Austin Prock knows all about winning NHRA Funny Car championships.
Prock, driving for John Force Racing, won back-to-back world titles in 2024-25. Now he’s trying to make it three in a row with his new team, Bob Tasca Racing.
Prock kept his title hopes alive by winning the NAPA NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis on Sunday, Oct. 4 – the third event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
Prock clocked a 3.909-second elapsed time at 332.84 mph to edge Jordan Vandergriff, who took his seat at JFR. Vandergriff came across the finish line in 3.926 seconds at 325.37 mph at World Wide Technology Raceway.
More importantly for Prock, he moved up from sixth to third in the season points standings just 106 points in back of leader Matt Hagan and 34 points behind Vandergriff.
“This was a big win. You know, for the points, huge win for our family, for our team, for Tasca Racing, Motorcraft Quick Lane, Ford Racing,” Prock said. “This is the time to get hot and to get a win. After all we’ve been through this year, all the hours that we haven’t slept, the seven days a week working hard at this, you know, it really pays off when you get a win. And we had a really dominant Ford Mustang this weekend. We had to run through a lot of hitters today. Each round was like a final round, and everybody that we beat was in front of us in the Countdown to the Championship. So, an epic way to cap it off. I think we’re just over 100 points out of the lead. We’re in striking distance now, going into Dallas, and I’m really excited for these next three races.”
This was Prock’s second win of the season – his first came at Budds Creek, Md. – and the 22nd of his career. In his 2024-25 title seasons, Prock won 17 national events. This was sixth career win in the Countdown. He had three in 2024, two last year, and now one – so far – in 2026.
On Sunday, Prock knocked off three consecutive former champions in Ron Capps, J.R. Todd, and Jack Beckman, before taking down Vandergriff.
“You don’t have days like this very often,” Prock said. “When you run through four hitters like that, that’s like winning two races in one. Usually, you only get two of those rounds in a day, and to have four of them and to come out victorious is, you know, says a lot about this team. How hard we’ve been working and, you know, I’m really just proud that it paid off finally. We’ve had such a strong car. We went to the semifinals nine races in a row and just couldn’t get the job done. And I knew if we could just win the semifinals, it was kind of going to be, you know, not easy, but just more relaxed going into the final. You know, the tracks get so much better as the sun angle starts to go down and really suited this setup this weekend.”
Prock’s progress with his team – working with his father, Jimmy and brother, Thomas as crew chiefs – has been quite impressive since he didn’t make the field for the season-opening race the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., on March 5-8.
“I mean, I’m not surprised, but there was definitely no sitting in the shop; there hasn’t been all season long. We’ve been busting our tails. I’ve never worked so hard in my life,” said Prock about his thoughts after the Gatornationals. “I’ve always thought that I had a hard work ethic until I came around Bob Tasca. That guy makes me feel like I just sit on my ass all day, you know? And he’s a great role model to have and he keeps pushing us forward and giving all the resources that we need with Ford Racing.
“It’s been a grind, but when you win these trophies, you hold these Wallys at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. A lot of us can’t even believe that the offseason that we had was this season. This year has just flown by, and we’ve gone through so many highs and lows and just grinding to try and get this race car to the performance level that it’s at right now to go for a three-peat – and I think we’re right there.”
Prock has had plenty of success since 2024, but he is now just focusing on the moment.
“Well, this is definitely my favorite one right now. You know, this could be the first trophy that changes the tides to win our third championship,” Prock said. “We’ll have to see how it all shakes out, but I’m really proud of the effort and I feel like we got an honest shot at this. Anytime you hold one of these Wallys, it’s special, whether it’s Indy or Pomona or St. Louis, you know? I’m just excited about the points that we earned today and the position that we set ourselves up.
“We’re hot right now and we’ve been hot for the last 12 races. We just haven’t been able to finish the job. But if you repeatedly go to the semifinals week in and week out, you have a really good shot at winning the championship. And if we didn’t have that mishap on the timing system in Michigan, we might be leading this thing right now. But, you know, that letdown there, it’s just going to make the story a little bit sweeter.”
