Story By: JERRY BONKOWSKI / JOHN FORCE RACING – POMONA, CA – Austin Prock and the crew that this year made the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS the most feared Funny Car on the planet aren’t interested in the various scenarios through which they can clinch the NHRA Mission Foods Championship in this week’s season finale at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip.
They don’t care that the title likely is theirs as soon as the 29-year-old Funny Car rookie hits the gas in Q1 at the 59th In-N-Out Burger Finals.
To a man, they insist that their approach this week is the same as was nine months ago when they won the pre-season PRO Superstar Shootout in Florida; the same as it was two months ago when they won the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis; and the same as it was two weeks ago when they won the NHRA Nevada Nationals at Las Vegas.
“We’re not treating this race different than any other,” Prock insisted. “We want to go out there and run low E.T. every round and win every race.”
Total domination. That’s the goal, the kind of domination that Prock’s boss and mentor, John Force, managed to achieve on his way to winning 10 straight Funny Car Championships from 1993 through 2002.
“This team has done an outstanding job and they deserve this championship,” Prock said. “It’s been an honor to drive this Camaro and I’m proud to deliver a championship to Chevrolet.
“I always loved going to Southern California as a kid and I still feel that same way (today),” he said. “I had a lot of success here in Top Fuel (advancing to the final round in four of seven appearances with a win at the 2022 Finals), and maybe that will translate to the Funny Car. It’s been an amazing year, but there’s still work to do.”
Prock’s numbers this year have been remarkable: a single season record 14 No. 1 starts, 11 final rounds, eight wins and the quickest time during eliminations at 13 different events while posting the two quickest times since 2017 (3.814 at St. Louis and 3.813 at Dallas, both just off the national record of 3.793 seconds set by his predecessor, Robert Hight).
Although he was successful in his three seasons in Top Fuel, winning four times and finishing as high as third in points (2022), Prock’s passion always was to drive a Funny Car like his grandfather, Tom Prock, who was a standout during the match race era of the 1970s and early ‘80s.
“I loved running the Top Fuel car,” he said, “but Funny Car is where I belong. I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa and I’m loving every second of it. I love the challenge of these cars. I love sitting behind the engine. I love the body dropping. And to top it off, I’m doing it with my family (dad Jimmy is his crew chief and brother Thomas is one of the assistant crew chiefs along with Nate Hildahl).”
