After accomplishing his mission last week at Brainerd, Minn., in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Jordan Vandergriff is getting another opportunity to play super-sub in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Today, Shawn Reed Racing announced that Vandergriff would be back in the seat of Reed's Top Fuel dragster as a replacement driver for the injured driver at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis over Labor Day Weekend.
Reed is still recovering from a horrific crash last month at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle that resulted in two broken ribs and an amputated left index finger.
In Vandergriff's first replacement weekend for Reed, Vandergriff scored a first-round win and finished fifth to solidify Reed's place in the Top Fuel standings. All points earned by Vandergriff in Reed's absence goes to Reed, per NHRA rules.
The Reed/Vandergriff entry is currently 10th in the NHRA standings, a healthy 168 points clear of 11th-place Ida Zetterstrom. Reed trails ninth-place Steve Torrence by 94 points and eighth-place Josh Hart by 96 points—both reachable with a big Vandergriff weekend at Indy.
The U.S. Nationals event is a points-and-a-half weekend with a possible 191 points available for a perfect weekend (event win, No. 1 qualifier, quickest time in each qualifying session and points for entering the event).
“This was not a difficult decision,” said Reed, who plans to return to the driver’s seat in time for the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, beginning in Reading, Pa., Sept. 12-14. “Admittedly, it took some time and a lot of weighing out pros and cons when it came to deciding who would drive the Reed Trucking & Excavating dragster in Brainerd. But after seeing how easily Jordan mixed in with the crew and jumped right back into competition mode after knocking the rust off those first few runs, it wasn’t even a question for me for Indy, I knew I wanted Jordan back in the car.
“To be honest, I’ve had quite a few offers, most of which came with money attached, and as tempting as it was, I knew in my gut that I wanted it to be Jordan once again. He’s excited, he’s thankful, he’s appreciative, and quite frankly, did a good job. He’s already fitted for the car; the guys liked him and wanted to see him back.”
Prior to Brainerd, Vandergriff last made 11 Top Fuel starts in 2019. He has been serving as part of the NHRA.tv broadcast crew this season.
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