NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Bold words from a young friend ignited a spark of determination within JJ Brock, and the spark caught full flame as he raced his way to the 2025 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Gas world championship.

“I’ll never forget it,” recalled the Pickens, S.C., racer. “We were standing at Silver Dollar [Motorsports Park] and he’s like, ‘JJ, have you even won a round?’ I thought to myself, ‘Oh, you’re gonna see something. I can do this.’ ”

It took a couple of years and a good bit of effort, intensity, and patience, but Brock proved that he had what it took to get it done on drag racing’s biggest stage amongst an exceptional pool of seasoned racers.

As many stories begin, Brock’s tale stretches back to following his dad to the races at 6 or 7 years of age. A handful of years later, his perspective shifted to seeing the dragstrip through the windshield as he charged toward win lights. By that time, his dad’s interest had shifted toward dirt track racing, and weekend activities rotated between dirt and asphalt. Brock’s heart, though, was always at the strip.

“One day he said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if you win this weekend, we’ll spend the rest of the year drag racing.’ So, I went out there and won the race,” said Brock, laughing at the memory. “It was hilarious, and I was so happy. It was August, and I was going to get to race the rest of the year. But I played football, too, and wouldn’t you know it, that Tuesday, I broke my arm.”

It was a crushing end to his season. Unable to race with his arm in a sling, Brock could only watch and wait — a distinct and uncomfortable feeling that would be rekindled at the end of 2025.

The year following the injury, Brock got a different kind of break when someone at the track offered him a car to drive all season. He did so for six years, smoothing and sharpening his skills, and in 2005, he earned a Summit SuperSeries championship in friend Ed Pauley’s dragster. With the championship came a dragster of his own, along with parts and pieces to make it go.

“I was 22 years old, and I thought, ‘Oh man, this is good,’ ” he said. “I hit it hard from 2006 to 2010, then I got married, and I thought I'd better sell it all and do the right thing. Three years ago, I said to my wife, ‘I have to do something.’ My friends Eddie Pauley and Jimmy Raper, they ran Super Street, so I thought that was what I wanted to do. But I realized you can’t run for a world championship in Super Street, and the whole reason for buying a car was to win another world championship.”

In his single-year run in Super Street, Brock notched a division win and finished No. 5 in the Southeast Division. For 2024, he brought his ’68 Camaro to Super Gas with his heart set on gold. A smattering of round-wins and a runner-up at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol was not enough.

Desire and intention churned, and Brock won the Saturday Door Banger 15k event at Galot Motorsports Park to close his season on a high note. To start 2025 – his second campaign in Super Gas – the chiding from his young friend several years ago was only a distant echo as Brock plowed into the new year with a win at the Baby Gators.

“At that point, I wasn’t thinking about the championship; I was thinking about winning the division,” said Brock, who utilized a lull in his schedule to have the engine freshened. When he dropped the bullet back in, it was trickier than expected to regain traction.

“I had a good head of steam, but I yanked my motor out and was lost there a couple of weeks,” he admitted. Recovery from the hiccup came soon, however, and Brock’s scorecard returned to populating with positives. He reached the quarterfinals at South Georgia Motorsports Park and the semifinals at both the weather-delayed Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

The crown jewel of the season was acquired at the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals, where Brock locked down his first national event win. In the fall there in Richmond, he reached the semifinals at the divisional.

“So, there I am at Charlotte [NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals] at the end of the year, coming into that race, now I’m thinking points. I actually have a shot at this,” said Brock, who strengthened his stance with a final-round showing at zMAX Dragway. “After Charlotte, I was the runner-up at the divisional in Rockingham [N.C.], and I’m sitting there knowing they’re all coming. If I had won that race, the next three weeks of my life would have been a whole lot better.”

Brock had filled his scorecard, and those 638 points were final. He was at the top of the pack, but heading into the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, there was still an assortment of drivers in the chase. Defending Super Gas champ Val Torres Sr., two-time champion Bo Butner, Evan Kowalski, and Phil Unruh all had a shot, and just as he had to do when a broken arm forced him to the sidelines, all Brock could do was watch and wait.

Adding to the drama, a terrible forecast prompted NHRA officials to run nearly the entire Lucas Oil Series portion of the NHRA Finals on the first day of the event, beginning with round one and without a time trial. The decision proved wise as the predicted weather moved in and forced cancellation of the remainder of the event, but seven Sportsman categories were miraculously run to completion on Thursday.

Brock was set to keep an eye on the action all day long, but it was done and decided early. Torres and Unruh had taken themselves out of the running, and Kowalski and Butner fell, one after the other, in the second round.

“I couldn’t believe it was over,” said Brock. “And I didn’t know I had so many friends — my phone didn’t stop all night. I think I took it for granted when I got out of [racing]. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it, especially the friendships. I’ve had amazing support over the past two years; now they’re probably thinking, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t have told him everything.’ The friend part is what makes it great, and winning on top of that makes it even better. Let’s try to do it again.”

Brock expressed great gratitude for the support of his family and friends, including Jimmy Raper, Eddie Pauley, Doug Ramsey, and Kenny Myers, with special thanks to Jim Perry Jr., Jock Lisenby, and John Taylor, who stepped up when he needed an assist.

Brock also extended gratitude to PAR Racing Engines, Trailer Ranch, JP Automotive, Billy Carroll and Comp Cams, FTI Performance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Advanced Product Design, VP Racing Fuels, Summit Racing, JEGS, T&D Rockers, Meziere, Brodix, Denso, Zamp, and Dead On Decals. He thanked NHRA and Lucas Oil, as well as Jason Galvin and Joe Castello for spotlighting the Sportsman racers.