Austin Prock was probably busier on Friday at the PRO Winter Warm-up than he'd ever been when he was racing a Top Fuel car for John Force Racing.

Prock, the son of championship tuner Jimmy Prock, is in a new role at JFR since his Montana Brand Top Fuel dragster was parked due to the economic impact of the global pandemic.

"I'm going to be helping out my old man's car this year," Prock explained. "Building a supercharger, so it's something I'm familiar with. I built superchargers on Allen Johnson's dragster. It's going to be fun working with my old man this year."

Three runs. That's all it took for 2019 NHRA Funny Car champion Robert Hight to find his groove after a 54-week break from driving a nitro groove.

Hight ran a 3.929, 325.61 during Friday's testing and ended up the quickest of the first day on a run that was less than optimum.

"It wasn't the perfect run for sure," Hight said. "I had to drive it a little bit. It goes to show you that we didn't forget how to do this. We are excited to be back, and that's for sure.

Greg Anderson moved a step closer to the biggest single-race payday in his legendary Pro Stock career. The veteran standout qualified in the No. 1 spot at the CTECH World Doorslammer Nationals presented by JEGS, with his run of 6.531-seconds at 210.14 from Friday in his Chevrolet Camaro holding up during Saturday’s final qualifying session.
 
The four-time world champ earned the $1,000 top qualifier bonus sponsored by Chilly Willys and has plenty of momentum heading into Sunday’s eliminations, where the winner will earn $75,000. Anderson came close a year ago at the inaugural race, losing in the final round, and appears ready to try and finish the job in 2021.

If you believe Justin Ashley is concerned about a sophomore jinx, you're greatly mistaken.

"I'm not concerned about that at all," Ashley, the NHRA's 2020 Rookie of the Year, said. "Nothing's really going to change from a driving perspective compared to last year. I just have to continue to focus on doing my job and not worry about all that outside noise or jinxes or anything like that."

New for 2021 is the rookie whisper, Mike Green, who tuned Austin Prock to the 2019 Rookie of the Year honors with John Force Racing.

 
Orlando Speed World Dragway continues to bring out the best in Pro Stock legend Greg Anderson.
 
The four-time world champ rocketed to the top of provisional qualifying at Friday’s CTECH World Doorslammer Nationals presented by JEGS, impressing the crowd with a run of 6.531-seconds at 210.14 mph in his Chevrolet Camaro. Anderson is a longtime standout in the Pro Stock shootout events and advanced to the final round of the inaugural race at Orlando a year ago.

There’s a drastic change coming to NHRA Stock and Super Stock racing.

No. Certain classes aren’t going to be eliminated. The Rules aren’t going to change with regard to required equipment. But there is a change when it comes to payouts, possibly predicated by the many high-dollar bracket races being run across the country.

Two-time Funny Car champion Robert Hight wouldn't come out and call it PTSD. But on the first day of drag racing, since his team suspended operations a year ago as the worldwide pandemic stopped drag racing in its tracks, the President of John Force Racing says he still feels the after-effects of being the man John Force clung closest to during the downtime.

"It's not something I want to do again; I'll tell you that, "Hight admitted. "It's like every day is Groundhog Day, the movie. It just never ends. It's the same stuff over and over and over again."

Let the record reflect; Hight's happy place is at a drag strip - even if it is just for testing.

Veteran Pro Modified racer Chad Green plans to roll into this weekend's Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals and NHRA Gatornationals with a brand new ride. This beauty, built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars, will have Pat Musi nitrous horsepower.

Ryan Oehler has been competing full-time in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class since 2018.

Now, he’s in the drag racing business. He and partner Jim Gottmann are opening Tampa Bay Race Rentals at Showtime Dragstrip in Clearwater, Fla. Gottmann is part of Oehler’s PSM team.

After several years campaigning in the NMCA's Factory Super Cars class, second-generation Michigan racer and talented engine builder Chris Holbrook is stepping into the Edelbrock Xtreme Street class with a brand-new car in for 2021.

Holbrook, whose proven talents have followed him through a multi-decade career, has competed and set records in IHRA Pro Stock and many other classes, including the Factory Super Cars class. Most recently, that program — which also crossed into NHRA Factory Stock Showdown territory — was based around the 5.0-liter Coyote engine topped with a Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger and earned him the 2020 class record at 7.626 at 183.89 mph during the NMCA World Finals at Indy. Earlier in the season at the US131 event he actually went quicker — 7.565 at 184.35 mph — but did not back it up.