The wait is finally over for Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Top Fuel dragster team. Prock heads to the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona more experienced, more confident and eager to put his mark on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel category.
Making his return with new crew chief duo Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler, Prock heads to the season opening Winternationals after a successful test session at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park just outside of Phoenix. The 2019 rookie of the year had an impressive final day of testing with a 3.73-second pass at 327 mph in the heat followed by a stout 3.685 at 333.66 mph in the afternoon under slightly cooler conditions.
“We had some bugs to work out in testing with new crew chiefs, new crew and obviously I sat out almost two years,” said Prock. “After Saturday’s runs, I’m looking forward to Pomona. We made two really solid passes, everyone did a really great job. Huge thanks to Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler for working hard and all my crew guys; they’ve busted their ass for about four weeks working every day with long nights.”
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is one of the few tracks Prock has more experience at. He made his professional drag racing career debut and picked up his first-round win at the facility in 2019 and then in 2020, before the pandemic hit, Prock raced his way to the final round.
“Headed into Pomona, I’m really looking forward to it. This is probably my favorite track on the circuit just because of all the history there and that’s where I got my start as well,” said Prock. “I’m definitely rolling in there with a lot more laps under my belt and good passes. I’m really looking forward to rolling in there and seeing what we can do. I think we’ve got a great shot at going for a win in Pomona and all year long. We put a great team together and have excellent crew chiefs, and as long as I can drive good, I think we’ll be going for some Wallys quite often.”
Qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona begins Friday with a session at 4:30 p.m. before continuing Saturday with sessions at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated to start Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the season opening event will be aired on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and begin with two qualifying shows, Friday at 10 p.m. ET and Sunday at 7 a.m. ET, while eliminations will be on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
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