Six years for anyone in the motorsports industry can feel like a lifetime, for NHRA Funny Car driver Jordan Vandergriff of John Force Racing, it was just more than just time off.
After competing part-time in a 11-race Top Fuel campaign, the Southern California native stepped away from the driver seat to pursue other ventures. One of those opportunities came with FOX Sports, where Vandergriff became a pit reporter for its series coverage, giving fans a different perspective on the sport from the other side of the wall. The next would take an unexpected detour in the world of reality TV making appearances on “The Bachlorette”.
Nowadays, Vandergriff has returned to the racing grid for JFR in their Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS and would capture his first win in just his fifth start at the Southern Nationals in Georgia against J.R. Todd. The win was described as resilient, a word the 31-year old has lived by for quite some time.
“That’s the word I’ve lived by for all of these years,” Vandergriff said, postrace. “You never quit, don’t give up, do things you don’t want to do and just have singular goal and go for it.”
The good mojo wouldn’t stop there, just six races later the second Wally would arrive in the Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway against Daniel Wilkerson in his third final round appearance.
“I think I was just waiting for a long time for the sidelines,” Vandergriff said after Sonoma. “I just wanted to be here and have an opportunity to compete against the best in the world and prove that I can hang.”
Vandergriff now finds himself in the midst of the title, sitting second in points behind Matt Hagan with only seven points separating the two drivers. NHRA prepares for the final round of the regular season at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis next weekend.
