Prock, Langdon and Anderson Win NHRA Arizona Nationals in Front of Sellout Crowd
Austin Prock powered to his first NHRA Funny Car win on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park for John Force Racing, driving past Alexis DeJoria in the final round in front of a sellout crowd at the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.
Sunday also marked the second straight sellout crowd this weekend.
Prock, who was also the No. 1 qualifier, went 3.952 seconds at 320.74 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS to get past DeJoria in his second final round this season. After defeating Buddy Hull, Daniel Wilkerson and points leader J.R. Todd to reach the finals, Prock led wire-to-wire against DeJoria, becoming just the 19th driver in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.
It marked a memorable moment for Prock, especially winning with his father, Jimmy, as the crew chief, and his brother, Thomas, as the car chief.
“This is a huge win,” Prock said. “This car has been running great and we started the year out strong and struggled a little bit last week in Pomona. We had to get some revenge this weekend and we definitely did that. That was a great run in the final round there. That’s a run we were trying to do that all weekend long and just couldn’t piece it all together. For it all to finally come together to get my first Funny Car win means a lot.
“To enter that league (of winning in Top Fuel and Funny Car) with the Don Prudhommes, the Shawn Langdons, the J.R. Todds, the Kenny Bernsteins, who are legends and Hall of Famers, it’s pretty cool to be a part of that. To do it with my family makes it even more special. It was a beautiful day, a packed house and we’re rolling out of here with some gold. What more could you ask for?”
DeJoria reached the finals for the first time this season thanks to round wins against Bob Tasca III, Paul Lee and Blake Alexander.
Shawn Langdon picked up his second Top Fuel win in three races to open the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, this time knocking off Justin Ashley in the final round on Sunday with a run of 3.760 at 318.69 in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Careers/Toyota dragster. It’s the first career Top Fuel win at Firebird Motorsports Park for Langdon, who also denied Ashley a double-up victory this weekend in Phoenix. Langdon defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown and No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence to reach the final round and then posted a brilliant .050 reaction time against Ashley to pick up his 19th career victory.
It’s the first time Langdon has led the points three races in a row since the 2015 campaign as he continues to roll early in the year, again crediting the job first-year crew chief Brian Husen has done.
“When you run a Justin in the final, you know what he’s capable of. He’s the best leaver in the class bar none, so my only focus was just leave with him. and then leave it up to Brian because I have that much confidence in Brian and my guys,” Langdon said. “So when I hit the gas, we left with him, I said, ‘Well, we’ve got a shot,’ and so I just tried to hold it straight and saw the win light and the rest is history.
“It feels great, obviously. I’m just really proud of everybody and all the hard work that went into the offseason. It’s been hard for the last couple of years to struggle. but you just keep your head down, just keep working hard, and eventually, the tide’s going to roll the other way. At some point, you don’t know how long that will be but it’s paying dividends right now.”
Ashley reached his second straight final and 21st overall on the strength of round wins against Tony Schumacher, Doug Kalitta and Tony Stewart, who won his first rounds in Top Fuel on Sunday.
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson grabbed his first victory of the season in impressive fashion, taking down teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round with a 6.582 at 208.97 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. It’s also the 104th career victory for Anderson and his third career win in Phoenix, winning at Firebird Motorsports Park for the first time since 2017. Anderson defeated Eric Latino, Troy Coughlin Jr. and then No. 1 qualifier and longtime rival Jeg Coughlin Jr. to reach the championship round, posting an impressive .022 reaction time to lead wire-to-wire against his KB Titan Racing teammate.
The early-season win is also a breath of fresh air for Anderson, who remains focused on winning a sixth career world championship. He didn’t pick up a victory last year until late in the season but made sure that didn’t happen again on Sunday in Phoenix.
“This feels great and, honestly, it feels as good as the first,” Anderson said. “It’s just so hard to win in this class anymore and to have the day I had, the weekend I had, I actually a good job behind the wheel. I’m really thrilled with that, but that’s what it takes to win in this class anymore. You have to have the whole total package, you have to have the best car, you have to have the best crew and you have to drive it well.
“We were able to put all three together today on a very, very tricky racetrack. It’s a tough one, but I love those challenges. My crew loves those challenges. You had to be on your toes, so now we’re going to Vegas with a little bit of momentum.”
Glenn, who won the postponed Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals on Saturday in Phoenix, reached the finals for the 19th time in his career and second time this season thanks to round wins against Mason McGaha, Cristian Cuadra and Aaron Stanfield.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action April 12-14 with the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This story was originally published on April 8, 2024.
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