Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
BRAINERD, MINN. (Aug. 15, 2025) – John Force Racing’s Austin Prock and Jack Beckman are atop the Funny Car leaderboard and Top Fuel driver Brittany Force sits fifth after the first day of qualifying for the NHRA Mission Foods Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway
All three of John Force Racing’s teams took advantage of better track conditions during Friday’s second round of qualifying to improve on their positions after the first round. Prock’s lap of 3.893 seconds at 331.45 mph in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS earned the No. 1 spot with Beckman a close second after a run of 3.907 seconds at 323.66 mph in the Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS. Force is fifth in the Top Fuel class after an evening run of 3.766 seconds at 332.10 mph in the Monster Energy Top Fuel entry.
Prock’s No. 1 status on Friday earned him the American Rebel Light ‘Friday Night Battle for the Rebel Axe’. The Rebel Axe trophy is a fully functional electric cigar box guitar, custom-built in the shape of a 12-pack of American Rebel Light Beer and branded with sponsor and event logos. The trophy also comes with a $4,000 bonus.
Quote from Austin Prock, driver of the John Force Racing Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“On both runs today my steering wheel straight was pretty good to the left, so I had my hands full a little bit there, but it got down there. It felt a little free down track. I know Matt Hagan spun way down track and I wanted to be prepared for that, but it still ran 331 miles an hour so couldn’t have been slipping too bad.
“The conditions are going to be different every day this week. I think the track temperature was about 105 when we ran this evening but Sunday morning, when it counts, the track’s probably going to be in the mid 80s to low 90s so that’s a big setup adjustment. So, to get down there today gives us a lot of confidence. To win these races and win these championships, you’ve got to be able to go down all conditions of race tracks. We have a pretty good notebook right now and my dad, brother, and Nate Hildah are doing an outstanding job with this race car so I have all the confidence in the world.”
Quote from Jack Beckman, driver of the John Force Racing Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
After smoking the tires in the first run, I think that was a perfect adjustment by the Peak squad. It went 3.90 (seconds) and put a cylinder out before the finish line … it was actually going to be a little bit quicker. We then watched our teammate eclipse us by a hundredth of a second, but we’re one and two for qualifying.
“I think the racetrack might even be a little bit cooler tomorrow. We may have more room to improve and then Sunday’s going to be a free-for-all. With the forecast right now, Sunday’s going to be cool and overcast, and that’s going to be home run weather. But, tomorrow we’ll just look for bonus points. It’s our goal right now to get back into second place in points before we go into eliminations Sunday, and we just made up two of those right there.”
Quote from Brittany Force, driver of the John Force Racing Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster:
“We were looking for our Monster Energy dragster to go a little better than that … anywhere between a 72 and a 74 but we ran 76. We want to be the No. 1 qualifier for this event. We’re currently qualified fifth and this second run will help us be better prepared for tomorrow’s qualifying runs though we don’t know how the weather will be.”
Track & TV Schedules
Saturday’s nitro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CT. Sunday’s eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m. CT
Saturday’s qualifying show will air Saturday, Aug. 16, from 7-8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Sunday’s eliminations rounds will air Sunday, Aug. 17, from 3-6 p.m. ET on FOX.
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