After a somewhat staggered season with his new team to date – NHRA’s 2X and defending World Champion has found his stride — and the timing is perfect.

Austin Prock got the best of Jordan Vandergriff when it mattered most in St. Louis for for the 2026 edition Mid-West Nationals, delivering an impressive run of 3.909 at 332.84 in his Tasca Motorsports/Motorcraft Ford Mustang in the final round to move to third in points.
 
It is Prock’s second victory this season and his first career in St. Louis, keeping the back-to-back world champion in the title conversation. He had performed well since May, but had only one win to show for it, coming up just short throughout the summer and early in the Countdown.
 
But that changed on Sunday in St. Louis, as he charged to the final round by taking down a loaded lineup of Ron Capps, J.R. Todd and No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman, who were all ahead of him in points heading into eliminations. That’s not the case anymore, and Prock then delivered a strong .045 reaction time in the championship round, leading wire-to-wire against Vandergriff to get his 23rd career victory.
 
It pushed him up to third in points, as the Funny Car standout for Tasca Racing is now 106 points behind leader Matt Hagan with three races remaining.
 
“This was a big win. For the points, for our family, for our team — this is the time to get hot,” Prock said. “After everything we’ve been through this year, all the hours we haven’t slept and seven days a week working at this, it really pays off when you get a win. We’re hot right now, and we’ve been hot for the last 12 races. We just haven’t been able to finish the job.
 
“We had a really dominant Ford Mustang this weekend. We had to run through a lot of hitters today. Each round was like a final round. Everybody we beat was in front of us in the Countdown. It was an epic way to cap it off. You don’t have days like this very often. When you run through four hitters like that, that’s like winning two races in one.
 
“We’re just over 100 points out of the lead. We’re in striking distance now going into Dallas and I’m really excited for these next three races.”

Vandergriff advanced to his sixth final round of 2026 after defeating Cruz Pedregon, John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria and Hagan. He stayed second in points and now trails Hagan by 72 points.

NHRA Mid-West Nationals – Funny Car Class Summary

WIN: Austin Prock – 3.909 secs 332.84 mph (Career win #23)
R/UP: Jordan Vandergriff – 3.926 secs 325.37 mph
Low ET: Jack Beckman – 3.864 secs
Top MPH: JR Todd – 336.07 mph
Bump: 4.234
Entries: 18

Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
Photos Courtesy of NHRA