Jordan Vandergriff Makes History with First NHRA Funny Car Win and a Celebratory Sprint Back to the Starting Line

Jordan Vandergriff wasn’t in the grandstands after his historic win. He was already sprinting back toward the starting line.

At last Sunday’s National Hot Rod Association Southern Nationals drag race in Adel, Georgia, Vandergriff made history by winning his first NHRA Funny Car race. After deploying his parachutes and bringing his car to a stop at the end of the quarter-mile track, he hopped out and began running toward the start. The sellout crowd in the stands could only react with confusion—until they realized he was continuing a family tradition.

Vandergriff’s uncle, Bob Vandergriff, had done the same after his two Top Fuel victories in the NHRA. The gesture, pure joy in motion, inspired the younger Vandergriff to follow suit.

Auto Imagery/John Force Racing/Gary Nastase captured the moment as Vandergriff, racing at South Georgia Motorsport Park—hosting its first-ever national NHRA event—raced back to the starting line. The quick-thinking public address announcers even cued up the theme from the 1981 film Chariots of Fire to accompany his sprint.

"Running up the track was something I always thought about doing, because my uncle did it out of pure joy when he won his first, and I just had to do it. I was contemplating it in the car before the run, and I was like, ‘I’m doing it, no matter what.’ Hopefully, this is just the first of many, and it’s a good one to start."

Vandergriff’s victory came in the final round, where he defeated points leader J.R. Todd. This win marked his first Funny Car race triumph, though he had one previous final-round appearance on October 20, 2019, at the Texas Fall Nationals while competing in Top Fuel for his family-owned team. That race ended in disappointment when he lost to Billy Torrence after leading at halftrack.

Between 2019 and now, Vandergriff stepped away from competitive racing, citing bitterness over his career’s trajectory. He returned determined to reclaim his place in the sport. Just last year, he didn’t have a regular ride, with only two Top Fuel starts in 2025 after replacing an injured Shawn Reed. After those races concluded, he transitioned to broadcasting, serving as a pit reporter for NHRA television coverage—a role he embraced comfortably, given his media experience.