Prock Gets First Ever Funny Car Win At Arizona

Austin Prock celebrating after winning the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park (Photo: NHRA Media)

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Final eliminations in the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park for the Funny Cars started off with a round that no one was expecting.

FINALS ROUND 1:

Bob Tasca III and Alexis DeJoria took to the strip first. In a very unexpected turn of events, Tasca III smoked his tires early on in the race, automatically giving the win to DeJoria. After a long-lasting streak of bad luck, this was what DeJoria needed.

The next match-up was between Paul Lee and Jeff Diehl. Diehl red-lighted, allowing Lee to seize the win off the line before he even started to race. 

Austin Prock and Buddy Hull then raced down the strip. Both drivers smoked their tires, but went back and forth with it. First, Hull smoked his tires, giving Prock a little bit of an advantage. Then, Prock smoked his tires, giving Hull an advantage. Hull smoked his tires a second time and this allowed Prock to sneak by and get the win.

The next round saw the man who had just won the Winternationals, John Force, go up against Jim Campbell. Not only did Force win the round, but he reminded everyone that he was a tried and true veteran when he saved his car from a sharp right turn that was headed straight into the wall. 

The next match-up was between Cruz Pedregon and J.R. Todd. Although there were no issues in this race, someone had to win and someone had to go home. Todd prevailed and Pedregon went home.

The next round was also an event that no one saw coming. Although he had the better reaction time, he did not win the round. Funny Car veteran Ron Capps lost to Blake Alexander in an unexpected turn of events.

The second-to-last matchup of the first round saw the youngest driver in NHRA Funny Car contention, Bobby Bode, go up against Chad Green. Even though Green had the better reaction time, Bode won the race with a faster elapsed time and final speed.

The final matchup of the first round was yet again a nail-biter and one that was unexpected. Matt Hagan and Daniel Wilkerson went up against each other. Following another theme of the weekend, which was racing with a better reaction time but losing, Hagan lost to Wilkerson.

Austin Prock competing in the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park (Photo: NHRA Media)

FINALS ROUND 2:

The first match-up of Round 2 had Bode and DeJoria line up next to each other. Bode was not going to be partying too hard at the ASU frat house that night because he spun his tires, giving the win to DeJoria.

The next round was a solo round with Alexander, racing down the strip on his own. Once he was done, it was time for the next round, which consisted of Prock and Wilkerson. Wilkerson smoked the tires, automatically giving the win to Prock, but Prock got mere inches away from hitting the wall, and some camera angles portrayed it like he did actually hit the wall. If he did, it would have disqualified him. NHRA officials went up to his car and examined it and it was deemed that he did not hit the wall, allowing Prock to move on to the semifinals.

The Funny Car matches did not disappoint at the Arizona Nationals and the final match of Round 2 was no different. In a quick turn of events, the most winningest NHRA driver of all time, Force, was eliminated from contention by Todd.

SEMIFINALS:

The first of two semifinal rounds was between Alexander and DeJoria. For the first time in the 2024 season, DeJoria headed to the final round as she beat Prock. Granted, Prock spun tires, but it was still a win for DeJoria, who had had bad luck all year thus far.

The second and final round of semifinals saw Prock and Todd go head-to-head. Even though Todd had the better reaction time and final speed, Prock took the victory with the better elapsed time. This meant that he was going to the final round, as well.

FINAL:

The final round came down to DeJoria and Prock. The race was the perfect definition of how a drag race should go: no issues, straight down their respective lanes and to the finish almost at the same time. But, as every race goes, there had to be a winner, and that winner was Prock.

“This is huge,” said Prock on his first ever Funny Car win. “All you want to do is make your parents proud and I hope they’re proud. [The] sun’s shining down, [it’s a] packed house, what more could you ask for? We got some gold, baby!”