Vandergriff, Kalitta and Anderson power to NHRA bonus race wins at New England Nationals

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 3.913s at 323.58 mph in his 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 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 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.