PRUETT, VANDERGRIFF AND ANDERSON TAKE PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, Calif. (April 10, 2026) – 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, Calif. — 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.
Tom Patterson from Loretta, Manitoba Canada (Comp Number: 5921) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 5 "DMP Awnings" Owned by Tom Patterson from Loretta, Manitoba Canada 1994 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 540 cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.480 at NHRA […]
Earl Folse from Raceland, Louisiana USA (Comp Number: 477F) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 4 "Earl Folse" Owned by Earl Folse from Raceland, Louisiana USA 1968 Chevrolet Camaro by TM Race Cars | Powered by a 778 cubic inch Chrysler Hemi by Sonny Leonard with 4 speed manual transmission 1/4 […]
Jeremy Mouton from Lake Charles, Louisiana USA (Comp Number: 4678) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 4 "Jeremy Mouton" Owned by Jeremy Mouton from Lake Charles, Louisiana USA 2008 Dodge Stratus by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 496 cubic inch Mopar with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 7.270 […]
Madison Payne from Claremont, California USA (Comp Number: 737M) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 7 "BAE" Owned by Jay Payne from Claremont, California USA 2016 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 521 cubic inch BAE Hemi with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.222 at NHRA […]
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Bryan Warr from Riverton, Utah USA (Comp Number: 7134) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 7 "Pete\'s Diesel Repair/Warrpath Racing" Owned by Bryan Warr from Riverton, Utah USA 1969 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 791 cubic inch Chevrolet with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile ET: 6.793 […]
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Aaron Steinkey from Dunmore, California USA (Comp Number: 699B) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 7 "Project Energy Services" Owned by Aaron Steinkey from Dunmore, California USA 1968 Chevrolet Camaro by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 959 cubic inch Chevrolet by Pat Musi with automatic transmission 1/4 Mile […]
Ted Kellner from San Jose, California USA (Comp Number: 7356) 2026 - Category: SPORTSMAN, Type: HN, Class: Top Sportsman, Div: 7 "Hoosier/West Coast ASM" Owned by Ted Kellner from San Jose, California USA 2000 Pontiac Firebird by an Unknown chassis builder | Powered by a 665 cubic inch Chevrolet by Steve Schmidt with automatic transmission […]