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After changes, the goal remains the same for Austin Prock

There’s a new car and a new team, but the end goal remains the same for Funny Car standout Austin Prock, who enters the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season as the back-to-back world champion.
07 Mar 2026
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Feature
Austin Prock

There’s a new car and a new team, but the end goal remains the same for Funny Car standout Austin Prock, who enters the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season as the back-to-back world champion.

But there’s been plenty of change for Prock heading into this weekend’s Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway to kick off NHRA’s 75th anniversary. After winning consecutive championships, Prock and his team are now with Bob Tasca’s Funny Car team and Ford Racing, serving as one of the off-season’s biggest bombshells.

The team has been hard at work to get ready for Gainesville in their PPG Mustang Dark Horse, but the objective hasn’t changed. After winning 17 times the past two years, Prock and his team have no other plans but to keep their hot streak going.

“It’s been a lot of work and a lot of long hours, seven days a week, for most of the off-season and still right now,” Prock said. “We bit off a huge chunk, and we’re just sorting through it. We’ve had a little bit of success in testing, but we’ll keep working, and we’ll be ready. All we have to do is qualify and be ready by Sunday. We’ve got a few more days to sort through this, and I’ve got the best people in the business working with me.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be a front-runner this year. We do have to be patient, but I don’t think anybody here wants to be patient. We know what we’re capable of doing, and we know we can go out there and win the first race.”

The Gatornationals remains one of the few races Prock hasn’t conquered the past two years, but doing so during the milestone year would be a memorable moment for the standout.

He’ll have to deal with the likes of four-time world champ Matt Hagan, three-time champ Ron Capps, Jordan Vandergriff, who is making his Funny Car debut for John Force Racing in Gainesville, Jack Beckman, and Daniel Wilkerson.

Prock knows he’s again being chased, but it hasn’t changed his mindset as he hopes to start the season with one of the biggest wins in his career.

“I’ve wanted to win here so bad. My grandfather was in the finals here, and I’ve never won here, so to win for the family, that would be cool, and to win for Ford Racing and Tasca Racing on our first weekend, that would be a dream come true,” Prock said. “I think everyone would be really excited.

“We always want to go out there and dominate, that’s just how this team is. We’ve just got to keep our heads down, stay positive and keep working hard and towards our goal.”