Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 8, 2025) – Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools team are well aware that the points battle for the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car championship tightened dramatically two weeks ago at St. Louis but their season-long mindset of winning every round hasn’t changed an iota as they roll into the Texas Motorplex for the Oct. 8-12 NHRA Texas Fall Nationals.
The Prock Rocket stumbled in their second-round exit against John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman at World Wide Technology Raceway, but the reigning NHRA Funny Car Champion took advantage of the off week to both relax and refocus after three consecutive weekends of racing.
With three races remaining, Prock leads Matt Hagan by 20 points and Beckman by 65. Ron Capps is 125 points in arrears in fourth and Daniel Wilkerson is 137 back. The balance of the Top 10 are Paul Lee (-158), Cruz Pedregon (-162), Spencer Hyde (-196), Alexis Dejoria (-200) and Chad Green (-202).
Notes
- Despite Texas Motor Speedway being one of the few tracks he hasn’t yet gone to the winner’s circle, Prock qualified No. 1 and finished runner-up in 2022 (Top Fuel) and qualified No. 1 again last year (Funny Car).
- The 2024 Funny Car Champion will participate in the Oct. 9 NHRA FanFest at Railyard Park in downtown Waxahachie, Texas, where fans can meet and get autographs from all the top stars in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The event is from 7-8:30 p.m. and Railyard Park is 455 S. College Street.
- Cornwell Tools has aligned with Susan G. Komen for Breast Cancer Awareness during the month of October. They are donating 5% of sales this month, with a guaranteed minimum of $20,000. Additionally, your car will have special logos on the hood and sides for Dallas and Las Vegas (below).
Quotes
What are your thoughts on the intensity level going into going into the Texas Motorplex weekend with a 20-point lead on Matt Hagan and 65 on Jack Beckman?
“The stakes are a little bit high right now with everybody tightened up but going in there and not thinking about it will probably be the best mindset to be in. Just go in there and execute and do as good as you can and hope that it’s good enough. Our Cornwell Tools race car is running really good right now. It sucked to stumble the last race and let everything get tightened up but it very much can go the other way in Dallas. We could go out early, or we could go and win the event, so we just need to go in there and focus on doing the best of our ability and, hopefully, turn on four win lights on Sunday. Regardless of how anything goes, if we do that, we’re at least going to leave there with a 40-point lead. I think that needs to be our mindset, to just go up there and do the best of our abilities. Everything’s already written you know it. It’s going to work out how it’s going to work out and, for as well as we’ve done all year, I really want it to be us, and I think it can be.”
At this point in the championship chase, do you start thinking about who you are racing in the next lane?
“I definitely think it’s in everybody’s head. It’s in our competitors’, as well, because every round really does count. I think you know you’re going to want to race your closest competitors early, and I believe that if we do, we can take him out but it’s going to take the whole package. I’m going to have to be on my game and I know how hungry he is to run us down and you know we’re hungry, too.
“I want to make sure I’m in the best shape I can possibly be in, the best mindset, and when I do, I typically drive lights out. It’s good enough to beat our competitor so that’s going to be the mindset: be ready, be in the possible shape, clearest mind and see how it all shakes out.”
Talk about racing at the Texas Motorplex during its 40th anniversary celebration.
“We love we love going to Dallas. Billy Meyer and his family work incredibly hard to put this event on and they do a really good job of it. I think it’s really cool what they’re doing and it’s cool that they work together as a family as well. The Texas Motorplex has one of the nicest surfaces we race on. Growing up in the sport, you hear of the early days of my grandfather and some of the pioneers of the sport going there so it’s cool for me to get to go there a few generations later. So, the history of the place and still being able to race there is really cool. I’ve had some success there and have gone to the final round, but we haven’t won. We had a really good car there last year and had an internal mistake that kept us from going further in the day. I’ve set low qualifier there in Top Fuel and Funny Car. I always enjoy going there and the fact that it’s right in the middle of the Countdown, you can make or break yourself. It’s always exciting so, hopefully, we can roll into Vegas with an extended point.”
Texas Motorplex Statistics
| Year | Race Result | Qualified | Round Record |
| 2019 (TF) | Semi-finals | 7th | 2-1 |
| 2020 (TF) | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete |
| 2021 | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete | Did Not Compete |
| 2022 (TF) | Runner-up | 1st | 5-2 |
| 2023 (TF) | 1st round | 8th | 5-3 |
| 2024 (FC) | Semi-finals | 1st | 7-4 |
Quickest time: 3.813 seconds, Oct. 11, 2024
Fastest speed: 333.09 mph, Oct. 11, 2024
Number starts: 4
Times No. 1 qualifier: 2 (2022-TF, 2024-FC)
Final rounds: 1
Victories: 0
Won-Lost Record: 7-4
Track records – 3.813 seconds by Austin Prock, Oct. 11, 2024; 338.60 mph by Robert Hight, Oct. 15, 2017.
Track & TV Schedules
NHRA Mission Food Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds Friday, Oct. 10, at 5:15 and 8 p.m. CT, and the final two rounds on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 12 and 2:30 p.m. CT. Final eliminations are scheduled on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. CT.
Television coverage on Sunday, Oct. 12, includes qualifying action on FS1 from 10 a.m. – noon ET and then eliminations coverage on FOX from 2-4 p.m. ET and 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET.
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