B. FORCE, BECKMAN, ANDERSON & HERRERA ROLL UNDER THE LIGHTS AT CORNWELL QUALITY TOOLS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS (August 29, 2025) – 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.
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INDIANAPOLIS — 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.
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