By Neha Dwivedi, Staff Writer
Austin Prock, a two-time NHRA world champion top fuel funny car racer with John Force Racing, shocked the drag racing community when he announced last year that he was leaving the legendary team and finding a new home.
The news came a few weeks ago that his new garage would be with Tasca Racing and he discussed the decision in a press conference on Tuesday. Yes, Prock will switch from Force’s Chevrolets to Tascar’s Fords to chase a third straight world title in the 12,000-horsepower Nitro Mustang Dark Horse Funny Car with a team led by his father, tuner Jimmy Prock, and his brother, Thomas. At an exclusive press conference, he explained that the decision originated from a desire to keep the family racing together.
“Bob Tasca offered to bring the whole family together, and we took the gig. We’re very excited, Bob’s great to work with,” Prock told members of the motorsports media. “I have been pinned in the shop seven days a week and took two days off to go get engaged to now, my fiancée, Kaitlyn, and other than that, I have been in the shop every single day, grinding and getting this Ford prepped to win races this season.”
Switching organizations presents its own challenges, but the Procks are not merely changing teams; they are shifting from the Chevrolet structure to Ford, leaving the in-house advantages of John Force Racing behind. Prock admitted that the move came together quickly.
“It actually came together very quick. It definitely wasn’t on my bingo card of 2025, but life changes sometimes,” he said.
The most immediate hurdle he encounters in the transition is logistical. He described “getting parts on time” as the toughest obstacle at present. “Our biggest problem right now is we’re just waiting on equipment to show up. I would say 95% of everything that was there is being changed, putting our twist on it, and trying to build a championship-level team. But one thing that is staying the same is it’s going to have a Ford Mustang Dark Horse on it, just like it did last year. It’s going to have Weld Wheels and some Goodyears and nitro in the tank. That’s about all that’s staying the same from how we walked into this joint.”
He acknowledged the difficulty of shifting manufacturers and operating outside the insular environment of John Force Racing. “It’s a huge change. When you race at John Force Racing, you’re kind of in your own world, your own bubble. And my dad spent about 25 years there. I spent about 15. When you’re there, you have access to all this tooling, all these parts that you can only get in that building. So when you walk outside, I guess, in the ‘real world,’ everything’s a lot different,” Prock explained. “We’re having to make relationships with parts manufacturers, because everything is just in your hand over in that other building. So it’s been quite the experience so far, but we’re working hard through it. And we’re going to have this Ford Mustang Dark Horse in tip-top shape when it hits the racetrack in Gainesville here in a couple weeks [for testing].”
When asked about his departure from JFR, Prock declined specifics and instead stated, “What I’ve realized is a lot of people are John Force fans, and whoever’s in that seat over there, they root for… So, there’s three sides of the story. There’s my side, his side, and the truth, and I’m not going to get into that… I love my family and I want to continue to race with them. So all the hard feelings that people have towards me and my family is what it is. I can tell you one thing: they’re really going to be mad when we start winning races. Another thing is Dale Earnhardt—he was one of the most hated drivers in the [NASCAR Cup] series. So it’s not always a bad thing. We’re just going to keep rolling with the punches.”
However, he welcomes the chance to gain new supporters and create a fresh fanbase. For now, his guiding philosophy is that “You always have to be learning. And when you get dealt cards, you have to figure out what to do with them to win.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Vandergriff was announced as Prock’s successor in the world’s fastest Funny Car for John Force Racing in December 2025.
Prock has amassed 21 NHRA event wins, including nine last season, and 17 since entering the Funny Car category in 2024. He also owns the fastest Funny Car lap at 341.68 mph and has collected 22 No. 1 qualifiers over the past two seasons, and intends to enjoy the same success with Ford as he did with Chevrolet.