Tough on Paper, Strong in Progress: Prock Leaves 2026 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals with Momentum

Austin Prock and his Ford Racing Nitro Mustang Funny Car continued to make important, but bittersweet progress during the 2026 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, qualifying for Sunday eliminations and collecting valuable data as the team works to unlock the full potential of its Ford Racing Funny Car combination.

Prock qualified No. 16 and faced a tough opening-round quad on Sunday against No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps, Chad Green, and Spencer Hyde. Although the weekend ended with a first-round loss, the Tasca Racing team showed continued development with the engine program, stronger early numbers, and a clearer direction moving forward.

Continued Development of Nitro Mustang Funny Car in Charlotte

In Q1, Prock made a 4.977-second pass at 176.56 mph after the car dropped a cylinder at the hit and moved toward the inside of the lane. Prock fought to keep the Mustang under control before the tires came loose.

“First run of the day here in Charlotte. Q1 dropped the cylinder at the step, sucked me way inside,” Prock said. “I was fighting it back and ended up knocking the tires loose. We’re still figuring out this Ford engine, but we'll get it dialed in for Q2.”

The second qualifying session showed promise early. Prock left hard with an impressive .873 60-foot time, but the car lost traction before completing the run, resulting in a 6.596 at 118.45 mph.

“Conditions were gorilla tonight, and I haven’t got very many shots in that hot rod in these conditions,” Prock said after Q2. “But this Ford, it left the line great, and it was heading straight down the track. It was anchored down, but I felt the sidewall quivering a little bit. As soon as I thought it was going to clear up, it chopped the tires off. I can promise you that this Ford is going to run low ET soon.”

Saturday Brought More Progress

Saturday gave Prock and the Tasca Racing team two more opportunities to gather data and work through the setup.

In Q3, Prock pedaled the car multiple times before backing off the throttle early, recording a 6.083 at 129.19 mph. The pass kept him in the No. 16 qualifying position heading into the final qualifying session.

In Q4, Prock made his best qualifying run of the weekend with a 4.833 at 168.26 mph. The run secured Tasca Racing’s place in Sunday's eliminations.

“We made it in the show, but not by anything extravagant by any means,” Prock said. “Made some headway on the engine program this weekend. Got it running clean, and we’re now just trying to harness all this Ford horsepower now. In Q4, we made it further down the track than we have all weekend with smoking the tires. I stood on the gas and had a great light, but it put a cylinder out at the hit. The Mustang moved hard right, the cylinder relit, I got it back on track, but it smoked the tires around half track. So something odd is still going on in there.”

Tough Round One Quad at zMAX Dragway

Sunday’s opening round placed Prock against Ron Capps, Chad Green, and Spencer Hyde in four-wide eliminations. Prock left with a .070 reaction time and produced his best early run of the weekend, including a .877 60-foot time, a 2.245 at 330 feet, and a 3.298 at 211.46 mph to the eighth-mile. The Ford Racing Nitro Mustang was on a solid pass before the car nosed and blew the tires off near half track, causing Prock to slow to a 4.460 at 191.76 mph and finishing third in the quad.

Capps took the round win with the quickest Funny Car run of the weekend, while Green advanced in the second transfer position. Hyde experienced traction problems and was off the throttle early.

While the first-round loss was not the result wanted, the weekend showed progress in key areas. The team improved its early numbers, made headway with the engine program, and qualified for eliminations in one of the most demanding formats on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule. 

Prock and the Tasca Racing team leave Charlotte focused on turning the weekend’s data into stronger, cleaner runs as the 2026 NHRA season continues in Adel, GA, next weekend for the NHRA Southern Nationals.