JOLIET, IL – Having demonstrated his mastery of four-wide racing with back-to-back victories at Las Vegas and Charlotte, Austin Prock narrows his field of vision this week as the Mission Foods tour returns to traditional two-by-two competition in the 25th renewal of the NHRA Route 66 Nationals.

The reigning series champion and current point leader, Prock hopes to reverse his fortunes at Route 66 Raceway where he and his 340 mile-an-hour Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS were ousted in the second round a year ago in an event in which boss and mentor John Force was runner-up.

Significantly, this is the only NHRA tour event in which the 29-year-old fourth generation racer has not reached the semifinals since first he slid into the seat of the car previously driven by three-time World Champion Robert Hight, who set the current track records (3.831 seconds, 335.07 miles per hour) the last time he drove here in 2023.

“Excited to get to Chicago,” Prock gushed. “It’s always great spending time with the people at PEAK and OWI (Old World Industries). It’s their home race.” Continue reading →

JOLIET, IL – Few drivers are happier than Jack Beckman to finally be exiting drag racing’s four-wide superhighway for a return to the traditional two-lane road on which this week’s 25th NHRA Route 66 Nationals will be contested.

After going zero-for-two in last month’s back-to-back four-wide events, the 58-year-old cancer survivor anticipates a return to form this week at Route 66 Raceway, a track on which he last raced in 2019 and last won in 2016.

“After two uncharacteristic first round losses, this race is one that can’t come soon enough for me,” said the 36-time pro tour winner and 2012 Funny Car World Champion.

Before four-wide events at Las Vegas and Charlotte, the 58-year-old driving instructor and drag racing historian was the Mission Foods point leader, had just won John Force Racing’s 300th Funny Car title and had established the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS as the tour’s most consistent nitro-burner. Continue reading →

Reigning Series Champion Beats Capps, Hagan, DeJoria in Charlotte Final

CHARLOTTE, NC – Austin Prock put his stamp on another piece of drag racing history Sunday when he drove the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS to victory in the 15th NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway, becoming the first driver in history to win four-wide races on the same track in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Two years ago, the 29-year-old phenom hoisted the Charlotte 4-Wide trophy in his final season at the wheel of a John Force Racing Top Fuel dragster. Now he has a matching Funny Car trophy thanks to a final round time of 3.870 seconds, the quickest of eliminations.

The reigning World Champion overpowered Ron Capps, Matt Hagan and Alexis DeJoria in the final quad to win his second four-wide trophy in three weeks. Sunday’s win comes on the heels of his April 13 victory at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the only other NHRA venue capable of accommodating four-wide competition.

“Any time you’re holding one of these Wallys (the NHRA winner’s trophy), it’s a great day,” proclaimed the jubilant winner. “The ‘Prock Rocket’ bailed me out there in the final (because) I had my worst light of the weekend (a still very respectable .073). Continue reading →

Prock Powers to Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge Victory at ZMax

CHARLOTTE, NC – Austin Prock used his starting line skill to get his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS to the finish line ahead of rookie Spencer Hyde in what otherwise would have been a dead heat Saturday to win the Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, a prelude to Sunday’s 15th NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

The runaway winner of last year’s 2Fast/2Tasty championship, Prock used a .058 of a second reaction time to keep Hyde’s Ford at bay in Saturday’s four-across final, winning by .033 of a second even though both cars stopped the timers in 3.949 seconds. Paul Lee and Matt Hagan were third and fourth, respectively.

“Last year we figured out how important these Mission Challenge points are and how many points you can actually earn,” Prock said. “I think we went into the Countdown with 24 points, almost two rounds of competition. So that felt really good. I really wanted to win today. I felt like we had a shot at doing it. I’ve been driving good all weekend and we were able to get the job done as a team.”

The reigning World Champion and NHRA top speed record holder (341.68 mph) will start Sunday’s feature from the No. 2 qualifying position after posting a best of 3.844 seconds at 336.49 miles per hour on Friday. Continue reading →

Prock Second, Beckman Fifth in First Day Qualifying at NHRA 4-Wide Nationals

CHARLOTTE, NC – Two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force recorded the fastest speed in drag racing history Friday, accelerating her HendrickCars.com Top Fuel dragster to 341.59 miles per hour on the second of her two first day qualifying runs for Sunday’s 15th NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

In becoming the first Top Fuel driver to break the 340-mph barrier, the 38-year-old eclipsed her own NHRA record of 338.94 mph which she set at the World Finals in Pomona back in 2022.

Nevertheless, despite those fireworks, the second youngest of Force’s drag racing daughters finished the first day in the provisional No. 3 qualifying position at 3.667 seconds, just a tick behind Shawn Langdon (3.665) and Doug Kalitta (3.646). She’ll have two more opportunities to improve her position on Saturday.

“We’re off to a great start,” beamed the 2016 Charlotte 4-Wide winner. “In Q2, this HendrickCars.com dragster went 3.667 and 341.59 mph. I didn’t know until I was mid-interview (with the FOX TV crew) at the top end that we ran that kind of mile per hour and it’s just something really exciting for every single one of these guys on this HendrickCars.com team. Continue reading →

CHARLOTTE, NC – “Fast Jack” Beckman, who came out of retirement last season to drive John Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS to a second-place points finish behind teammate Austin Prock, relishes the fact that he and his team are partnered this week with HendrickCars.com at the 15th NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

“Rick Hendrick is a high-performance man in every sense,” Beckman said of the CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group and founder of Hendrick Motorsports. “Whatever he does, it’s 100% and it’s successful. Partnering with him at ZMax is a racer’s dream.

“With Brittany’s dragster (and reigning NHRA Pro Stock Champion Greg Anderson’s Chevy) also sporting HendrickCars.com this week, there is a very realistic possibility of giving ‘Mr. H’ a triple win,” said the two-time World Champion and 36-time Funny Car tour winner. “Our PEAK Squad is definitely up for the challenge!

“I’m looking forward to sharing some stories with him,” Beckman said of the man whose NASCAR team has won a record 315 Cup races and 14 championships. “He’s had drag boats and has been involved in drag racing for many years. This stuff is in his DNA. What you ?nd out is, car people are car people. When you boil it down, we all are cut from the same cloth.” Continue reading →

CHARLOTTE, NC – Rick Hendrick has had tremendous success going in circles, but the NASCAR team owner actually developed his love for motorsports in drag racing, a discipline to which he returns to this weekend as primary partner on the national record-holding Top Fuel dragster in which Brittany Force will try to win the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history.

“We’re really excited to be partnered with HendrickCars.com again and flying their colors this weekend (in the 15th running of the original NHRA 4-Wide Nationals),” Force said of a relationship that began three years ago.

“Our team made history when we won the 900th NHRA Top Fuel race,” the two-time World Champion said of her 2019 win at Las Vegas, Nevada. “So winning this weekend and taking home the trophy from the 1000th race, especially at the Bellagio of dragstrips, ZMAX Dragway, would be a great milestone and a great highlight for the season.”

As for Hendrick, the chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group and founder of a NASCAR team that has won a record 315 Cup races and 14 championships, his interest in drag racing spans decades. Continue reading →

CHARLOTTE, NC – Since sliding into the seat of the Cornwell Tools/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS for the first time at the start of the 2024 season, Austin Prock has been on a record-setting binge he hopes to sustain this week when he competes in the 15th renewal of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

A victory two weeks ago at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first of the new season but his ninth in his last 22 NHRA starts, made the 29-year-old the first to win four-across in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.

This week, he’ll try to further enhance his resume by becoming the first to win in both categories at the same four-wide event, an achievement made possible by his 2023 Top Fuel victory in the Charlotte 4-Wide in his final season at the wheel of a John Force Racing dragster.

“Ready to get to Charlotte,” beamed the man who last year broke boss and mentor John Force’s 28-year-old single season record when he qualified his hot rod Chevy No. 1 at 15 of the 20 events in the NHRA’s Mission Foods Series. Continue reading →

Backs World Champions in All Three Pro Classes at 15th 4-Wide Nationals

BROWNSBURG, IN – As a result of a further expansion of its partnership with John Force Racing, HendrickCars.com will be the primary sponsor of drag racing World Champions in all three professional categories next week during the 15th renewal of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway.

Already the principal sponsor of six-time and reigning NHRA Pro Stock Champion Greg Anderson’s Chevrolet and, for the last two years, the Charlotte sponsor of two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force’s dragster, HendrickCars.com also will be the primary next week on the JFR Chevrolet SS driven by 2012 Funny Car World Champion “Fast Jack” Beckman.

In addition to taking a star turn at the Charlotte events, HendrickCars.com has a season-long presence with JFR as an associate sponsor on Beckman’s Chevy and as a major associate on Brittany’s dragster and the national record-holding Chevy of reigning Funny Car World Champion Austin Prock. Continue reading →

Reigning Series Champ Becomes First with Four-Wide Victories in Both Fuel Classes

LAS VEGAS, NV – Austin Prock put early season struggles behind him Sunday, re-establishing his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS as a dominant Funny Car and becoming the first driver in history to win four-wide events in the NHRA’s two signature categories.

The No. 2 qualifier in the west coast version of an event that originated at ZMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., 15 years ago, Prock posted the quickest time during eliminations at 3.964 seconds but slowed to 4.009 seconds in the final quad, reaching the stripe just ahead of No. 1 qualifier Paul Lee.

Although the reigning series champ characterized the win as “ugly,” he wasn’t about to give it back.

“This ‘Prock Rocket’ ain’t perfect yet,” he acknowledged. “But 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.” Continue reading →