{"id":103807,"date":"2026-06-05T19:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/whos-laughing-now-austin-prock-silences-doubters-with-win-at-nhra-potomac-nationals-presented-by-jegs\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:44:08","slug":"whos-laughing-now-austin-prock-silences-doubters-with-win-at-nhra-potomac-nationals-presented-by-jegs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/whos-laughing-now-austin-prock-silences-doubters-with-win-at-nhra-potomac-nationals-presented-by-jegs\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWho\u2019s Laughing Now?\u201d Austin Prock Silences Doubters With Win at NHRA Potomac Nationals Presented by JEGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

For two-time defending NHRA funny car champion Austin Prock, the final round of the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway nearly came apart before he ever fired the engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a routine servicing of the car following the semifinals, things appeared to unravel as the Tasca Racing team rolled their PPG Ford Mustang to the staging lanes for their first final-round appearance in 2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was chaotic. [The] parachute box falls off the right rear corner of the body. You know, mad panic trying to get that in there,\u201d says Prock. \u201cLast-minute clutch calls\u2026I ended up getting suited up outside the Expedition in the pits, got bolted in the car, and we rolled up there about 65 miles an hour on the tow rope and tossed it into the water box.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Jack Beckman\u2019s John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet Camaro waiting in the other lane, Prock admits his father, crew chief Jimmy Prock, couldn\u2019t even make all his normal final adjustments. With no chalk on the ground to line the car up, Prock\u2019s brother Sam \u2013 typically the quiet one, according to Austin \u2013 stepped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fire this thing up, my brother Thomas gets on the radio, he goes, \u2018We\u2019re gonna burnout inside and run an outside line,\u2019\u201d Prock recalls. \u201cThen he goes, \u2018Scratch that, we\u2019re going back to plan A.\u2019 I\u2019m rolling into the water box and my brother Sam pushes Thomas out of the way and says, \u2018No, we\u2019re doing the burnout here, and we\u2019re going to run a way inside line.\u2019 Sam\u2019s hanging his toe out there while we\u2019re backing the race car up. He makes this last-minute moonshot call saying the racetrack\u2019s better way inside. We ended up hitting that line and the thing hauled ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSam, he\u2019s not really one to voice his opinion very much,\u201d adds Prock. \u201cHe\u2019s very intelligent, but he showed up and stood out when it counted. I really give him a lot of credit for getting that win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the chaos, Prock says he was in a really good space mentally going into the final round, confident in his driving ability. The scoreboard told the rest: Prock left first (.063 to .076) and ran a 3.956 at 324.20 mph to outrun Beckman\u2019s 3.971 at 323.50. It was Prock\u2019s 22nd career victory and his first of 2026. It was also an especially meaningful one, as it was his first event win since leaving John Force Racing after back-to-back world championships, and featured a JFR car in the other lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably number one on my win list,\u201d says Prock. \u201cThe hard work that we put into that, the struggles that we went through as a team, and then to finally put it all together\u2026and the racing gods lining us up against a Force car and turning on the first win light in the Tasca-Force rivalry, it couldn\u2019t have been any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Larry Brown photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trials on Sunday leading up to Prock\u2019s first victory with Tasca Racing is fitting, as the team has faced their fair share of struggles throughout this season up to this point. Prock came into Maryland International Raceway with a 2-5 record in elimination rounds, sat 11th in points, and had a very vocal contingent of the internet enjoying every minute of it.<\/p>\n

While Prock knew it would take time to get everything lined out during the process of forming a new team, he admits he was perhaps overly confident in how quickly he believed they could accomplish the task. The team would be starting from scratch, working with all new, different parts than they were used to at JFR.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is 10 times more work than I think what anybody else thought or thinks, maybe on the internet,\u201d Prock says. \u201cYou really don\u2019t understand what goes into creating one of these race teams that can contend at a championship level.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that we had at John Force Racing was one-off and built in-house; only our race car had it,\u201d adds Prock. \u201cWhen that gets taken away from you and you restart\u2026you have a new short block. It\u2019s pretty close to the same, but all the little nuances of it, how do you QC it in, what do the studs need to be torqued to, etc. You compile all of that into each area of the race car, and all of a sudden you have 300 problems. You\u2019d fix one problem in the clutch and it created another problem. You\u2019d fix one problem in the fuel system and it created another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the results may not have immediately shown it, Prock insists the team has made steady improvements since day one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had nothing to show for it until Chicago. It took six races to finally see those improvements show up on the E.T. board. It\u2019s been a grind, but all of us are more intelligent because of these struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prock knew that maintaining an even keel was paramount to the team\u2019s success. While he knows he might have been too ambitious in his immediate goals, he also knew he had to maintain complete faith in the team that had been put in place. In the midst of all that, Prock made a decision about himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Gainesville, I was obviously very upset, and rightfully so,\u201d Prock says. \u201cI went to Phoenix and I told myself my number one goal when I\u2019m at the racetrack is to have fun. Because even when you\u2019re winning, this job is way too stressful to not have fun. You just have to maintain that attitude, because if you\u2019re struggling and you don\u2019t have a good attitude going into work every day, you\u2019re going to eat yourself alive. You\u2019re going to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rick Belden photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prock used that mindset to make sure he came into work each day with a better attitude, which soon spread throughout the rest of the team as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the guys see me happy, they become happy,\u201d says Prock. \u201cI\u2019ve been really proud of this team and how they\u2019ve handled all of this. All of the hate, the animosity, the work, everything that we\u2019ve been going through. I\u2019m proud of them keeping a positive attitude and just taking the blows with us. We\u2019re in this together. When you go through all those struggles, those wins taste so much sweeter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The struggles haven\u2019t only been on the mechanical side of things. Prock\u2019s offseason departure from John Force racing split one of the most passionate fan bases in motorsports, and his \u201cWho\u2019s laughing now?\u201d line he delivered to Amanda Busick on the top end in Maryland went viral within minutes. Prock, however, says there was nothing rehearsed about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it wasn\u2019t premeditated. She asked the question and it just slipped out,\u201d says Prock. \u201cBut it\u2019s true. That\u2019s how we feel. I\u2019ve been very adamant saying that we\u2019re going to get the last laugh. There\u2019s no doubt in my mind. I have some of the best people in my corner. My father is going to go down as one of the greatest to ever do this. It\u2019s not if, it\u2019s when.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prock is also adamant that despite all the noise surrounding the newfound Force-Tasca rivalry, Jack Beckman \u2013 the man in the other lane in the final round and Prock\u2019s former teammate \u2013 has his utmost respect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Jack, we\u2019ve been really cool with each other throughout all this. He really is a class act,\u201d says Prock. \u201cI loved racing with Jack, and I love racing against Jack. I wouldn\u2019t say there\u2019s really any rivalry between us. It\u2019s more of a rivalry for the entertainment value. Do I want to beat that car maybe a little bit more than I want to beat some of the other cars? Yeah. But at the end of the day, I want to whoop everyone\u2019s ass. I don\u2019t care who\u2019s in the other lane. A win\u2019s a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the vitriol that has plagued social media since Prock\u2019s departure from JFR? He welcomes the passion and buzz the new rivalry has brought to the table. He\u2019s also just as direct, however, about who his real fans are, as opposed to those who turned on him the moment he switched teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little shocked at how big this story ended up being,\u201d Prock admits. \u201cI thought people would be shocked that Force let us get away, honestly. I didn\u2019t think it would turn into this war like it has. John Force has a very passionate fanbase, and to the people that were my \u2018fans\u2019 and don\u2019t like me any more\u2026they were never my fans. They were a fan of John Force, and I happened to be driving his race car, and that\u2019s why they liked me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of fans have taken his side, and a lot have taken my side,\u201d continues Prock. \u201cThe difference is my fans aren\u2019t on the internet running their mouth all day. I go to the racetrack and I feel like everything\u2019s cherry \u2013 the shirts are flying off the shelf, the hero cards are running out, the ropes are packed \u2013 and then you go home and you get on the internet and it\u2019s like people wouldn\u2019t piss on me if I was on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Team owner Bob Tasca III (left) with Prock \u2013 NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through all of the ups and downs, Prock says team owner Bob Tasca III has never wavered, even as he wrote checks without seeing the desired results. Perhaps most importantly, though, is how Tasca has personally treated everyone with respect throughout the entire experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with Bob has really been a breath of fresh air,\u201d says Prock. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten to know Bob Tasca away from the racetrack; Bob Tasca as an owner and as a driving coach, and I have really enjoyed every step of the way. He treats my family outstanding. He treats my team outstanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been our number one supporter through the struggles. He\u2019s the guy shelling out the coin to make all this happen, and when you don\u2019t see any results, it can get frustrating, especially when you\u2019re the owner. He\u2019s stood by our side this entire time. He\u2019s very intelligent. He understood there was going to be a process. I would\u2019ve loved to have been up there on the starting line to see him after we won. The losing was fun racing with him, and I can tell you one thing: the winning\u2019s really, really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the schedule hands Tasca Racing a prime opportunity to cement their place in the funny car hierarchy: this weekend\u2019s New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampsire, is Tasca\u2019s home race, in front of fans who watched Prock\u2019s grandfather race decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to be in Epping again. Everybody knows Bob Tasca and the Tasca family around here,\u201d Prock says. \u201cI think half the cars on the street come off his lot. These guys have been coming to the races since the seventies, and now they\u2019re still out there cheering me on. I really respect how diehard they are out here. We got a win at one of them, and hopefully we can continue that trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after getting a taste of victory in Maryland? Prock says he\u2019s ready for more.\u00a0\u201cI think we\u2019re all definitely hungry now after tasting it again,\u201d says Prock. \u201cI hope we can go run a train on these boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on June 5, 2026. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post \u201cWho\u2019s Laughing Now?\u201d Austin Prock Silences Doubters With Win at NHRA Potomac Nationals Presented by JEGS<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For two-time defending NHRA funny car champion Austin Prock, the final round of the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway nearly came apart before he ever fired the engine.\u00a0 After a routine servicing of the car following the semifinals, things appeared to unravel as the Tasca Racing team rolled their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}