Justin Ashley could smell what the Prock was cooking, and he wasn’t having any of it.

The two youngest drivers in the NHRA’s Top Fuel class – Ashley, 27, a Long Island real-estate developer and Prock, 26, an aspiring chef and restaurateur – met in Sunday’s final round of the Lucas Oil Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.

With a 3.694-second elapsed time at 314.53 mph in the Phillips Connect / Vita C Dragster, Ashley earned his third overall victory. Prock challenged with a 3.713-second pass and the meet’s top speed at 333 mph.

“It was tough,” he said, which was no surprise. He said he knew long before the season began with qualifying Friday or even before preseason testing the week before at Phoenix that the Top Fuel field “was going to be really tough.” 

Using a basketball metaphor, Ashley said, “You saw it starting today, where races were separated by such little margins and we really had no lay-ups at all. And you're really never going to have any lay-ups.” 

Neither did. Each had a tough line-up of champions to march past. Ashley reached the finals by defeating Jim Maroney, three-time titlist Antron Brown, and reigning Steve Torrence. Prock’s path was as difficult, for he had to face six-time IHRA Top Fuel champion Clay Millican, eight-time NHRA dominator Tony Schumacher, and 2017 ace Brittany Force. 

Ashley said that “really just solidified what we came out here and wanted to do. We spent the off-season trying to work on power, pick up, pick up, pick up and get to where we want to get to. And I feel like today is really, you could see that. 

“These nitro cars are supposed to be unpredictable. These races aren't supposed to be that close,” he said, “but for whatever reason they are. And what it means for me is I always have to be on my A game. There's no room to let up. There's no room to let around slip by. So I think we know that as a team and to be able to come out strong and leave here with the points feels pretty good.”

In the preseason, Ashley had said that things “might get chippy this year.” 

He said, “Well, I think that because the races are so close. And a lot of times when the races are decided by reaction time, it's hard for a driver to take that emotion out of it. When these things happen and drivers are so emotionally invested that when they feel like we lost this race, or we won this race because of me, either way you're really going to see those emotions pour out. 

“And I think that reaction times are just so, so important right now,” he said. “But so is the way the car runs, and everybody just out here is doing a phenomenal job. And I think that we'll see if it gets chippy. It’s still a little early on in the season. But at the very least, I know that I'm assuming to get into the Countdown. And when we get down to the championship, it's going to come down to making the Countdown at Indy and then winning the championship, the final race at Pomona.”

Prock is assuming the same. 

“Great start to the year,” the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Dragster driver said. “This team got put together about three or four weeks ago, and I thought we did an excellent job this weekend - no mistakes and tuners were learning every run and improving the car. 

“I’m really happy with how this year has started. It’s going to be a long, fun year, and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said, anticipating he’ll have a great finish, as well.

Prock’s father, Jimmy, tuned Robert Hight to the Funny Car victory in a wild final round against Ron Capps. And Austin Prock said, “Obviously, we wanted to get the win tonight, especially with my dad winning. It would have been awfully cool to have a family double-up. I’m just happy to be back. This is my dream to drive this race car, and to be back and doing what I love again. It’s a lot of fun.” 

But the day belonged to Ashley. 

One of the things his team had concentrated on was performing well at the start of each run, from the 60-foot mark to the eighth-mile [330]. And Ashley said that played a huge role in his success Sunday. 

“I mean, you think back to testing. We test for a reason. And we wanted to focus on our 60-foot times and our early numbers. And our early numbers in Phoenix were really good. And that was up to us to make sure that they translate to Pomona and the rest of the year,” he said. 

“We're off to a good start. That was integral in the way the car was running. And really, it was like a bracket car all day today, this Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster all day long, up and down the racetrack. And from a driver's perspective, when it's moving early like that, when it's going down the racetrack, there are very few things that give you as much confidence as that does. 

“I think that the better the car is running, of course you feel a little bit more pressure to perform for your team. But for me, there's really no difference. There's always pressure to perform for your team. And there's really no more pressure from the outside than there is, I'm going to put pressure on myself,  because our Davis Motorsports team and [crew chief] Mike Green [who, incidentally, guided Prock to the 2019 NHRA rookie of the year award], they do such an outstanding job.

“And it's up to me to just try and be the best driver that I can be. And a big part of that is doing the same thing every time. Whether it stage the same time, the same way. Whether it's keep the car as straight as possible. It's all about doing the same thing every time. And really, it's just a lot of fun to be able to drive this race car,” Ashley said. 

This team all weekend seemed to be picking up where it left off last year. 

“It says we were very proactive in the off-season, which we were. We knew that the Top Fuel field was going to be stacked, and we really didn't want to stay stagnant, because that was not going to be good for us. We wanted to make sure we picked up. And I think really what it says is it's just a testament to our team. They spent all winter in the shop, getting ready to go, preparing for days like today,” Ashley said. “So to be able to see it come to fruition so quickly for this team just means so much to us. It means so much to our sponsors, Chip Lofton and Vita C Shop. We've been communicating all day and I'm just, just happy to win for him.” 

The Winternationals were in the summer last year because of COVID-caused rescheduling. And Ashley advanced to the final round but suffered from heat exhaustion and was unable to compete against finalist Leah Pruett. 

But Ashley said, “To be honest with you, I think it's more of a story than anything else. For me, that's just history. It really makes no difference. I'm going to be motivated no matter what. So that really played no role in it. I was motivated because I wanted to win a race. And I wanted to race for our sponsors and our team and everybody who was out of here for Phillips Connect this weekend. So yeah, sure. It's a little bit sweet. Not going to lie. It feels kind of good, same lane and everything, but a win is a win no matter where they come and how they come.” 

This one came in dramatic fashion and set an electrifying tone for the season.

The tour will shift back to Chandler, Ariz., site of the preseason test sessions, for next week’s Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.