Austin Prock hasn’t had much luck in competition at zMAX Dragway north of Charlotte. In fact, he hasn’t had much luck competing at either facility that houses the unique four-wide format.

On Sunday, Prock overcame those shortfalls and collected his first win in the four-car format at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

“To rebound like we did after an awful weekend in Vegas really shows how strong this team is,” Prock said. “I’ve never had any success here in Charlotte and went from pretty much going out in the first round each time I’ve been here to winning the whole thing. I am super proud of my team. This category is just brutal right now, so this is extra special.”

Not only was Prock successful in the final round, he was masterful all day long. He finished first in all three of his quads Sunday and saved his best stuff for last.

In a quartet that saw him matched up with Steve Torrence, Leah Pruett and Josh Hart, Prock drove his Montana Brand dragster past all three with an afternoon-best 3.684-second pass at 330.88 mph to earn his first win of the season and fourth of his career.

Pruett was closing on Prock as they approached the finish line, but ultimately fell short at 3.708 at 329.99 mph. Hart was third with a 3.756 at 327.82 mph, while Torrence went red by a wide margin to finish fourth.

After crossing the stripe, Prock wasn’t sure whether he had won the race -- another facet of the four-wide format.

“When you are in the outside lanes, if you are quick you can catch the win light, but I missed that so I didn’t even know I won until I turned the corner,” Prock said. “I didn’t know if (Torrence) had red-lit or if he just got a massive holeshot on me. I don’t use a radio, so this four-wide stuff -- when you are in the middle lanes -- it is miserable sitting in the shutdown because you don’t know what you ran, if you won or lost, nothing. I knew it was on a great pull and my crew chiefs were so confident today. They told me we are going to go up there and outrun everybody, and I believe we did that.”

While Prock’s four-wide struggles continued in the most recent race on the tour in Las Vegas with a first-round exit, Prock felt that competing in that format in back-to-back races helped him gradually figure out the puzzle presented by these events.

“It felt like I came into Vegas with a better mindset of how to handle it, and then having them back-to-back, you are just much more comfortable coming into this second four-wide,” Prock said. “Now that I am comfortable on the four-wide, it is going to feel odd going back to two-wide. It is all as hard as you make it.”

Prock was quickest in all three of his sessions on Sunday, advancing in round one with a 3.686 at 331.53 mph alongside Justin Ashley in a win over Mike Salinas and Jacob McNeal. In round two, it was again easy sailing for the eventual winner with a 3.715 at 328.78 mph to advance alongside Leah Pruett (3.753) in eliminating Pat Dakin and Justin Ashley. In the other semifinal quad, it was Hart with a 3.706 leading the way alongside Torrence (3.705) in a win over Doug Foley and Brittany Force.

Ironically, in two of Prock’s three quads, he saw a driver go red, with Torrence’s final-round infraction throwing him off his game.

“I had two people red light against me today,” Prock said. “The first one I kept my composure and it was a lot closer. And then when Steve hit the gas, it startled me, but I kept my composure again. I heard him leave and was like, 'Oh, s***, am I late?’ I’m going down there and I see his header flame out of the corner of my eye so that caught my attention and I missed the win light.”

Prock’s win produced a nitro double for John Force Racing as Robert Hight also collected a Wally in the Funny Car category moments earlier. Prock's victory was the first for crew chief Chris Cunningham in a solo role with the team.

“It feels really good to get a win early in the season like this,” Prock said. “It sets us up to do our part at John Force Racing to get a handful of wins this year and keep up in points and give ourselves a really good chance at the championship. We’ve got another crew chief with Chris Cunningham and Joe Barlam; together I know they are going to do a good job. They have already proved that this year. We’ve had our ups and downs, but when it is on, it is on. It is a real fast racecar and a real fun racecar to drive.”

While Prock ended the 2022 season with plenty of success, taking two of the season’s final six races, he admits that he has been struggling mentally on the track this year. While he had a runner-up finish in Pomona, he hadn’t advanced past the second round in the other races until Sunday. And that win has already helped boost his confidence for the rest of the year.

“I honestly don’t feel like I’ve been that confident,” Prock admitted. “I feel like I found that again this weekend. I haven’t been really happy with my driving ability that I’ve shown this year. This weekend, I was much more proud of myself. I’m pretty hard on myself. All of us out here want to be the greatest driver in our category. I’ve been up there trying to push myself so hard instead of just going up there and doing what I know to do.

“Losing is one thing, but if you lose on the driver's end it really hurts. I was happy with how this weekend went. Hopefully it can continue.”