BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 12, 2019) — Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Top Fuel team are heading to the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway with a renewed sense of determination coming off a career best weekend for the rookie of the year candidate.
At the recent NHRA Heartland Nationals, Prock secured his highest qualifying start of the season when he landed the No. 3 spot off a solid 3.783-second pass at 315.42 mph. During eliminations, Prock ran his Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster past Cameron Ferre in the first round to make his fifth quarterfinal appearance where he faced teammate Brittany Force for the second time this season. He took the win to head to his first semifinals in his professional drag racing career. The third round appearance moved him up to ninth in the NHRA Mello Yello points standings.
“This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is just coming off our best result of the season. We finished in the semis and I’m really looking forward to continuing to get better and better into the next race and the rest of the season,” said Prock. “We’ve made improvements each weekend and everyone is working great together. Mike Green and Ronnie Thompson are really working their magic.”
The Rookie of the Year candidate has yet to race down Bristol Dragway but he’ll be competing to become the third John Force Racing driver to win at the facility behind team owner, John Force and company president, Robert Hight.
“I’m pumped for Bristol. I think it’s going to be a good race weekend for us after what we accomplished last weekend,” said Prock. “I’m hoping we can make it some rounds on race day and I’m hoping for a golden Father’s Day present for my old man.”
Qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begins Friday with nitro session at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nitro qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eliminations start at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Check out coverage on FS1 Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET, and conclude with Finals coverage Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.