Austin Prock finally gave the Tasca Racing team something it has been chasing since the season opened in Gainesville, Fla.
The reigning Funny Car champion defeated Matt Hagan on Saturday to claim his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the season at Maryland International Raceway, giving a much-needed boost to a team that entered 2026 with championship hopes.
Joining Prock as Saturday winners were Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle). Their victories helped set the stage for Sunday’s eliminations at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals.
For Prock, the victory represented more than a specialty race trophy.
After winning the 2025 Funny Car championship and making the high-profile move from John Force Racing to Tasca, Prock’s season has been marked by frustration. His campaign started with the shock of failing to qualify at Gainesville, and the struggles continued through a series of first-round losses that left one of the sport’s premier drivers searching for momentum.
The speed has surfaced at times, but consistency has been difficult to grasp. Saturday’s victory won’t erase the first half of the season, but it offered the strongest indication yet that Prock and the Tasca Racing team may be turning a corner.
“It feels great,” said Prock. “It’s been a long time and feels good. We’ve had a decent car all weekend, and good enough to win the Mission #2Fast2Tasty race today. We’ve got a lot of work to do still, but the race car’s going up and down the race track, and giving me the opportunity to get comfortable in this Ford and practice chopping down the Christmas Tree.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done so far. We’re going to be hard at it tonight, and we’re going to have a fast ‘Prock Rocket’ in the morning, I can guarantee that.”
Prock defeated Hagan in the Challenge final, and they will have a rematch in Sunday’s opening round. The duel gives Prock an immediate chance to turn Saturday’s breakthrough into an even more important race-day statement.
In Top Fuel, Langdon continued to strengthen his position as one of the hottest drivers in NHRA competition.
The Kalitta Air ace claimed the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and secured his third No. 1 qualifier of the season with a 3.744-second pass at 336.23 mph. He defeated Leah Pruett in the Challenge final and earned the 25th No. 1 qualifier of his career.
Langdon improved on Friday’s leading run and once again showed why is the favorite in Top Fuel for Sunday, when he will seek his fifth victory of the season. His performance thus far at MIR only added to the growing belief that Langdon and his team have become the benchmark.
The Stanfield family made its own statement in Pro Stock on Saturday.
Aaron Stanfield delivered the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory for Elite Motorsports, while his father, Greg, locked down the No. 1 qualifying position. Together they gave Elite Motorsports one of its strongest qualifying performances of the season.
Aaron Stanfield defeated six-time NHRA champion Greg Anderson in the Challenge final. The victory marked his first #2Fast2Tasty win of the season and continue the momentum generated by his Chicago win two weeks ago.
“It definitely feels good to beat Greg Anderson on a holeshot,” said Stanfield. “I think if we’re close enough to him, we’re going to have that opportunity. I look forward to some more of it, and I’m going to try to stay on my ‘A’ game.
“I think our whole Elite group has some momentum, and for sure it feels good to be turning on some win lights, especially against those KB Titan Racing guys. They’ve been tough to beat here lately, and it’s been nice to have some momentum rolling our way. I think everybody’s able to take a little bit of a breath, but I can promise you they’re not satisfied. I think we still got a little way to go, and they’re just keeping on working. There’s no quitting in them and I’m right there, and we’re going to keep pushing.”
Aaron Stanfield qualified 10th and opens eliminations Sunday against Cody Anderson, Greg’s son.
No victory on Saturday carried more emotion than the one earned by Angie Smith.
Less than 24 hours after husband and six-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith was hospitalized by gallstones and sidelined for the weekend, Smith delivered one of the most determined performances of her career. She claimed both the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and the No. 1 qualifying position aboard her Denso Auto Parts Buell.
Smith has spent much of her career helping build Matt Smith Racing into one of the category’s dominant organizations. On Saturday, she carried the banner herself while her husband watched from his hospital bed and provided tuning advice for the second consecutive day.
The accomplishment provided a lift for the entire team and firmly established Smith as the rider to beat heading into eliminations.
“I know Matt wanted this more than anything, and I wanted it more than anything,” said Smith. “It’s been two years since I’ve won one of these Mission Challenges, so I really needed to win it, and we got it done today. Hats off to Matt and to my entire crew.”
