Prock Takes Qualifying; Force Wins Winternationals, His 156th

John Force hoisting his Wally after winning the Winternationals at Firebird Motorsports Park (Photo: NHRA Media)

CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park kicked off with qualifying sessions for all divisions. This was no exception for Funny Car.

Qualifying Session 1

The first round of qualifying started with Blake Alexander and Dave Richards going head to head. Alexander had the better run with an elapsed time of 3.927 seconds and a final speed of 324.44. Richard had an elapsed time of 7.475 seconds and a final speed of 86.37.

Next up was Bobby Bode and Alexis DeJoria. Bode had the better round of these two with an elapsed time of 4.501 seconds and a final speed of 196.99. DeJoria had an elapsed time of 8.581 seconds and a final speed of 76.65.

Jeff Diehl and Buddy Hull took to the track next. Diehl qualified better than Hull because Hull blew up, but Diehl had an elapsed time of 4.068 seconds and a final speed of 307.72. Hull only had 4.158 seconds and 260.31.

The next matchup was between Cruz Pedregon and Jim Campbell. Campbell had the better run of the two with an elapsed time of 4.052 seconds and a final speed of 302.41. Pedregon had an elapsed time of 7.633 seconds and a final speed of 99.00.

The next round between Paul Lee and Daniel Wilkerson resulted in Wilkerson smoking his tires, automatically giving Lee the better qualifying position. Lee had an elapsed time of 3.889 seconds and a final speed of 329.02 while Wilkerson had 10.449 seconds and 81.56.

Bob Tasca III and Terry Haddock were up next. Between the two Ford Mustang Dark Horse’s, Tasca reigned superior with an elapsed time of 3.876 seconds and a final speed of 334.95. Haddock had an elapsed time of 4.653 seconds and a final speed of 178.17.

The final match-up of session one was between Chad Green and Austin Prock. Prock qualified better with an elapsed time of 3.840 seconds and a final speed of 334.40 while Green had an elapsed time of 3.941 seconds and a final speed of 323.35.

Qualifying Session 2

The first round of session two was a head-to-head with Haddock and Alexander. Haddock had the better run with an elapsed time of 4.457 seconds and a final speed of 240.34. Alexander had an elapsed time of 6.224 seconds and a final speed of 113.70. This allowed Haddock to move up one position into the 16th spot. Alexander stayed in sixth.

Bode and Lee qualified next. Although Bode moved up seven spots to take the 10th position, Lee had the better run with an elapsed time of 3.974 seconds and a final speed of 313.73. Bode had a 4.008 second elapsed time and a 271.57 final speed.

In the next match-up between Tasca III and Matt Hagan, Hagan had a better run with an elapsed time of 3.976 seconds and a final speed of 312.57. Tasca had an elapsed time of 4.629 seconds and a final speed of 179.16. This allowed both Hagan and Tasca to stay in their positions which were eighth and second, respectively.

Green and Prock had deja vu as they faced each other yet again. Following their previous match-up, Prock was the victor with an elapsed time of 3.982 seconds and a final speed of 309.34. Green had a 4.048 second elapsed time and a final speed of 296.76. This also allowed them to stay in their respective positions which were seventh for Green and first for Prock.

FINAL QUALIFYING

The first round of final qualifying was between DeJoria and Diehl. Diehl smoked his tires, resulting in a better round for DeJoria with an elapsed time of 4.134 seconds and a final speed of 301.74. Diehl only managed to get an elapsed time of 7.579 seconds and a final speed of 83.59. This round bumped DeJoria up three spots into the 15th position while Diehl stayed in 14th.

The next three rounds would be solo runs. The first was Haddock and due to DeJoria’s great run he was bumped out of contention for eliminations with his last run, forcing him to go home early. The second was Richards and he had an elapsed time of 4.227 seconds and a final speed of 296.31. And the third was Hull who didn’t do well at all due to his smoking tires and only pulling off an elapsed time of 6.954 seconds and a final speed of 160.92.

Pedregon went up against Ron Capps next and beat him in the round with an elapsed time of 4.691 seconds and a final speed of 176.14. Since both shut off their cars at the same time, Capps had an elapsed time of 4.961 seconds and a final speed of 155.52. This round placed Pedregon 12th and Capps 11th.

Another loner took to the track next with Alexander. He pulled off an elapsed time of 3.959 seconds and a final speed of 317.12. This kept him in the sixth spot.

The next round was between Lee and Wilkerson. Lee had the better run with an elapsed time of 3.964 seconds and a final speed of 322.27. Wilkerson had a 3.974 second elapsed time and a 294.43 final speed. This round moved Wilkerson up one spot into the eighth position and kept Lee at third.

Green did not have luck on his side as he lost yet again to Tasca by spinning tires. Tasca had an elapsed time of 4.026 seconds and a final speed of 282.36, keeping him in the second spot. Green had a 6.814 second elapsed time and a final speed of 96.62, keeping him in the seventh spot.

The final round between Prock and Todd didn’t have an overall better run, but Prock had the better elapsed time with 3.963 seconds while Todd had 3.966 seconds. Todd had the better final speed though with 319.82 while Prock had 317.49. This gave Prock the number one qualifying position and kept Todd at number five.

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

2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE

The first round of semifinals was between Todd and Hagan. Hagan had to shut the car off early because it got loose, automatically giving the win to Todd. Hagan had an elapsed time of 3.996 seconds and a final speed of 281.77 while Todd had an elapsed time of 3.923 seconds and a final speed of 320.58.

The second round was between Capps and Force. Capps spun tires early on in the race, giving the win to Force. Capps had a reaction time of .119, an elapsed time of 8.909 seconds and a final speed of 82.80. Force had a reaction time of .104, an elapsed time of 3.901 seconds and a final speed of 325.37.

The final round between Todd and Force resulted in Todd getting the win. Force had the better final speed with 320.89 while Todd had 316.67, but Todd had the better reaction time and elapsed time with .068 and 3.974 seconds. Force only had a .081 reaction time and a 4.007 second elapsed time.

“We went down the track and we were struggling a little, but we got there,” said Todd of his win. “As long as luck’s on our side, we’ll take it any way we can get it.”

WINTERNATIONALS FINAL

The final round of the Winternationals was between Force and Hagan. Once again, Hagan’s wheels got loose, giving the win to Force. Force had a reaction time of .038, an elapsed time of 4.033 seconds and a final speed of 318.24. Hagan had a reaction time of .064, a elapsed time of 4.048 seconds and a final speed of 283.41.

“I’m too old to even race these kids!” said Force on his 156th win. “But I’m really excited to be here and I was going to quit this morning, but I’ve changed my mind now.”