Story By: SARA SLAUGHTER / JOHN FORCE RACING – LAS VEGAS, NV – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team, currently fourth in the points standings, will be looking to make up some ground at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Just the fourth race in the 2022 Camping World Drag Racing Series season, Force is only 78 points out of the lead heading to a track where she’s made history.
Force and the Monster Energy team have started 2022 off strong. At the season-opening Winternationals they secured the No. 1 qualifying position, the 33rd of Force’s career and 23rd in her last 47 starts. At the Arizona Nationals, Force and the Monster Energy team showed some consistency when they were quickest during the warmest run of qualifying. At a rain riddled Gatornationals, Force and her David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team won the first-round of the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout that also landed them the No. 2 qualifying position and marked the third fastest run in Top Fuel history.
At The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Force set the track records, a 3.652-second pass on November 3, 2019 and a 338.17 mph run, which is also the official NHRA national record, on November 1, 2019. In 2021, Force was the No. 1 qualifier at both the Four-Wide spring race and fall event. To this point, she is the only John Force Racing driver to have raced in a final quad at The Strip when she was runner-up to Mike Salinas in 2019. Her lone victory at Vegas came in the fall race in 2019 when she qualified No. 2 and then beat Steve Torrence in the final round.
“We’re back on the West Coast and excited to head to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Little bit of a change of pace with four-wide racing but the entire Monster Energy team and I are excited to get right into the groove during Friday qualifying. Glad to be back to four qualifying runs at the four-wide, it gives us the best opportunity for race day,” Force said. “David Grubnic and Mac Savage and this team have had success together at this track. We’ll be looking to build on that with a strong weekend for this team starting with qualifying Friday and going out on race day and winning this four-wide.”
PROCK LOOKS TO PUT ON A SHOW AT THE STRIP
Back in the seat after two years away, Austin Prock and his Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Top Fuel team are looking to gain some momentum at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The fourth event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule and the first of two races in the four-wide format, is only the third four-wide event of the young standout’s career.
Despite his two years away, Prock took the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster to the final round of the season-opening Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., and comes into this week’s race ninth in points but just 18 points out of fifth place. With two weeks since the NHRA Gatornationals and it’s heavy rain and cold conditions, Prock and his team have taken advantage of their time in the shop.
I’m looking forward to Vegas. It seems like it’s been months since I’ve been in the seat, so I’ve got a lot of excitement built up to get bolted back into this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster,” Prock said. “Although, the two-week break was nice to get caught back up. We’ve got all the parts and pieces to succeed.”
The last time Prock raced at Vegas was 2019 when he was ousted in the first round of four-wide racing after qualifying 12th in the spring and when he started 10th at the fall race before losing to teammate and eventual event winner Brittany Force in the second round.
“We’re going to try some different things this weekend so It would be great to get a good result to prove this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is heading in the right direction,” Prock said. “The Strip has always been one of my favorite tracks so to win there would be unbelievable. It being four-wide would even make it more special.”
Qualifying at the NHRA Four-Wide NHRA Nationals takes place Friday and Saturday with two sessions at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (PT) on each day. Eliminations are slated to begin at noon on Sunday. Racing action will be televised on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and begins with qualifying Friday at 7 p.m. ET and continues Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.