Photo Credit: Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
DALLAS, Texas (Oct. 8, 2024) – After a brief display of mortality two weeks ago when he was ousted in the semifinals of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Madison, Ill., Mission Foods point leader Austin Prock is anxious to re-establish the dominance that carried him and his AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS to seven wins and 12 No. 1 starts in the season’s first 17 races.
The 29-year-old enters this week’s 39th annual NHRA Texas Fall Nationals at Billy Meyer’s Texas Motorplex, the first all-concrete track on the pro tour, with a rock solid 105-point lead and a chance to tie a Funny Car record that for the last 27 years seemed not only secure but unapproachable.
He’ll begin the qualifying phase on Friday just one No. 1 start shy of tying the single season Funny Car record set by boss and mentor John Force when he was No. 1 at 13 of 19 races during a 1996 season in which he became the first drag racer ever recognized as Driver of the Year for all of American motor racing.
Nevertheless, while he is aware of his proximity to Force’s qualifying record and all of its historical implications, that is not the only source of motivation for the fourth-generation auto racer whose great grandfather raced in the Indy 500 and whose grandfather, Tom, was a touring Funny Car driver in the 1970s.
An eighth 2024 victory would tie him with Robert Hight, for whom he is subbing in the AAA Chevy, and Ron Capps for the most Funny Car wins in a single season since Force won 11 times in 2000. Moreover, a Funny Car victory at the ‘Plex would be the perfect complement to the Top Fuel title he earned in 2022 while driving the Montana Brand dragster with support from the late Frank Tiegs.
“A big weekend ahead with the Stampede of Speed,” Prock said. “Always love heading to Dallas with the Meyer family. They have a great facility for us racers and for the fans and we’re looking for a strong start to this last three-race dash to the end of the Countdown.”
Family is a recurring theme for Prock whose dad, Jimmy, is crew chief on the AAA Chevy and whose brother, Thomas, is second in command along with Nate Hildahl.
“I loved running the Top Fuel car,” said the 10-time pro tour winner, “but Funny Car is where I belong. I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa and I’m having an absolute blast. 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.”
He’s also doing it in a Chevy that bears the number 374 the NHRA assigned to his grandfather during the time he drove the “Detroit Tiger” and Custom Body Enterprise Funny Cars, among others.
With three races remaining, the last of them the In-N-Out Burger Finals in which racers earn one-and-a-half times the number of points of any other Countdown event, Prock’s biggest rival for the championship is the guy who occupies the pit spot immediately adjacent to his own – 2012 Funny Car World Champion Jack Beckman, who is driving the PEAK Chevrolet for the injured Force.
