NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

There may only be one John Force, but his young protégé, Austin Prock, is closing in on some of the GOAT’s Funny Car class records.

It may be his first season in Funny Car, but Prock is already on the verge of breaking two of Force’s 30-year-old single-season marks for No. 1 qualifying positions and low e.t.s.

Coming into the NHRA Carolina Nationals, Prock has started the Cornwell Tools Camaro, tuned by his father, Jimmy, and brother Thomas, from the No. 1 qualifying position in 11 of 15 events and is within striking distance of Force’s once unassailable single-season record of 13 No. 1 starts in a season (1996). With five races still to go this season, we like his odds. (For what it’s worth, Prock's current Top Fuel teammate, Brittany Force, had 12 No. 1s in 20 Top Fuel starts in 2021.)

(For history buffs, Prock is one No. 1 away from tying class legend Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, who accumulated 12 No. 1s in the 16 events spanning his dominating 1975 and ’76 eight-race seasons.)

Prock has also set low e.t. in 10 events and could break Force’s other 1996 record of 14 class-best performances.

"I heard [these stats] last week, and I had no idea that we were even close, but I think we're capable of doing it the way this thing's been running," said Prock. "It would be unreal, another surreal moment of this year to have my name on that list, next to John Force and [Top Fuel stats leader] Tony Schumacher. But it really it should be all the guys that are making these decisions that need to be on that list, each one of the crew guys --  my dad, Thomas, and Nate Hildal; they're the ones who are making this happen. I'm just doing a good enough job not to screw it up."

As good as his 2024 season has been, Prock will not break Force’s other records from that season.

Force scored 13 event wins and a staggering 65 rounds-wins in 19 events in his Austin Coil-tuned Castrol GTX Pontiac. Prock has six event wins and 38 round-wins coming into this event, and even if he won the next five events, he’d only finish with 11 Wallys and 63 win lights. 

Force also went to 16 of 19 final rounds that year; the most that Prock, who currently has nine (six wins, three runner-ups), can get is 14.

SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS, OTHER CLASSES:
Top Fuel
Most event wins: 15 by Tony Schumacher (2008) **
Most round-wins: 13 by Schumacher (2006) *
Most final rounds: 18 by Schumacher (2008) **
Most No. 1 qualifiers: 13 by Schumacher (2006) *

Pro Stock
Most event wins: 15 by Greg Anderson (2004) *
Most round-wins: 76 by Greg Anderson (2004) *
Most final rounds: 19 by Anderson (2004) *
Most No. 1 qualifiers: 16 by Anderson (2004) * and Mike Edwards (2009) **

Pro Stock Motorcycle
Most event wins: 11 by Gaige Herrera (2023) ***
Most final rounds: 12 by Matt Hines (1998) **** and Herrera (2023) ***
Most round-wins: 50 by Herrera (2023) ***
Most No. 1 qualifiers: 14 by Herrera (2023) ***

* 23 events
** 24 events
*** 20 events
**** 15 events