The torrid pace Austin Prock has been on in NHRA’s nitro Funny Car ranks in qualifying shows no sign of slowing down.

Prock, who pilots the AAA/Cornwell Tools Camaro for John Force Racing, clocked a 3.837-second elapsed time at 336.23 mph in Q2 Friday night to capture the provisional No. 1 spot at the New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

If Prock’s time holds through Saturday’s final two qualify sessions it would be his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season in seven races.

“It's pretty surreal. I'm just holding onto the wheel. It's all the kudos to this AAA team this weekend and Cornwell team in the past,” Prock said. “They're just doing such a great job, and my dad (Jimmy) and brother (Thomas) just making really smart decisions and the team is putting the car together the same way every time. It's really impressive watching this team work. It really is cinematic. Everyone's in the right spot at the right time and they just get the job done.”

prock arrived in Epping second in the season points standings, two points behind Matt Hagan. Prock has a win this season in Phoenix and two runner-up finishes. He’s also been the No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville, Fla., Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago.

“I got a little John Force in me -- I never know where I'm at. But I'm learning every weekend,” Prock said. “The first run today, I didn't have the thing perfectly staged shallow. We ran quicker than John Force. And I staged a little away, and I had to walk back to the trailer with my tail between my legs and notify my old man. But it was so bad you could see it on the starting line. But as soon as I went through the lights I apologized right away and made sure I didn't make that mistake again.

"So, yeah, they definitely bailed me out there, and sent it to No. 1 again with a 3.83 and some really good miles per hour. So, we've been trying to work on that. It seems to be going in the right direction. So, really proud of the team.”

Prock, who never raced a Funny Car full-time until this season, was thrust into this role when three-time world champion driver Robert Hight was sidelined with a medical condition.

Prock is excited to be at New England Dragway.

“This is a really nice facility, and the racetrack was in great shape (Friday),” Prock said. “NHRA did an outstanding job getting it turned around, because with the rain the last few days, it makes it really tough on the men and women that prepped these racetracks. So, they got it in great shape for us and allowed us to make a good run like that.

"I think we got all of it. I haven't really looked at the data yet, but they said everything looked really nice. We're even trying some different things this weekend in the clutch department having to shuffle some discs around and everything seems to be working. So, yeah, I mean, this car has been so outstanding the last decade, really. So, all those notes helped so much. I never really had that luxury in my Top Fuel career because it seems like every year, we had to change crew chiefs and restart our notebook. So, hopping into a car of this caliber, it's a lot of fun to drive, but a lot of pressure on myself, because I don’t want to be the weak link.”

From 2019-2023, Prock drove a Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing and finished a career-best third in the points standings in 2022. He collected four national-event wins and three No. 1 qualifiers.

“We did exactly what we needed to (Friday). The track was pretty cool, and (Saturday) it's going to be a lot warmer, and on Sunday it's going to even be warmer than that,” Prock said. “So, we just have to execute the conditions that are given to us, and we've been doing a really good job of that and racking up a lot of points in qualifying just making smart decisions.”

Prock also knows his team will give him the best chance to succeed in qualifying Saturday.

“I'm not the crew chief by any means, but I have to do my same job and they're just going to have to slow the race car down,” Prock said. “Whether that's pushing the clutch out, taking some horsepower out of the race car, or whatever they think needs to happen, they'll do. And like I said, they've been making really smart decisions and having that big, fat notebook definitely helps give you some confidence.”