After an uncharacteristic performance in the season opener at Gainesville, Fla., reigning Funny Car World Champion Austin Prock looked more like his old dominant self Friday, coaxing his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS to one of the three quickest runs in each of the first two qualifying sessions in 40th NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park
The 29-year-old finished Day 1 in the provisional No. 2 position at 3.883 seconds, just a tick behind Bob Tasca III (3.863) and a tick ahead of John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman (3.895), who continued to rack up qualifying bonus points in his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy.
Racing without the “mud flaps” that usually are positioned just in front of the rear tires on modern-era Top Fuel dragsters like her Monster Energy Chevrolet, two-time world champion Brittany Force also finished Friday in the provisional No. 2 position. Quickest in the first session, she wound up second behind only Doug Kalitta after negotiating the course in 3.705 seconds at 331.69 mph. Two final qualifying sessions Saturday will set the lineup for Sunday eliminations.
All three JFR entries are benefitting this week from the sponsor support of Phoenix-based Powers Affordable Housing and the moral support of John Powers III, one of Force’s former Funny Car rivals, who spent Friday in the JFR compound.
“That’s NHRA Drag racing for you,” Prock said of Friday’s performance. “One day you’re in the dirt and next day you’re making a nice run down the racetrack. Great start to the weekend here in Phoenix. Sun’s out. Happy to be at a racetrack where it’s warm (and) really proud to have new sponsors on the side of this racecar.
“Obviously, we were looking for a get healthy day after (qualifying only 15th and losing in the first round at) Gainesville,” said the man who last year qualified his Chevy No. 1 a record-setting 15 times in 20 events. “It’s got a lot more left in it. It kind of chattered the tire early both runs. We’re just getting it back-dialed in.
“I know this ‘Prock Rocket’ is going to be flying by the end of the weekend, so I’m excited about that and excited to have some new partners on board with us. Powers Affordable Housing. They use all American-made steel, and they have some really cool products for living in or if you have a hot rod, you need a garage for. And it’s really cool to have Graham Rahal on the side of this thing as well. Graham and I are good buddies, and he has a hell of a facility out there in Zionsville (Indiana). So, excited about that and excited to get in tomorrow and see where we land on Sunday.”
Second quickest on his first run, Beckman was third quickest in the Friday night session and, like his teammate, anxious to see what Saturday brings.
“Another great qualifying day for the PEAK Chevy SS,” he said. “At Gainesville, we only got two qualifying runs, but we were No. 1 both sessions. And then we come out here, and first session, we’re No. 2, and second session we’re No. 3. That means we got bonus points every time this car has gone down the track this year in qualifying, and that’s just a testament to the team, and the crew guys on this car.
“They’re doing everything right,” said the three-time Phoenix winner. “The crew chiefs are making good calls, and that just increases my confidence every time they fire it up.”
As for Brittany, she was quickest in the first session at 3.768 seconds and was the first to take advantage of the NHRA’s four-race moratorium on “mud flaps.”
“This is a really good start for our Monster Energy team,” she said. “There’s a lot of theories and speculation going around about removing the ‘mud flaps,’ but we didn’t have them on our car in Gainesville during testing when we went 302.69 mph to the eighth mile (fastest speed ever to that distance), and we didn’t have them on at all today.
“We’re behind Doug after today, but we’re still very satisfied with the performance of the car,” said the 17-time tour winner. “We’re also excited to be teaming up with Powers Affordable Housing and with Graham Rahal Performance. That one is very special since Graham is my brother-in-law (married to former Funny Car driver Courtney Force). So, to tie together IndyCar and drag racing and have family on our car is very special.”
Regarding the mud flaps, crew chief David Grubnic said flatly, “One run doesn’t prove anything. We’ve been given the opportunity to explore (this issue), but we’ve got to look at driveshafts; we’ve got to look at a lot of things. The car pretty much ran its number (Friday), so it doesn’t suggest the mud flaps did anything (but) it’s way too early. Let’s just see what happens.”
This story was originally published on March 22, 2025. 
