Story By: JERRY BONKOWSKI / JOHN FORCE RACING – NORWALK, OH – Racing in the absence of boss and teammate John Force, Austin Prock for the second straight day drove the AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS tuned by his dad Jimmy to a Summit Motorsports Park track record, securing the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s 17th Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
The 28-year-old Funny Car rookie grabbed the top spot with a Saturday time of 3.853 seconds at 329.10 miles per hour that trumped his Friday record of 3.863 seconds. As a result, he’ll start from the front for the seventh time in 10 races this season.
Significantly, he was quickest in each of the four qualifying sessions, earning the max number of qualifying bonus points, and he will launch his bid for a third straight tour victory in a first-round match against No. 16 qualifier Joe Morrison.
“Yeah, that was stout,” Prock said of the run that locked him onto the drag racing equivalent of the circle track pole, “but this place is really tough to drive. These AAA guys are just doing a great job. They read the racetrack and they read their notebook and everything’s working.
“The log of data that they’ve made is just paying off and I’m really proud of them. Got another No. 1 qualifier for AAA and a Mission (2Fast2Tasty) win. Today’s all right.”
Prock is trying to become the fourth different JFR Funny Car driver to win at Summit Motorsports Park where Mike Neff won in 2011 and 2012, Force won in 2014 and Robert Hight won in 2022.