Jonathan Allegrucci Runs to Gatornationals No. 1 Qualifier

GAINSVILLE, FL (March 7, 2026) — Through three rounds of qualifying at the season opening Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Jonathan Allegrucci powered his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet to the No. 1 qualifier position heading into race day with a category quickest elapsed time of 7.714 seconds at 178.26 mph. Allegrucci and his Ford lead two Camaros driven by Richard Hord and Alex Anderson in the top three spots in the 16-car qualified field of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series. The driver from Scott Township, Pa. will be looking for his second career win when he takes on reigning world champion Mark Pawuk in the first round.

“I hate being number one for obvious reasons,” said Allegrucci, with a smile. “You either win it, which is expected, or you get upset. The tune up we have coming off the starting line is good, so we feel confident. The track out there is tricky and it is going to change, but we're working on it. We have good notes and we're going to do our best.”

The three qualifying sessions were full of surprises as Allegrucci ran to No. 1 in the first session with a strong 7.797-second pass. The second session was contested under the lights at Gainesville Raceway with much cooler conditions. Allegrucci was pushed off the No. 1 spot but charged back to the top with his 7.714 second pass that held up through a third round that was much warmer.

Reigning world champion Pawuk surprisingly struggled with a new race car and enters race day as the No. 16 qualifier. Pawuk will be looking for his second Gatornationals title and a strong start to his campaign to win a third world championship with his Hemi-powered 2026 Dodge Charger Empaco Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection. Pawuk will also have the Flexjet $1,000 bounty on his head going into the first round. While Pawuk will be looking to improve, he will be joined in eliminations with his son Kyle who is making his debut in the class as the No. 15 qualifier. Championship contending driver Lee Hartman will also be joined on race day by his son Matt Hartman. The Hartmans are qualified No. 4 and No. 10, respectively. The duo could meet in an all-Hartman final round if they win the first three rounds of racing.

The first round of eliminations at the Gatornationals will begin later today at 5:45 p.m. The second round will be contested at 6:45 p.m. And the semi-finals and final round will be tomorrow at 11:50 a.m. and 2:10 p.m., respectively.

First Round Match-ups

• No. 1 Jonathan Allegrucci vs. No. 16 Mark Pawuk
• No. 2 Richard Hord vs. No. 15 Kyle Pawuk
• No. 3 Alex Anderson vs. No. 14 Richard Bierie
• No. 4 Lee Hartman vs. No. 13 Kim Shirley
• No. 5 Raymond Nash vs. No. 12 Scott Libersher
• No. 6 David Davies II vs. No. 11 Rouven Dawson
• No. 7 Doug Duell vs. No. 10 Matt Hartman
• No. 8 David Janac vs. No. 9 Conner Statler

2026 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Schedule

April 24-26: 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, Charlotte

May 14-17: 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago

June 12-14: 25th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tenn.

June 25-28: 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio

Sept. 2-7: 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis

Sept. 17-20: 41st annual NHRA Reading Nationals, Reading, Pa.

Oct. 2-4: 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis

Oct. 14-18: 41st annual Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Dallas

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Flexjet, a global leader in private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 26 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is certified at Stage 3 with IS-BAO. Flexjet Technical Services, a fully integrated maintenance and product support infrastructure, has operations in the U.S., Canada and Europe and its primary mission is to support the maintenance of the Flexjet fleet. Red Label by Flexjet, a market differentiator, features an ultra-modern fleet, flight crews assigned to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 50 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Embraer Phenom 300, Praetor 500 and 600, Bombardier Challenger 350/3500 and the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division offers leases, helicopter cards and convenient interchange access for its aircraft Owners. Flexjet owns, operates and maintains its global fleet of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters which boast 55,000 hours of safe flying certified by Wyvern and ARG/US and serving locations throughout the northeastern United States, Florida, United Kingdom and Italy. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Instagram @Flexjetllc.

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