Austin Prock’s first competitive pass in Top Fuel competition produced a straight and fast 3.784-second elapsed time at 323.04 mph. And dad Jimmy Prock, who stuck around after tuning Robert Hight to a tentative top-half run in the Funny Car class, said, “Proud of him. This is what he lives for. The opportunity he has got, not too many people get a chance to do this. That’s really cool.”

It was a solo pass. In the second qualifying session, he lined up against freshly crowned champion Steve Torrence, Prock posted a 3.771, 326.63. He was eighth in the order overnight.

At this point, Steve Torrence might as well be playing a video game.

After putting up video game-like numbers in 2018 with 11 total wins - including six-straight to close the season - en route to his first championship, Torrence is back at it in 2019 and it appears he hasn’t missed a beat.

For Robert Hight, this offseason has been one of the longest and most challenging of his entire career.

As acting president of John Force Racing in addition to his racing duties, Hight has had to endure a full season’s worth of hardships in only a short three month span, leaving the two-time champ exhausted before the season even began.

What can get wilder than a Donald Long-promoted race where there are as many people standing on the starting line as there are in the stands?

How about a Donald Long, Duck X Promotions talent search?

This is the story of how the sordid contest grew legs, which over the last few days have run at warp speed. 

Ray Alley, a former Funny Car racer and team owner who was instrumental in the early years of Kenny Bernstein’s racing career and later served as NHRA’s Director of Top Fuel and Funny Car Racing, died 

Mike Salinas and his Scrappers Racing team are on the verge of a breakout season in the NHRA’s Top Fuel ranks in 2019. One of his first customers will be there to enjoy the ride.

Salinas announced today that Pleasanton Ready Mix Concrete has signed as an associate sponsorship for the 2019 season with Salinas’ Top Fuel team, continuing a steady momentum the team has been building heading into this weekend’s season-opening race, the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona. 

Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS has named Summit Racing Equipment as the title sponsor for the 2019 race season. 

“Mid-West Pro Mod Series means so much to me because it truly is for the racers and Summit has been apart of drag racing for fifty years. It is huge to be able to bring Summit Racing Equipment to the MWPMS racers,” said series organizer Keith Haney

“Summit Racing Equipment has been a part of Keith Haney Racing thanks to a great working relationship with Jim Greenleaf. Summit provides a great place for all of our racers to get the parts they need quickly and we are looking forward to having them on board as the title sponsor of our MWPMS.”

The nitro drag racing career of Austin Prock is set to begin at the Winternationals Feb. 7-10.

Prock, the son of world championship crew chief Jimmy Prock, will be piloting a second Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing in Pomona, Calif.

Prock will be a dragster teammate to 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Series world champion Brittany Force.