One might think that after winning the pre-season PRO Superstar Shootout in his Funny Car debut, after hoisting the trophy in four of the season’s first 11 NHRA tour events, after qualifying No. 1 in all but three starts, and after earning five outright wins in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Austin Prock might be less than laser-focused entering this week’s 36th Sonoma Nationals.
One would be wrong.
Despite those remarkable numbers and a point lead so massive that he could miss the next two events and still top the driver standings entering the Labor Day U.S. Nationals, Prock will roll the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS onto the track at Sonoma Raceway determined to improve upon a performance in last week’s NHRA Northwest Nationals that most considered flawless.
To recap, the 28-year-old Funny Car rookie was quickest in every qualifying session a week ago, posted quick time of eliminations and won the race. His goal this week? To improve on starting line reaction times which were “only” .067, .067, .069 and .069. against a field average of .087.
“I wasn’t very impressed with my driving performance last weekend,” said the man whose Camaro bears the same number (#374) as the Funny Cars driven by grandfather Tom Prock, a contemporary of both Don Prudhomme and the late “Jungle Jim” Liberman and runner-up to both on the NHRA tour in 1975.
“Going back-to-back like this, I’m going to hopefully get back in a rhythm and hopefully be better,” said the man who, before taking over the controls of the Cornwell Chevy for a medically sidelined Robert Hight, was the No. 1 qualifier at last year’s Sonoma Nationals in a Top Fuel dragster.
Prock’s obsession with improvement, of course, is all about the upcoming Countdown to the Championship which begins Sept. 15 in Reading, Pa.
“We have the Countdown coming up in just three more races,” he said, “(so) I’d like to race this thing every day, if I could.”
NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS SCHEDULE
Friday, July 25
Nitro qualifying, session #1 at 5:30 p.m., PDT; session #2 at 8:15 p.m., PDT
Saturday, July 27
Top Fuel qualifying session #3, 12:30 p.m., PDT
Funny Car qualifying, session #3 and first round of Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Austin Prock vs. J.R. Todd and Paul Lee vs. Blake Alexander, 1:05 p.m., PDT
Top Fuel qualifying, session #4, 3 p.m., PDT
Funny Car qualifying, session #4 and final round of 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, 3:30 p.m., PDT
Sunday, July 28
First round eliminations, 10:30 a.m., PDT
JFR ON FS1 and FOX Broadcast Network
Saturday, July 27
Qualifying show, 7-8 p.m., EDT, on FS1
Sunday, July 28
Qualifying wrap-up show, 2:30-4 p.m., EDT, on FS1
Sunday, Jul 28
Race coverage, 4-7 p.m. EDT, on FOX
JFR PR
