Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
ENNIS, Texas (OCT. 12, 2025) – The freight train that is Austin Prock and John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team continued its tear down the championship tracks with an overpowering win in the NHRA Mission Foods Texas Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.
Brittany Force was quick, fast and consistent in all four qualifying sessions and two rounds of competition before a mechanical issue with the Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster in the semifinals during the burnout procedure shut off the engine and prevented her from competing further. Jack Beckman and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS Funny Car team easily handled its Round 1 competition but fell in Round 2.
The 2024 NHRA Funny Car Champion picked up his ninth win of the season, earning his first winner’s cowboy hat from the facility celebrating its 40th year of NHRA competition, with a lap of 3.959 seconds at 328.30 mph over Ron Capps, who ran 4.405 seconds at 199.80 mph after his parachute deployed shortly after leaving the starting line. Prock entered the weekend just 20 points ahead of second-place Matt Hagan but leaves 112 to the good with the victory and Hagan’s first-round departure.
“I said Friday night (after setting low ET in qualifying) we’re going to be counting wins, and we went out there and won,” said Prock. “All our cards fell right today, and we were able to extend our point lead so that definitely feels really good. You know, I’m really proud of this Cornwell Tools team. We stumbled in Q1 when the track was a little green and they regrouped. The track got better throughout the weekend, and so did our race car. We were low ET every time we went down the track after Q1 and that’s an OG Jim Prock move right there: you go and just take it all.”
The 2024 Funny Car Champion had a typically strong Prock Rocket run to the final round. He ran low ET of the weekend in Round 1 against Blake Alexander (3.867 seconds at 335.70 mph) and took care of Spencer Hyde in Round 2 with a run of 3.939 seconds at 329.48 mph. The 17-time Funny Car winner gave up the holeshot to Chad Green in the semifinals but quickly got past, running 3.963 seconds at 328.63 mph to Green’s 4.068/308.09.
“I’m really proud to drive this Cornwell Tools Chevrolet for John Force Racing,” said Prock. “It’s one hell of an opportunity to turn on win lights and bring home race wins and extend the point lead on top of it. You can’t ask for much more.
“It was a really cool weekend. I’m so proud of this team and my dad and brother and Nate Hildahl, they do just such a good job. We weren’t just low ET, we were low ET by a lot, which definitely makes you feel good. It gives you some confidence behind the wheel, and to put it all together and then put on a Texas Motorplex cowboy hat at the end of the day feels damn good.”
In Round 1, Force ran her second 340-mph run of the weekend (340.14 mph) and 12th of the year, and her elapsed time, 3.729 seconds, was more than enough to defeat Tony Schumacher and move on to the second-round matchup against Justin Ashley.
Ashley got the holeshot, but only by 0.005-of-a-second (0.045 to 0.050), and the Monster Energy dragster ran 3.828 seconds at 332.79 mph to Ashley’s 3.943/292.85. The round-win set up the semifinals pairing against Steve Torrence.
Force again had lane choice in the semifinals but the engine clicked off at the conclusion of the burnout and her day was done.
“We had a mechanical issue and the engine shut off,” said Force. “That was a really difficult one for this Monster Energy team. “We were running well all weekend. We qualified sixth, which was great for us and had four solid qualifying runs down the track. I was on my reaction times and we were on point. Our car’s been on point all day. But, for whatever reason, I believe that we weren’t meant to make the run. I always believe that there’s a bigger power happening. We weren’t supposed to make that run, and I stand by that. We know what was wrong and we know how to fix it so it won’t happen again.”
Beckman, who qualified third, took on No. 14 qualifier Dave Richards in Round 1, with the PEAK SQUAD running 3.911 seconds at 330.57 mph to Richard’s 4.046 at 318.72. The 2012 Funny Car Champion earned lane choice for the second-round matchup against Daniel Wilkerson, but his 3.993-second run at 323.14 mph was not enough to get by Wilkerson’s 3.944/327.46 run.
“Wilkerson laid one down against us,” said Beckman. “In a situation like that, you go over and shake his hand. They got about all there was in that racetrack there. The PEAK Chevy stuck the tire and didn’t run nearly as quick as we wanted it to, but it was going to be hard to outrun him. Dan outdrove me, as well, on that one. So, there are eight rounds of racing left. We can’t control what Austin does but we’re within a round of second place right now. I think when you have a car good enough to win the race, our goal is the same: to go out and win the next race.”
The Top 10 in Top Fuel after four of six races in the 2025 NHRA Countdown to the Championship are: 1. Doug Kalitta (2,525); 2. Justin Ashley (2,384); 3. Shawn Langdon (2,366), 4. Steve Torrence (2,297); 5. Brittany Force (2,291); 6. Tony Stewart (2,289); 7. Clay Millikan (2,279); 8. Shawn Reed (2,255); 9. Antron Brown (2,242), 10. Josh Hart (2,152).
The Top 10 in Funny Car after four of six races in the 2025 NHRA Countdown to the Championship are: 1. Austin Prock (2,485); 2. Matt Hagan (2,373); 3. Jack Beckman (2,354); 4. Ron Capps (2,336); 5. Daniel Wilkerson (2,296); 6. Paul Lee (2,257); 7. Cruz Pedregon (2,252); 8. Chad Green (2,236); 9. Spencer Hyde (2,217); 10. Alexis Dejoria (2,195).
Round 19 of 20 of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is the Oct. 30 – Nov. 2 NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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