POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 13, 2022) – John Force Racing achieved a clean sweep in Top Fuel at Pomona with both Brittany Force and Austin Prock taking home some hardware!
Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster team rallied to their second win of the season Sunday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway. With a standout Countdown to the Championship performance that included two wins in three final rounds, Prock will finish the season third in points after entering from the No. 11 spot.
Austin Prock started his day with a victory over veteran race Shawn Langdon. Prock would have a clean pass of 3.711-seconds and 329.34 mph while Langdon would smoke the tires for a 7.377 at 87.80. In the second round, Prock would stay consistent with a. 3.704-second pass at 329.18 to end Leah Pruett’s day after she went 3.721 at 324.20. With the win, Prock would line the Montana Brand dragster up with teammate Brittany Force in the semifinals.
Prock would pilot his Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler tuned dragster to stout 3.642-second pass at 335.48 mph to send newly crowned Top Fuel world champion Force and her solid 3.676 at 337.58 mph home in an exciting side-by-side duel. Poised to take on three-time champion Antron Brown in the finals, Prock and the Montana Brand team would stay on point with another blistering run of 3.641-seconds at 336.23 mph to take the win over Brown’s 3.701 at 320.74. The run would be a career-best and mark Prock’s third national event win of his career.
“I’m so happy for Rahn Tobler who is retiring this year. I’ve had a blast working with him. He’s an absolute legend in the sport and to go out like he did tonight speaks volumes for what he’s done for the sport," Prock said. "That was the quickest run he’s ever made in history and it was his last one. Then during the semifinals, we were the quickest side-by-side run ever. I’m really proud of Rahn and I still get butterflies when I watch him roll him into the staging beams. He’s accomplished so much in the sport and he believes in me to drive his race car. He came out of retirement to come work with me and that means a lot to me. It gives me a lot of confidence and I’m glad we went out on top with him.”
Having solidified her second Top Fuel world championship with her 3.701-second pass at 334.90 mph to defeat Steve Chrisman’s 4.794 at 176.53 in the first round, Brittany Force would handle the Monster Energy hot rod to 3.687 seconds at 337.58 mph to send Clay Millican and his 3.864 at 283.97 home in the second round. With the win, Force would meet teammate Austin Prock in the semifinals. Force would have a stout 3.676-second pass at 337.58 mph but it wouldn’t be enough for Prock’s 3.642 at 335.48.
“This season has been outstanding for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team. Coming into 2022 I said it would be one of the toughest years of competition. We did really well all season long. Had the top spot, lost for a little but then gained it back but then heading into the Countdown, this thing we’ve been preparing for all season long, we struggled, and it just felt like that championship we had worked so hard for was slipping away from us,” Force said. “We turned it around, kept ourselves in the top bunch and then really made a move with a win in Vegas and then coming here to Pomona, we gained points in qualifying, enough that we would have enough of a lead to get the job done with a win in the first round. It was a strong season start to finish. Very proud that my teammate Austin Prock was able to get the win here today, happy we get to share the winner’s circle with him.”
Team patriarch Joh Force was proud of his daughter and the achievement by Austin Prock.
“What a season, what a final weekend. Brittany got the job done with that Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team and Austin capping it off with a win for Montana Brand. Robert, No. 2, I know he’s not happy with that but what a season they’ve had,” Force said. “We all finished top five, that’s impressive. Did we want to go more rounds today, yeah, but it wasn’t in the cards. I know that second round was pretty spectacular but for the wrong reasons. We’ll just pull it all together for next year.”
The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season will begin with the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 9-12.
NHRA Camping World Series Top Fuel Point Standings (unofficial):
1. Brittany Force, 2596; 2. Antron Brown, 2534; 3. Austin Prock, 2514; 4. Justin Ashley, 2510; 5. Mike Salinas, 2461; 6. Steve Torrence, 2443; 7. Josh Hart, 2419; 8. Clay Millican, 2348; 9. Shawn Langdon, 2339; 10. Doug Kalitta, 2335; 11. Leah Pruett, 2295; 12. Tony Schumacher, 2277.
See the recap by NHRA National Dragster staff:
See the Brittany Force Championship recap by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor:
Check out Sunday's photo gallery:
Content: John Force Racing PR
Photo: NHRA / RPM
#NHRA #NHRAFinals #Pomona #Racing #Winner #Champion #Wally #CampingWorld #DragRacing #JohnForceRacing #AustinProck #BrittanyForce #TopFuel
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