If fellow NHRA nitro Funny Car drivers have learned anything the last year-and-a-half, it’s that Austin Prock is always a contender to win national events.
After back-to-back first-round losses to Buddy Hull in Epping, N.H., and Bristol, Tenn., as the No. 1 qualifier, Prock rebounded in grand fashion Sunday.
Prock, piloting the John Force Racing Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, was back in the winner’s circle Sunday at the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals near Richmond.
Prock clocked a 4.061-second elapsed time at 318.02 mph to edge fellow JFR driver Jack Beckman’s 4.071, 305.42 at Virginia Motorsports Park.
“Well, that’s exactly how we wanted it all lined up,” Prock said about racing his teammate. “Just give us a for-sure opportunity to hand him (John Force) a Wally at the end of the day. That was a hell of a drag race for the race fans. That was a good old-fashioned drag race, and shows how strong this team is. These conditions weren’t easy this weekend, and we laid down some really impressive runs, so really proud of that. Glad we bounced back after a few tough weekends.
“I had a feeling we were going to come in here and prove why we were the points leader, and we did exactly that. We raced smart and we were competitive, racing smart, and when we had to push, be pushed. Got a lucky break there in the second round, but to win these NHRA races, that’s what it takes. Really proud of our team.”
Prock, the reigning NHRA Funny Car champion, claimed his 15th career Wally – 11th in nitro Funny Car – along with his four Top Fuel wins.
This was Prock’s second win in a row in Richmond. Last year was an emotional roller-coaster as legendary driver/team owner John Force suffered a traumatic brain injury in a June 23, 2024, racing crash at VMP. Force is still recovering from the injuries he suffered in the wreck.
“A lot of emotion for sure. Getting the win last year was huge, and being able to take the Wally to John and as an entire corporation/team, that’s what we wanted to do again today. Happy that we could go back-to-back and get the job done for him,” Prock said. “(The) trophy going home with him. I might have to hide it in his suitcase or something. He won’t take it off my hands, but it’s definitely going back with him.
“He does so much for me and has given me an opportunity of a lifetime to live my dream, so to win for him again today, and be able to celebrate his health, and have him back out at the racetrack and doing good and getting better every day means a lot for our team, and John Force Racing, and all our partners as well, and even NHRA. This sport is not the same without John Force, and we’re very blessed to have him at the racetrack.”
On Sunday, Prock, the No. 2 qualifier, took care of Cruz Pedregon, Bob Tasca III, J.R. Todd, and then Beckman. Fortune shined on Prock in the second round as he dropped cylinders and would have lost, but Tasca crossed the centerline and had his run disqualified.
“All I saw was him sideways. I didn’t realize … I knew he was close to the center line, but I didn’t know that he was close enough to hit the blocks. I didn’t see him for a really long time. Actually, I felt like I caught mine pretty quick and did a good job. I would’ve liked to see the actual slip without the cones being knocked out,” Prock said. “It probably would run a high 4.20 or 4.30 spinning down there and the thing didn’t shut off, so I caught it a little bit quicker with all these safety regulations on it. The butterflies didn’t close, and I was able to get back on the gas.
“But yeah, I crossed the finish line, and I got right on the radio: ‘Sorry, boys, might’ve been able to catch it quicker,’ and there was some silence and then, all of a sudden, they’re like, ‘You won.’ It felt like about 15 minutes of depression, and then just right back on the horse, your adrenaline’s back going. You go from completely depleted to through the moon in a short amount of time. Yeah, that was a big round. Thank you, Tasca.”
The performance of his team this weekend – after exiting early in Epping and Bristol – didn’t shock Prock.
“I’m not surprised. We’ve had a great race car,” Prock said about his team bouncing back. “We’ve been qualifying well going up and down the racetrack. We just haven’t been racing that smart and just got away from … not that we got away from it, we just … this race car is not exactly the same as it was last year, and we’re kind of learning as we go and we get in these tough conditions.
“The last few weekends, the first round’s been really tricky, and it was again today, but we were able to learn from the mistakes we made last weekend and make a really impressive run,” he added. “That 3.99 first round was … that was a ball-buster, so that gave us some confidence, and we’re on a hot streak. We get past the first round; we go to the final round. We’re four and five, I think, so we just need to get a little bit more consistency there early in the day, but I believe we’re heading in that direction. … We’ve been making mistakes on the calls, and I haven’t been driving my typical self, but we’re getting all our ducks back in a row and learning how to win again. This weekend was a huge weekend to have success both days and then end up leaving with the trophy for Force.
“That definitely gives us a pep in our step going into Norwalk. These race seasons go by quickly. It’s going to be crunch time here in a hurry, and to get another win here that tied us for wins last year, so we’re right on track.”
Prock improved his 2025 elimination-round record to 16-6, as he has been to five final rounds in nine races. He leads the standings with 716 points followed by Beckman (656) and Paul Lee (617).
This season, Prock has wins at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 13 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., on April 27.
A year ago, Prock was in his first season driving a nitro Funny Car as a replacement for Robert Hight, who was sidelined for medical reasons. Prock won a class-best eight national events, with his final win of the season coming at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas in early November.
Fast-forward to the present, and Prock has won 11 of the last 29 national events, which is an impressive 38 percent clip.
Yet, Prock knows nothing comes easy in NHRA’s nitro Funny Car class – especially wins.
“It’s hard to snap out of it for sure,” Prock said about losing in the first round twice in a row entering Richmond. “Obviously, we don’t like being in that situation. The only time we’re satisfied at the end of the weekend is when we’re holding one of those gold Wallys.
“There’s no other exception for that in my household, and it’s been that way our entire lives. We strive for perfection. When we’re not perfect and we’re not holding the trophy at the end of the weekend, we’re not satisfied, so it is frustrating, and other things lead up to that. Last weekend, I wouldn’t have been as mad if I would’ve had a chance to stab the gas again and the safety system didn’t shut it off. If I would’ve been able to pedal it, I could have won that round. But when you’re in there, and it spins, and then I don’t even get a shot at doing anything about it, that’s frustrating.”
Prock also reinforced his mindset that winning is his No. 1 focus when he’s behind the wheel.
“All this safety equipment, it’s great. It keeps us safe, but some days, I don’t really care. I just want to turn the win light on, as bad as that sounds, but I’m a race car driver. That’s what was frustrating about that – and then, obviously, losing two weeks in a row (in the) first round. But when you’re just swordless or gunless in a gunfight, that sucks, so that adds to the aggravation, but it’s only going to make us better. We made mistakes; we learned from them. They put in their homework, I put in my homework. I hit the practice tree for over an hour every day when I was home because I was pissed off I had an 80 light. And then you come here and the clock seemed to be a little skewed.
“Everybody’s reaction times were slow. I came in to qualify and I’m 70 all weekend. That aggravated me even more, but I just had to take a deep breath and see how I was stacking up to everyone else. Those 70 lights were actually good lights here. … We’re always learning. Like Force said, when you stop learning and you stop getting those butterflies on Sunday morning, hang it up. We’re definitely not there yet.”
One of the perks of his latest victory was talking to members of the Savannah Bananas. The Bananas are an ultra-popular exhibition baseball team known for their unique brand of entertainment and fast-paced “Banana Ball.”
“Oh, that was really cool. It was great to meet all those guys. They put on an amazing show, and I think I was excited to meet them, but my niece and nephew, they were the most excited,” Prock said. “They shot me a text on their mom’s phone earlier and were like, ‘You got to go meet those guys and send us a picture with you or you with them.’ I got to do that in between the second round and the semis, so that was really cool. They were great people, really nice to meet. I was hoping they’d stay around for the winner’s circle. If we would’ve known we were going to win, I’m sure they would’ve. They were definitely a group that I could hang out with and slam a couple of American Rebel beers with.”
