NHRA AT BRISTOL: Team Chevy Race Report

CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2024 SUPER GRIP NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL DRAGWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT | NOTES & QUOTES
JUNE 9, 2024

CHEVROLET CAPTURES FUNNY CAR AND FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN VICTORIES IN TODAY’S THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS AT BRISTOL DRAGWAY

Austin Prock Completes the Perfect Weekend for Chevrolet by Qualifying No. 1, Winning the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and the Thunder Valley Nationals Wally

Notes:

Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, continued showcasing his natural Funny Car driving ability by winning his second Wally trophy of the year and in the category at today’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway with a perfect weekend.
Prock collected not only the No. 1 qualifier on Saturday, but also won the Mission Foods NHRA #2Fast2Tasty Challenge as well as Sunday’s main event, the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
Facing off against JR Todd, Prock won with his 3.989 seconds E.T. run at 312.42 mph to Todd’s 4.022 seconds E.T. at 313.66 mph.
Additionally, this is Prock’s second victory in four final round appearances this season.
Prock’s victory marks Chevrolet’s 163rd Funny Car victory in NHRA and the 83rd in the Camaro body.
Prock’s win at Bristol Sunday marks his sixth career NHRA win across the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories in eight final round appearances.
Prock also leaves Bristol Dragway the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader.
Despite qualifying No. 15 for Sunday’s Thunder Valley Nationals, Brittany Force and her Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel Team powered to her 38th career semifinal round and showcased rebounding momentum.
John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, raced to the semifinal round on a strong Sunday performance, falling to JR Todd with his run of 4.060 seconds E.T at 314.83 mph to Todd’s 4.012 seconds E.T. at 311.34 mph.
In today’s Thunder Valley Nationals, all three John Force Racing nitro hot rods raced to at least the semifinal round at Bristol Dragway.
Prock continued his Funny Car roll by qualifying No. 1 at Bristol with a 3.958 seconds E.T. at 317.34 mph in Q1 Friday and maintaining the lead position throughout four rounds of qualifying.
Prock’s No. 1 qualifier is his third in a row, adding to his two previous at the New England Nationals in Epping and the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Dragway.
Additionally, with his Q4 run versus owner and teammate J. Force, Prock picked up the Mission Foods NHRA #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win with his run of 4.049 seconds E.T. at 312.57 mph to Force’s 4.033 seconds E.T. at 315.27 mph.
Prock’s #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win was his third of the year, awarding both bonus money and bonus points toward the championship standings to the winner. John Force Racing together have won four #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories, with Prock winning three (Pomona – tied with JR Todd, Las Vegas, Bristol) and J. Force winning one (Epping).
Jeg Coughlin, Jr. raced his way to the Thunder Valley Nationals victory in Pro Stock, defeating Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car, after Anderson faced trouble on the run and Coughlin, Jr. ran 6.707 seconds E.T. at 204.94 mph.
Anderson earned his 126th career No. 1 qualifier by running 6.615 seconds E.T. at 205.38 mph for Chevrolet in his HendrickCars.com Camaro SS Pro Stock car.
In an all-Chevrolet final round, David Janac and Stephen Bell squared off in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown category with Bell smoking the tires and Janac racing to his first career victory in just his third career final round appearance.
The Bowtie brand additionally had four Chevrolet COPO Camaro FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown drivers face off in an all-Chevrolet semifinal, with Janac and Bell advancing to the final round.
Lee Hartman, in his Hartman Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro, captured the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 Qualifier, back-to-back fastest nods, with his run of 7.897 seconds E.T. at 174.21 mph.

Quotes:

BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:

“This Monster Energy Chevrolet team is leaving Bristol in a very positive state. We made significant improvements throughout the weekend. Qualifying was rough as we qualified 15th, but on race day, we turned the car around and made a semi-final round appearance. Going rounds on race day boosted the overall morale of the team, which we really needed. We got that confidence boost, and now we’re pumped and excited, ready to go to the next one.”

AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:

“I’ve been working towards this my whole life. I’m so blessed to have this opportunity. I mean, John Force taking a risk on me, and all these partners, great partners of ours that believed in me, that gave me a shot to win my dream. This is surreal. Winning these Wallys is the best feeling in the world. I hope we get many more, and man, this has been a great year. Good job to my Cornwell Tools Chevrolet team.”

ON QUALIFYING NO. 1 AND RACING AGAINST HIS TEAM OWNER AND TEAMMATE, JOHN FORCE:

“John (Force), he’s done a lot for me in my career, and I definitely want to show him I’m capable of winning. If you can beat that guy, you’re getting the job done. He’s one of the toughest competitors out here and I love racing him. Man, you should have seen us back in the staging lanes. We were grinning ear to ear, duking it out again. He was talking a little smack, and I was just laughing. I’ve been saying we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year long – making smart decisions and I’ve got to drive well. We’ve been doing a good job of that again this weekend. I’m super proud of this Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro team.”

JOHN FORCE, DRIVER OF THE PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:

“Coming off of the weekend we had last week, winner and runner-up, the whole world seems perfect. We love Bristol; have had a lot of success here. We did deliver because all of our sponsors, Flav-R-Pac, Cornwell Tools, Chevrolet, Peak, HendrickCars.com, and Monster. We did our job. But yet, I lost in the semis, and I had a car that, if you look at the numbers, I didn’t get the job done. I’m mad about that myself. I want to give credit to my crew chief, Daniel Hood, and Chris Cunningham and Tim Fabrisi. Looking at the numbers, backing them out, I went deep. It looks like I left on him, but actually I was deep. I’m not telling anybody that understands racing what’s going on, but this is how I make myself better. I beat myself up when things are wrong, because if I’m going to compete with these kids for a title, I got to get back in this fight. (Austin) Prock doubled up with the #2Fast2Tasty and the Wally.

“But I love driving, and I love winning, and I’ve got a car that can compete. I’ve got to get myself together. I got to the semis, should have been to the finals. All I had to do was be a little bit better on that light, and I wasn’t. Even though it shows it in the numbers, that’s because I rolled deep. I’m just honest about it.”

DAVID JANAC, DRIVER OF THE JANAC BROS. CHEVROLET COPO CAMARO FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN CAR:

“I don’t have words to describe it. This is a dream that started in the 1970s, and it came to fruition today. My wife, my brother, and all of the Stanfields and all the guys that work with Stanfields, everybody, it’s beyond words. It’s extremely special.”

Up Next:

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series next heads to Virginia Motorsports Park for the 2024 NHRA Virginia Nationals June 21-23, 2024. Friday qualifying airs Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, with Saturday’s qualifying sessions airing Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Sunday’s eliminations broadcast at 5 p.m. ET. All sessions from Virginia Motorsports Park air with NHRA on FOX on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

AUSTIN PROCK, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car – Thunder Valley Nationals Winner’s Press Conference:

YOU’RE NOW A TWO-TIME FUNNY CAR WINNER. TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY…

“It was outstanding. The whole weekend was unbelievable. We swept the whole deal, and that’s just… all the kudos to this team. My dad (Jimmy Prock), Thomas (Prock), Nate Hildal, are just animals. They analyze this racetrack like it’s the back of their hand and made just such great decisions. This team just puts the Chevrolet together perfectly with these Cornwell Tools. I just get to stand on the gas on time and hang on and they do the rest. Great weekend, really proud. Five finals and two wins, this second one tastes good.”

YOU’VE RACED JR TODD THREE TIMES, WHOEVER WINS BETWEEN YOU TWO WINS THE RACE, WHETHER IT’S FINAL ROUNDS OR EARLIER IN THE DAY…

“That sounds good to me. We love turning win lights on against anybody. Everybody we raced today is a tough opponent. You can’t take any of them lightly. We got the job done. This place is really, really difficult to win at. It’s a tricky track for the tuners, and a very difficult course for the driver. A lot of bumps and the car wants to move inside, outside, you can feel the front end off the ground. To get it done here, you should be proud of that.”

COMPLETING THE PERFECT WEEKEND OF NO. 1 QUALIFIER, WINNING THE #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE, AND THE RACE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY…

“Outstanding job by my team this weekend. Every time we went up there, the thing was a car to contend with. We ended up sweeping it. Super proud of that. None of these guys are easy anymore. They’re so tough, and we ended up getting it done. We had to race Matt Hagan in the semifinals, and he’s absolutely brutal. You’ve got to bring you’re a-game. My dad (Jimmy Prock) and Dickie Venables, they always try to one-up each other. They’re always going out there dropping bombs on each other and we were victorious this time, then ended up racing JR (Todd). You never know with that DHL car. It can throw some serious punches and JR (Todd) is definitely one of the best on the starting line. Ended up getting by him and walking out of here with some gold. Super proud of that.”

WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

“The Funny Car all day long. The Funny Car is such a challenge to drive. You’ve got the same amount of horsepower, and you’re missing 175 inches of wheelbase. That’s insane. This thing is rowdy. Every track you go to, they’re handling totally different. You feel every nuance in the racetrack, whether you’re pulling inside, outside, hitting bumps. So you definitely have got to be on the wheel all day. Every time you get in this thing, as you as you think you have it figured out, you don’t. I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes, but we’ve been able to get it done when it counts. It’s been a great year. I’m really living my dream. I really wanted to drive one of these Funny Cars my entire life. My grandfather drove them back in the 70’s, and he is so happy seeing us all work together and be behind the wheel. I think it’s making him young again. I can’t wait to get out of here and give him a ring.”

JUMPING FROM TOP FUEL TO FUNNY CAR, DID YOU THINK YOU’D BE THIS HOT THIS QUICK?

“I knew the car would be. I didn’t really know what I was getting into to be honest. I hadn’t driven one in six years. I ended up licensing in a nitro Funny Car first before the Top Fuel car, and it was a lot of thinking, a lot of nerves, a lot of pressure coming into this season. I had four weeks to stew on it, had no idea I’d be driving this thing. I was just telling myself you’ve got to believe in yourself, and you need to be there because I know the racecar is going to be there. I’ve watched my dad my entire life, I’ve watched this team for a very long time and I know the potential of it. There was no way I was going to be the weak link. I’ve been studying, I’ve been doing my homework, I’ve been more focused than I ever have been and more comfortable in this racecar. I don’t know if it’s meant to be in a Funny Car or if it’s because my dad (Jimmy Prock) knocks on the hood and walks off. I think that definitely gives me a boost of confidence.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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