The scenery changed for Austin Prock, but the Funny Car result didn’t.
Prock, driving the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS for John Force Racing, won for the second consecutive weekend when he captured the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Sunday in Norwalk, Ohio.
Prock, the reigning nitro Funny Car champion, clocked a 4.064-second elapsed time at 318.54 mph to edge Matt Hagan’s 4.099, 309.42 in the finals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
“It was definitely special. The energy was definitely in a better place this year. Last year, I probably shouldn’t even have been behind the wheel. Some of those runs, my mental state was not in the best capacity, but we still had a fast hot rod and ended up coming short to (Bob) Tasca in the semis last year,” Prock said. “But to get it done with the Force family back in the house, that was a big deal. Last weekend was huge, and this weekend was really big for the Force family and really big for Cornwell Tools … winning in their backyard, sending the trophy home with them. I delivered the championship trophy to them this weekend. To send them home with two pieces of hardware definitely makes me feel good.”
Prock claimed his 16th career Wally – 12th in nitro Funny Car to go with four Top Fuel victories. It was Prock’s first career win in Norwalk.
“Anytime you can hold a trophy at the end of the day, it’s the same gratification. Everyone puts so much effort into this away from the racetrack, at the racetrack, especially in conditions like this where it’s hot,” Prock said. “These guys are dying out there bolting this race car together eight times over a weekend. So yeah, they all taste the same. It’s a feeling … You never know when you’re going to get another one, and you never want to lose that taste, and we’ve been doing a good job of not losing it.”
Prock, the No. 2 qualifier at 3.900, 331.28, ousted Dale Creasy Jr., Bob Tasca III, and Ron Capps before knocking off Hagan.
Prock improved his elimination-round record for the year to 20-6, with six final-round appearances in 10 races. He leads the season points standings with 838 points. His JFR teammate Jack Beckman (711) and Paul Lee (646) are second and third, respectively.
The latest victory by Prock was a major conquest because of the hot weather conditions.
“I feel like this race team does a really good job of staying in our lane, making the calls that we need to make for the racetrack that’s provided. I try and treat each run like a test session, just go up there and race myself and do the best of my ability,” Prock said. “When you start thinking about who’s in the other lane and having to step up, I feel like I don’t perform at the level that I am capable of. I feel like just racing ourselves is the best way to go at it, and it’s been working for a year and a half.”
This season, Prock has wins at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., and Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va.
Prock made the switch from Top Fuel to Funny Car in 2024 when Robert Hight was sidelined for medical reasons. Despite being a rookie in nitro “floppers,” Prock won a class-best eight national events. His final win of the season came at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas on Nov. 3. He has won 12 of the last 30 national events, which is a stellar 40 percent clip.
“Yeah, stats like that definitely make you grin, but it just says a lot about the team behind me,” Prock said. “This race car has been phenomenal ever since I sat in it, and it’s given me a great opportunity to learn behind the wheel and get a lot of stabs at the throttle and getting in those pressure situations. So, it’s definitely shortened my learning curve. I’m really proud to drive this Cornwell Tools machine.”
Prock acknowledged that having John Force, a 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion and the sport’s winningest driver of all time, behind his car at the starting line is special for him.
“He’s always stood behind my race car. Even when he was driving, he’d get out at the top end and smoke it back up there if I was the pair behind him to watch this race car go down the track,” Prock said. “It’s great having him back at the racetrack and seeing him walk out front of my race car every time I’m bolted into it. That’s obviously new, giving me a fist bump or just kind of gassing me up, giving me a little pep talk before the round. It’s something that I greatly appreciate, but my whole career I’ve got to drive for John Force. It’s been badass since Day 1.”
