Point Leader Races to Quick Time, Track Record Speed of 340.90 MPH

SONOMA, CA – The vulnerability suggested by an erratic qualifying performance proved to be an illusion Sunday at Sonoma Raceway where Mission Foods point leader Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools crew put together a near flawless race day performance to win the 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

The 29-year-old son of crew chief Jimmy Prock took down Cruz Pedregon, Paul Lee and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan before outpacing Canadian rookie Spencer Hyde in the final to win for the first time in wine country and extend his point lead.

“This is huge with the crowd here all weekend long,” he said. “It was outstanding. I never realized how many fans I had here in Sonoma County. We struggled in qualifying and struggled in Seattle last weekend, so we had a lot of work to do.

“We had four different setups that we were trying throughout the weekend, and we finally came across something that showed a little potential.” Continue reading →

Beckman Starts Third, Prock Fifth in 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals

SONOMA, CA – Two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force followed a record-setting Friday night with a spectacular Saturday at Sonoma Raceway where she drove her Monster Energy dragster to victory in the Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge and secured the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Her John Force Racing teammates, Funny Car drivers Jack Beckman and Austin Prock, will start Sunday from the number three and number five positions, respectively, again assuring that, if they race one another, it will only be in the final round.

As he predicted, Beckman was back on form Saturday in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS in which he posted a best-of-the-day 3.876 at 333.16 mph, followed by a 3.905 at 326.56 mph. After misfiring on his first attempt (11.310 seconds at only 93.88 mph), Prock muscled the Cornwell Tools Chevy SS to a 3.908 at 332.59 mph on his final attempt. Continue reading →

Prock Fourth, Beckman Fifth After First Day of 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals

SONOMA, CA – On one of her favorite racetracks, in what always is one of the season’s most highly anticipated Friday night qualifying sessions, two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force unleashed the monster in her Monster Energy dragster, re-setting her own national speed record for the second consecutive week and claiming the provisional No. 1 starting position for Sunday’s 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

On a 70-degree racetrack with air temperatures in the 50s, the 39-year-old daughter of 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force stopped the timers in a track record 3.645 seconds at an NHRA national record 343.16 miles per hour, the fastest speed ever achieved in motor racing. Her speed at 660 feet was a jaw-dropping 304.94 mph.

“I have to credit (crew chiefs) David Grubnic and John Collins and the whole team,” Brittany said of the milestone. “I’m so proud of them. This is incredible. On that run, it actually moved around a little and I thought about taking my foot out of it for a second and then I said, ‘No, I can get it there.’ Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – On the home track of his friend, the late Eric Medlen, Mission Foods point leader Austin Prock aims to re-establish the dominance of his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS this weekend when he pursues the Funny Car Championship in the 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Bounced out of last week’s NHRA Northwest Nationals in the second round, bringing an end to a two-race win streak, the 29-year-old is anxious to get his national record-holding (341.68 mile per hour) Chevy back in competition.

“I’m ready to get going again,” he said. “Sonoma is one of my favorite tracks on tour. We had a good hot rod last year but came up short in semifinals, so I’d like to add my name to the list of winners in wine country.”

That list includes Medlen, who grew up in nearby Oakdale, Calif., and who won the 2006 Sonoma Nationals just eight months before he lost his life in a testing accident in Gainesville, Fla. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – On the eve of this week’s 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, “Fast Jack” Beckman admitted that he won’t be satisfied with a single round win – even though that’s all he needs to become just the 26th professional to turn on 500 win-lights in the Mission Foods drag racing series.

The 2012 Funny Car Champion has a slightly bigger number in mind. Four. That’s four round wins, a number that not only would earn him a spot in the 500 Club but also propel him to his third win of the season, virtually assuring a Top Two starting spot in the NHRA’s upcoming Countdown to the Championship.

To accomplish that goal, though, the 59-year-old cancer survivor knows that the PEAK Squad that prepares his potent PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS will have to recapture a consistency that was missing during last week’s NHRA Northwest Nationals at Seattle, Wash. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Riding the momentum born of last week’s national record-setting performance at Seattle and mindful of her past success at Sonoma Raceway, an increasingly confident Brittany Force sends her Monster Energy dragster back to work this week in the 37th NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

The two-time Top Fuel World Champion will begin the qualifying process Friday from the No. 5 position in the Mission Foods driver standings with only three weekends remaining in which she can improve her position before the start of the NHRA playoffs.

“Coming off a strong weekend in Seattle, laying down the fastest speed ever at 341.85 miles per hour, and making a final round appearance, our team is looking for a big weekend in Sonoma,” said the Queen of Speed, owner of five of the seven fastest finish line speeds in NHRA tour history.

In addition to the new record, she also has run 341.59 mph (last April at Charlotte, N.C.), 341.42 (last May at Epping, N.H.), 340.47 mph (in Seattle qualifying) and 340.82 mph (in a first round Seattle win over former European Top Fuel Champ Ida Zetterstrom). Continue reading →

HendrickCars.com Dragster Raises National Speed Record to 341.85 MPH

SEATTLE, WA – The power that enabled two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force to push her HendrickCars.com dragster to an NHRA national record-setting speed of 341.85 miles per hour in taking down No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta in the semifinals of the 36th NHRA Northwest Nationals proved unsustainable in the final round Sunday at Pacific Raceways.

“Overall, it was a pretty solid outing for this HendrickCars.com team,” said the only woman to have won as many as 300 competitive rounds in drag racing’s signature category. “We were able to make our way to the final round but, unfortunately, came up short.

Racing against Shawn Langdon, to whom she had never before lost a final, the 18-time Mission Foods tour winner’s Chevrolet dragster suffered a malfunction that slowed it from a best of 3.659 to 4.040 seconds at 215 mph.

“Pan pressure automatically shut us off in the final,” she said of the safety system that automatically activates in certain situations. “I had no power and was just coasting to the finish line and saw Shawn go around me.” Continue reading →

Brittany Starts Northwest Nationals from No. 3 Spot for HendrickCars.com

SEATTLE, WA – Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS were the picture of efficiency Saturday at Pacific Raceways where they won the Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge for the second straight year and, in so doing, sprinted to the top of the qualifying order for Sunday’s 36th NHRA Northwest Nationals in 3.879 seconds at 336.40 miles per hour.

The defending event champion and current point leader, Prock needed every bit of the event’s quickest preliminary time to get past Matt Hagan, whose runner-up effort of 3.887 seconds was good enough to propel him to the No. 2 starting position.

“We collected (bonus) points in three out of the four sessions,” said the reigning series champion, “and we executed that final round perfectly. We got the Mission 2Fast/2Tasty win and stole the yellow hat (awarded to the No. 1 qualifier).”

The youngest son of crew chief Jimmy Prock will launch his bid for a third straight tour victory against rookie Dylan Winefsky.  Continue reading →

Prock, Beckman Among Those Frustrated by Conditions at Pacific Raceways

SEATTLE, WA – On a track that yielded nothing but frustration to all but a handful of Top Fuel and Funny Car teams during Friday’s highly-anticipated late night qualifying session at Pacific Raceways, Brittany Force and her HendrickCars.com dragster provided fans at the 36th NHRA Northwest Nationals with a moment to remember.

On a concrete-and-asphalt surface on which few before her had reached the finish line under power, the two-time Top Fuel World Champion stopped the timers in 3.703 seconds at a barrier-busting and track record-setting 340.47 miles per hour that briefly placed her in the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.

The fact that she eventually wound up third in the provisional order behind Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon, who ran behind her and to whom she and her team demonstrated what was possible, did little to dampen the 18-time winner’s enthusiasm after the first day of qualifying.

“Running so late at night, it was dark inside that car,” said the former NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year, “but when that amber came on, I stepped on it and it was going. I saw some cars get in trouble ahead of us, so I just wanted a clean solid run to the finish line.

Continue reading →

SEATTLE, WA – Poised to become just the 26th professional to win as many as 500 competitive rounds in drag racing’s premier series, “Fast Jack” Beckman hopes to celebrate that milestone this weekend with the crew of his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS and fans attending the 36th NHRA Northwest Nationals.

“The entire PEAK Squad took the two-week break to overprepare (for this week’s race) and we’re looking forward to putting our Chevrolet SS back in the winners’ circle,” said the 59-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran, who is back in competition at Pacific Raceways for the first time in six years.

“I’m not sure what I’m most looking forward to,” said the cancer survivor and 2012 Funny Car World Champion, “making our first qualifying run Friday at close to 10 p.m. when the conditions are going to be spectacular, getting to make THREE more qualifying hits on Saturday, or seeing all the great Northwest fans for the first time since 2019.”

Regardless, the 37-time pro tour winner whose lone Seattle win came in his first appearance in 2007 obviously is excited about his chances of again winning an event in which John Force, from whom he took the reins of the PEAK Chevy after last year’s crash at Richmond, Va., won a record nine times. Continue reading →