Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery
BRADENTON, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2025) – Led by defending Funny Car champion Austin Prock’s record-setting turn in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, John Force Racing advanced all three of its drivers to the elimination phase of the second PRO Superstar Shootout concluding Saturday at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Prock, who won last year’s Shootout in his first race in a nitro Funny Car, made the quickest run in history during Friday’s final qualifying session, stopping the timers in 3.791 seconds at a speed of 331.53 miles per hour.
That barrier-buster was the climax to a dominant week for the 29-year-old phenom who was quickest in testing (3.805 seconds) and quickest in all four qualifying sessions (3.861, 3.882, 3.860 and 3.791). Now, all that stands between him and a second straight Shootout title are three elimination rounds on Saturday.
“That thing was trucking down there,” Prock said of his historic 3.791 that is two ticks quicker than the official NHRA record of 3.793 set by his predecessor in the Cornwell Chevy, Robert Hight. “I had my hands full. I got really close to the centerline and that might have scrubbed off that three-thousandths we needed to go (3).78. But I’m really proud of this team.
“It’s been eight years since someone has run (3).79,” he continued. “The race cars and rules were much different (then), so to get back to that number says a lot about this team, says a lot about my dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock), Thomas (Prock) and Nate (Hildahl). They do a really good job and it sure is fun.”
While Prock was dominating, JFR teammates Jack Beckman and Brittany Force also interjected themselves solidly into the Saturday conversation with stellar qualifying efforts.
Beckman was second quickest to Prock on Friday at 3.825 seconds in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy SS and, after failing to make the starting field a year ago, Brittany was third best in Top Fuel qualifying in a Monster Energy Chevrolet in which she posted a time of 3.664 seconds at 335.73 mph in the last session.
That run delivered the two-time World Champion to the finish line just ahead of Doug Kalitta, significant because those two will square off in a monster first round showdown Saturday, the result of the unique chip draw system used to determine opponents.
“Solid day of qualifying for this Monster Energy team,” Brittany said. “We ran a 3.66 in the final session. We were aiming to run a little quicker than that but overall, looking at testing, looking at qualifying, we’re in a pretty good position.
“We’ll be ready tomorrow. (Kalitta) is one of the toughest out here but nothing this team hasn’t handled before. We’re excited. This is a fun event and we want to go some rounds, turn some win lights on and end up in the winners’ circle.”
Beckman, who was the color commentator at last year’s Superstar Shootout, may not have been as quick this week as his teammate but he’s no less enthusiastic about his race car and the upcoming season, the first in five years in which he will race the full NHRA schedule and chase a championship he last won in 2012
“So, a lot of times drivers will say, ‘well that car pulled hard’ or ‘I never felt it pull that hard before,’” he said of his closing 3.825. “Well, we just got done with the crew chiefs looking at our G-meter and, from 200 to 500 feet, we averaged five-and-a-half Gs. It was absolutely unbelievable. I have never sat in a racecar that pulled that hard before.
“We’re still safe the first 300 feet of the track, (so) we’re literally leaving a couple hundreds on the table and still running with the top cars,” he said. “I cannot wait for the national anthem tomorrow.
“There’s no slouches here,” said the former Super Comp World Champion (2003). “What I didn’t want was to be paired with Austin Prock (in the first round). Obviously, you can’t look past anyone out here. It’s going to be a titanic first round clash (with four-time world champion Matt Hagan), But our PEAK car is just thumping.”
While Beckman-Hagan and Force-Kalitta are awesome first round match-ups, the pairing most people were talking about after the chip draw was Prock versus Bob Tasca III in a battle between the only cars and drivers that have broken the 340 mph barrier. Tasca did so at this race a year ago before Prock set the official NHRA speed record when he crossed the finish line at 341.68 mph during last November’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif.
“Everyone on the internet is going to think it was staged,” Prock said of that match-up. “It’s exciting. It’s going to be great for the fans. We love racing Tasca. He was one of the guys with a winning record against us last year. We know how tough that team is and we enjoy racing them.
“He’s a good leaver and Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks can turn those knobs. So, it should be an exciting first round. I’m looking forward to it. It’s the first race day of the year and there’s nothing better than those first round jitters.”
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BRADENTON, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2025) – Led by defending Funny Car champion Austin Prock’s record-setting turn in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, John Force Racing advanced all three of its drivers to the elimination phase of the second PRO Superstar Shootout concluding Saturday at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Prock, who won last year’s Shootout in his first race in a nitro Funny Car, made the quickest run in history during Friday’s final qualifying session, stopping the timers in 3.791 seconds at a speed of 331.53 miles per hour.
That barrier-buster was the climax to a dominant week for the 29-year-old phenom who was quickest in testing (3.805 seconds) and quickest in all four qualifying sessions (3.861, 3.882, 3.860 and 3.791). Now, all that stands between him and a second straight Shootout title are three elimination rounds on Saturday.
“That thing was trucking down there,” Prock said of his historic 3.791 that is two ticks quicker than the official NHRA record of 3.793 set by his predecessor in the Cornwell Chevy, Robert Hight. “I had my hands full. I got really close to the centerline and that might have scrubbed off that three-thousandths we needed to go (3).78. But I’m really proud of this team.
“It’s been eight years since someone has run (3).79,” he continued. “The race cars and rules were much different (then), so to get back to that number says a lot about this team, says a lot about my dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock), Thomas (Prock) and Nate (Hildahl). They do a really good job and it sure is fun.”
While Prock was dominating, JFR teammates Jack Beckman and Brittany Force also interjected themselves solidly into the Saturday conversation with stellar qualifying efforts.
Beckman was second quickest to Prock on Friday at 3.825 seconds in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy SS and, after failing to make the starting field a year ago, Brittany was third best in Top Fuel qualifying in a Monster Energy Chevrolet in which she posted a time of 3.664 seconds at 335.73 mph in the last session.
That run delivered the two-time World Champion to the finish line just ahead of Doug Kalitta, significant because those two will square off in a monster first round showdown Saturday, the result of the unique chip draw system used to determine opponents.
“Solid day of qualifying for this Monster Energy team,” Brittany said. “We ran a 3.66 in the final session. We were aiming to run a little quicker than that but overall, looking at testing, looking at qualifying, we’re in a pretty good position.
“We’ll be ready tomorrow. (Kalitta) is one of the toughest out here but nothing this team hasn’t handled before. We’re excited. This is a fun event and we want to go some rounds, turn some win lights on and end up in the winners’ circle.”
Beckman, who was the color commentator at last year’s Superstar Shootout, may not have been as quick this week as his teammate but he’s no less enthusiastic about his race car and the upcoming season, the first in five years in which he will race the full NHRA schedule and chase a championship he last won in 2012
“So, a lot of times drivers will say, ‘well that car pulled hard’ or ‘I never felt it pull that hard before,’” he said of his closing 3.825. “Well, we just got done with the crew chiefs looking at our G-meter and, from 200 to 500 feet, we averaged five-and-a-half Gs. It was absolutely unbelievable. I have never sat in a racecar that pulled that hard before.
“We’re still safe the first 300 feet of the track, (so) we’re literally leaving a couple hundreds on the table and still running with the top cars,” he said. “I cannot wait for the national anthem tomorrow.
“There’s no slouches here,” said the former Super Comp World Champion (2003). “What I didn’t want was to be paired with Austin Prock (in the first round). Obviously, you can’t look past anyone out here. It’s going to be a titanic first round clash (with four-time world champion Matt Hagan), But our PEAK car is just thumping.”
While Beckman-Hagan and Force-Kalitta are awesome first round match-ups, the pairing most people were talking about after the chip draw was Prock versus Bob Tasca III in a battle between the only cars and drivers that have broken the 340 mph barrier. Tasca did so at this race a year ago before Prock set the official NHRA speed record when he crossed the finish line at 341.68 mph during last November’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif.
“Everyone on the internet is going to think it was staged,” Prock said of that match-up. “It’s exciting. It’s going to be great for the fans. We love racing Tasca. He was one of the guys with a winning record against us last year. We know how tough that team is and we enjoy racing them.
“He’s a good leaver and Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks can turn those knobs. So, it should be an exciting first round. I’m looking forward to it. It’s the first race day of the year and there’s nothing better than those first round jitters.”
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