NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Standing near his Camaro Funny Car before the final qualifying session at the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR, Jordan Vandergriff wasn't interested in dwelling on what had happened earlier in the day. 

He was thinking about what could happen next.

“I am optimistic for this Q4,” Vandergriff said. “I think Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker and my guys are going to figure it out. I think we'll go out there and go low right now.”

That confidence wasn't simply a driver's attempt to stay positive. Behind him, Cunningham and Bunker were working through a difficult set of circumstances presented by a moist Michigan afternoon and a racetrack capable of holding enormous amounts of power.

Vandergriff knew exactly how hard they were working.

“Why is there any reason to think otherwise?” he said. “If you don't think for the best, then the best might not happen. That's what we set out to do, so we should have a positive result here. And if not, it's a positive anyways.”

For Cunningham, finding the combination meant reaching deeper into the team's notebook than usual.

“The conditions, the way they are, are exactly that — very challenging,” Cunningham said. “You don't get to run in these conditions that often, so your notebook is really small.”

The solution meant looking all the way back to the start of the season.

“We've got to go back and look at stuff as far back as Pomona earlier this year, where it was cool and the track was challenging,” Cunningham said. “We were really close to making it last run, and I think we've made some changes that I hope will make it get through that shake zone. If it does, it should haul ass.”

And Vandergriff wasn't asking his crew chiefs to play it safe.

“He wants to drive it to the No. 1 position,” Cunningham said. “That's the effort that he's putting out for it.”

Bunker saw the same opportunity. Although the Funny Car's previous attempts may have looked similar from outside the ropes, the data told a more complicated story.

“It looks the same from the outside, but it's been two different things that got us to a stop point,” Bunker said. “That last one was pretty encouraging for us. Going into this one, there's a little step of confidence, like, ‘Okay, we're back on track.’ Hopefully we've got the gremlins out of the way and we can go out there and make a run.”

The objective?

“We're going up there to go No. 1.”

Bunker said adversity hasn't shaken the team's belief in its ability to solve the problem.

“We've got a fantastic team,” he said. “We've got a bunch of really good notes here that we've compiled this year. There's no lack of confidence. It's more like, go solve the problem.”

That problem-solving mentality is paired with a relationship between driver and crew that is becoming increasingly evident. Vandergriff wants to deliver for the people turning the wrenches, while Cunningham and Bunker are equally determined to give their driver a race car capable of showing what he can do.

“He's energetic and he likes to learn, and he's learning every run,” Cunningham said. “We all are here. It's a young team, and we've got a lot going for us.”

Bunker described it even more simply.

“At the end of the day, we can high-five and have a hug and say, ‘You know what? We do this all together.’”

And they were doing it in front of an extraordinary audience.

After a 66-year absence, NHRA's return to Michigan has brought fans pouring through the gates at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, giving Vandergriff and his team another reason to swing for the fences.

“It's exhilarating,” Bunker said. “These guys are going to get their money's worth as fans.”

For Vandergriff, there was only one appropriate response.

“We've got to do it for the fans.”