Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 11, 2025) – The Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car was a 12,000-horsepower bucking bronco for 2025 NHRA Funny Car point leader Austin Prock but the 3.876-second ride he took under the lights down the Texas Motorplex drag strip was low elapsed time of Friday’s night qualifying session, making him the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the NHRA Mission Foods NHRA Texas Fall Nationals.
The reigning Funny Car Champion earned his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the $15,000 Battle for the Saddle bonus with the run that clicked the lights at 336.07 mph. His John Force Racing Funny Car teammate Jack Beckman drove the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS to the No. 3 spot with a Friday night qualifying run of 3.892 seconds at 330.83 mph. Both drivers shut off early in their Q1 runs after spinning the tires.
Brittany Force wheeled her Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster to a sixth-place run of 3.703 seconds, but it was her speed that brought the full grandstands of Texas drag racing fans to their feet. The run of 340.57 mph run was her 11th 340-mph run of the 2025 season and the first ever at the Texas Motorplex which is celebrating its 40th season of NHRA competition. The run backed up her Q1 run of 3.874 seconds at 329.79 mph.
The final two rounds of qualifying are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, at 12 and 2:30 p.m. CT. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10 a.m. C.T. on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Quote from Austin Prock, Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“It’s a little nerve-racking on a Friday night, especially when you spun the tires early in the first run, so you’re a little bit gun-shy, don’t really know what the track can hold, and you’ve got to go up there and make a lot of horsepower to run a quick ET. It’s a fine balance, but I have all the faith in my Cornwell Tools team. These guys are very intelligent, very sharp, so you just have to believe in your runbook and try to make smart decisions. They did exactly that and we’re walking home with the $15,000 low qualifier bonus.
“The points tightened up with Hagan and Beckman after St. Louis but that’s exactly what NHRA wants. We had a huge lead, 280 points, and they took it all away (for the playoffs) to tighten everyone up to put on a great show for the fans. We’re in the competition business, but we’re also entertainers and we’re definitely making it exciting … whoever wins the most in these last three races. I’m not even counting points at this point. We just have to go out there to try to win the next three races. If we do that, we’ll be back-to-back world champions and that’s got a nice ring to it.”
Quotes from Jack Beckman, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS Funny Car:
“I think the hallmark of the PEAK team last year, and certainly the first half dozen races this year, is we were top three virtually every qualifying run. A lot of those were far from what we wanted it to run, or perfect runs, which meant we had such a wide tune-up window that even when we missed it, we still ran good. We were trying to run low ET that second session. It didn’t wear the amount of clutch we predicted it would, and when it does that, it slows the entire clutch application down to try to compensate. So, all that does is make the car run a little bit slower. To have that happen and still be the third-quickest car out there makes me feel great. Now, we’re not going to see those conditions again this weekend. Unless you get a cold front or clouds cover the track, that was the hero run so it’s time to move on. Tomorrow, we have a chance for six qualifying points, three each session. And the fact that Austin (Prock) has already put a couple more points on us, that’s a big deal. So, tomorrow we’re running for three points each session.”
Quote from Brittany Force, Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster:
“We’ve run 340 before but we’d never done it here at the Texas Motorplex. This is for the fans; this is for the Meyer family and I’m excited to be here. We had two good runs down the track today so I’m very excited for the Monster Energy team.”
TV Schedule
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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