2020 seasons with his family, before that ended. It’s been six years of Vandergriff trying to find a new ride.

While he didn’t expect it would take this long, he also doesn't feel like it’s been that long.

“I think it’s all happening at the right time for me,” Vandergriff said.

Over the last few years, Vandergriff spent time at the racetrack in a role with FOX Sports. It gave him the chance to still be involved in the sport while continuing to network and try to get a ride. Last year, he was able to do a substitute role for the injured Shawn Reed late in the year. And it “absolutely helped” him land what could be viewed as an opportunity of a lifetime with Force.

“If I’m being honest with you, that was the goal all along,” Vandergriff said. “I lost my ride in 2019 with my family team and from then on, I was on my own to try to find my way in this sport, and I was gone for a few years. I was away from the sport; I didn’t go to the racetrack. I was upset, I was sad; I wanted to be there.

“Eventually, it was like, 'You know what, I need to show face. I need to be out there. I need to be involved in this sport. I need to give myself a chance and I need to do the work.' So, the idea of doing the NHRA on FOX job got brought up to me, and I thought about it for a night or two, and I said that’s a good way to keep my face out there and be involved in the sport, and I just wanted to be back at the racetrack.”

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