Throttle Cable Issue Foils Austin Prock at Dallas
Racing in weather more representative of July than October, Funny Car point leader Austin Prock moved a step closer to his first Mission Foods championship Sunday even though a bizarre incident took his AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS out of contention in the semifinal round of the 39th annual Texas Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.
The No. 1 qualifier for a record-tying 13th time this year, Prock advanced beyond the second round for the 14th time in 18 starts but, when he attempted to execute a burnout prior to his semifinal match, there was a throttle linkage failure, leaving him at idle while Ron Capps motored into the finals unopposed.
“I honestly don’t know what to say,” Prock replied to a question about the incident. “This isn’t the end we had planned for our weekend with the AAA Camaro. My foot went all the way to the floor, so (I knew) there was a good chance it broke the throttle cable or that the throttle link had disconnected.
“It was a quick disconnect, activated by air,” he explained. “I stopped and noticed that the throttle arm was moving but there was no change in RPM. So, I got on the radio (and) told them what was going on. We tried reconnecting it, but we weren’t able to.”
It was not the only unusual exit of the day for John Force Racing which actually lost one of its three race day contenders before the first round even began.
Jack Beckman, who drove the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro to victory two weeks ago in St. Louis, Mo., in just his fifth race in relief of an injured John Force, didn’t even make the first-round call against Chad Green.
The two-time former World Champion, who qualified third while equaling the quickest time of his career, woke up Sunday morning with vertigo-like symptoms that compelled him to withdraw from competition before he even turned a tire. Although alert and responsive, he later was admitted to a local hospital for further observation.
It was a medical decision that likely ended Beckman’s bid to deliver, by proxy, a 17th championship for Force, who is nearing the end of the rehabilitative process after suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury in a June 23rd crash in Richmond, Va.
When qualifying begins Nov. 1 for the 24th Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Beckman will still be second in points, but he will trail Prock, who has won a series best seven events this season, by 147 points.
“It is unfortunate for our PEAK team and our championship hopes,” said co-crew chief Chris Cunningham, who had a history with Beckman before the two re-united at JFR, “but we’ve been through this before and we are not giving up. This is what was best for Jack and his health. That comes first.”
Also a spectator before the final round was two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force who, after qualifying No. 1 for the 50th time in her career at the wheel of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lost to eight-time champion Tony Schumacher in a second round showdown by .019 of a second.
“Just an amazing effort from my HendrickCars.com team this entire weekend,” Force said. “Our car ran strong through qualifying and we made two solid passes on race day, but the second resulted in a hole shot loss. As a driver, that mentally weighs very heavy on me, accepting that I let my team down.
“This is something I will continue to work on and aim to improve in Las Vegas,” she said. “We will pull ourselves out of our most challenging season with a positive note in the last two races.”
This story was originally published on October 14, 2024.
The post Throttle Cable Issue Foils Austin Prock at Dallas first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
