Austin Prock makes feelings known about the impact of John Force's presence after scripting NHRA history
NHRA Funny Car champion Austin Prock reflected upon the presence of John Force’s spirit in his team. Prock made his professional Funny Car debut with John Forde Racing in the 2024 NHRA Gatornationals.
Just recently, Prock snapped a four-race winless streak carried over from last year by winning the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on Sunday (April 13) at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Notably, it was his career’s 13th victory and ninth in Funny Car.
"This ‘Prock Rocket’ ain’t perfect," Prock told the reporters during a post-race interview, via John Force Racing. "It’s heading in the right direction and that’s what we need to be proud about right now. That was an ugly win but, like I said earlier this morning, if the win light keeps coming on, I don’t give a crap."
"I’m so proud of this JFR team. I just love having John Force out at the racetrack. It just gasses you up every time. He told me he was proud of me this week and that means a lot," he added.
Prock qualified second and, from there, pulled off the win in quad one at 285.53 miles per hour to beat fellow drivers Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps, and Jason Rupert. He backed his dominant run with another win in quad two at 322.88 miles per hour to defeat Dave Richards, Pedregon, and Spencer Hyde.
With that, Austin Prock became the 19th driver in NHRA history to win national events in Top Fuel and Funny Car. In 2019, he started his journey with JFR as a Top Fuel driver, and after running only 16 races with the team, he logged his career-first triumph.
A dual victory of 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force
Just the day before the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which Austin Prock won, John Force himself ran and won Saturday’s rain-delayed Winternationals. The event had been rescheduled from Pomona, California, to Phoenix, Arizona, after its final round was marred by rain about two weeks ago.
So for the drag racing legend, the victory was two-fold. Reflecting on the same, Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, said:
“Clinching the victory in Phoenix yesterday was thrilling. It’s still early in the season, but this win sets a positive tone we’re all proud of.
“Yet, we’re mindful of the fierce competition out there; we’ve got our work cut out for us. But still, it sure was a great weekend for John Force Racing,” he added.
John Force, now 75, primarily lives with his wife Laurie and children in Yorba Linda, California. His race team also happens to be based in Yorba Linda. Depending on his schedule, Force sometimes lives in Bell Gardens as well.