While qualifying at the 59th annual In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip NHRA Finals, Funny Car’s Austin Prock clinched his first career world championship for John Force Racing.
Prock made the fastest run in NHRA history, driving his AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS at 341.68 mph during the first round of eliminations on Sunday at the 59th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona Dragstrip.
Prock reached 289.69 by 660 feet, and for the first time in NHRA history, any driver reached the 340-mph mark in an NHRA event.
“To run 3.80 last night in this Chevrolet Camaro and then back it up with 341 (mph), it just is a testament to how great this team is. Right when you think we’re done, we just keep one-upping everyone. It’s such a fun racecar to drive. I’m so proud of my family, so proud of this team. What a great opportunity. Yeah, I’m getting pretty comfortable in this Chevrolet. I saw the scoreboard the last two runs, and definitely catching up to this Funny Car. Definitely going to keep on getting better and better.” Prock said.
“How about that Chevrolet? That was awesome. It caught me off guard, honestly. We were just really trying to go from A to B. To go 341 mph and some change in a Chevrolet Camaro, that’s something to be proud of. I just can’t thank Chevrolet enough for everything they’ve done for us over the years. I’m proud to race for them.” Prock said.
Before Sunday, Prock made a track-record run of 3.804 seconds at 334.57 miles per hour for the No. 1 qualifier in his AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. This was the quickest run in Funny Car since 2017 and the fourth quickest in the class’s history. The Saturday qualifier is Prock’s 15th in 20 events, a record, and the 18th of his career.
“As a competitor, you always believe you can win and go out there and win championships. To go from losing a ride to understanding Robert (Hight) had to step out, and those were some unfortunate circumstances. But it was a dream come true for me. I never wanted it to happen that way, but always wanted to drive a Funny Car, always wanted to race with my family. Man, I got in this thing, and I just felt so comfortable, I felt at home. I knew the capability of this team. I’ve watched my dad (Jimmy Prock) my entire life, and man, this ‘Prock Rocket’ just flies. I knew if I could at least do a decent job, we could turn on some win lights, win some races. Things just went much better than that. This thing was on kill all year long. I think that there in the final, that was the third time it didn’t make it past the Christmas Tree after Bradenton. Outstanding weekend, outstanding year.” Prock said.
Prock has had an impressive and incredibly dominant first year in Funny Car. In His First Season Driving the Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, Prock Amassed Eight Victories and 12 final rounds in 20 races on his way to claiming the coveted title.
Previously, Prock raced in Top Fuel, won four times, and was the 2019 Rookie of the Year. He joined the John Force Racing Cornwell Tools Funny Car team with his father, Jimmy Prock, brother, Thomas Prock, and Nate Hildahl, serving as co-crew chiefs after three-time world champ Robert Hight was sidelined for medical reasons before the season began.
He won his first Funny Car race in Phoenix and then at Bristol, Richmond, and Seattle during the regular season. He also won the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals for the first time in his career and captured playoff wins in Reading and Charlotte.
At that point in the season, Prock had enjoyed 14 straight round wins and took a commanding lead down the stretch of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Prock followed with a victory in Las Vegas, a part of a John Force Racing double-up with Brittany Force.
The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins on March 6-9 with the NHRA Gatornationals at the legendary Gainesville Raceway.
