Robert Hight, Austin Prock Add to John Force Racing NHRA Legacy with Four-Wide Nationals Wins

• Since xMax Dragway opened in the fall of 2008, John Force Racing has totaled 13 victories at the only NHRA track in North Carolina.

• Robert Hight picked up his seventh Funny Car victory at zMAX Sunday, while Austin Prock notched his first in Top Fuel.

• Deric Kramer and Gaige Herrera won in Pro Stock and Top Fuel, respectively, on Sunday.

Despite about a two-hour rain delay Sunday, the confidence John Force Racing always possesses at zMAX Raceway never wavered and it paid off as the organization added two more victories to its total in the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

Since the facility opened in the fall of 2008, John Force Racing has totaled 13 victories at the only NHRA track in North Carolina. Robert Hight picked up his seventh Funny Car victory at zMAX Sunday, while Austin Prock notched his first in Top Fuel. In three of Prock’s four car victories, he has “doubled up” with the organization’s Funny Cars.

Prock, known for not acquiring his first season victory until late in the year, viewed Sunday’s early season win and the fourth of his career as unusual at the Concord, North Carolina, track since he’s exited previous events in the first round. This time the NHRA’s two Four-Wide events—Las Vegas and Concord—were back-to-back and Prock considered that helpful.

“I felt like I came into Vegas with a better mindset of how to handle it and then having them back-to-back like we did, you’re just much more comfortable coming into the second four-wide,” said Prock, who won all three of his quads. “Now that I’m comfortable on the four-wide, it’s gonna feel odd going back to two-wide. It’s as hard as you make it, I guess.”

Racing Prock in the final round were Leah Pruett, Steve Torrence and Josh Hart. Prock’s E.T. was 3.684 while Pruett’s 3.708 E.T. gave her the runner-up slot. Torrence left too soon red lighting his run.

“I had two people red light against me today,” Prock said. “The first one I kept my composure. When Steve (Torrence) hit the gas, it startled me. I kept my composure again. I was .049 (reaction time).”

Prock’s initially asked himself if he was late and then he saw Torrence’s header flame out of the corner of his eye. He then missed the win light, so he didn’t know he had won until he turned the corner.

“I don’t use a radio so this four-wide stuff, when you’re in the middle lanes, it’s miserable sitting in the shutdown area because you don’t know what you ran, if you won, lost or what,” said Prock, who admitted he found his confidence again at zMAX.

Hight won his final quad that involved Alexis DeJoria, Ron Capps and John Force with a hole-shot. His reaction time was .053 to DeJoria’s .082. Hight’s E.T. was 3.888, while DeJoria’s was 3.872.

Hight’s second victory this season and the 63rd of his career was a nice reprieve since he had experienced back-to-back first-round losses in the two previous events.

“We stayed and tested Monday in Vegas,” High said. “We actually had some ignition problems. I’m thinking we’re not going to get the data that we needed with the clutch because the engine didn’t run right.”

But his crew chief told him they would be fine.

Hight was pleased with his Funny Car’s performance, making seven “respectable” runs during the weekend, but the approximately two-hour rain delay was aggravating. Top Fuel had completed its first round of eliminations and Funny Car was ready to roll to the starting line when it began raining.

“You’ve got to get up for these runs, and you can’t stay up all day long and stay ready like that,” Hight said. “You just have to relax a little bit. It’s not what you liked to do. You’ve already waited long enough for first round. You want to get the show on the road.”

Prock said the rain delay would normally be “really hard” on him, but that wasn’t the case this time.

“Typically, I get really tired and it’s hard to get amped up again,” Prock said. “Today, I just had really good energy. I had time to eat lunch, which was nice. Just tried to stay positive and stay focused, keep (my) mind off of what’s coming up next and just driving the race car.”

Results

Circle K Four-Wide Nationals

Finishing Order

Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 13th annual Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the fifth of 21 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Austin Prock; 2. Leah Pruett; 3. Josh Hart; 4. Steve Torrence; 5. Pat Dakin; 6. Doug Foley; 7. Justin Ashley; 8. Brittany Force; 9. Tony Schumacher; 10. Clay Millican; 11. Doug Kalitta; 12. Mike Salinas; 13. Jacob McNeal; 14. Antron Brown; 15. Shawn Langdon; 16. Dan Mercier.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Robert Hight; 2. Alexis DeJoria; 3. Ron Capps; 4. John Force; 5. Mike McIntire; 6. Chad Green; 7. Bob Tasca III; 8. Cruz Pedregon; 9. Alex Laughlin; 10. Matt Hagan; 11. Tim Wilkerson; 12. John Smith; 13. Dale Creasy Jr.; 14. J.R. Todd; 15. Dave Richards; 16. Blake Alexander.

PRO STOCK:

1. Deric Kramer; 2. Dallas Glenn; 3. Matt Hartford; 4. Fernando Cuadra Jr.; 5. Greg Anderson; 6. Jerry Tucker; 7. Kyle Koretsky; 8. Aaron Stanfield; 9. Cristian Cuadra; 10. Erica Enders; 11. Mason McGaha; 12. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 13. Camrie Caruso; 14. Bo Butner; 15. Chris McGaha; 16. David Cuadra.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Gaige Herrera; 2. Matt Smith; 3. Jerry Savoie; 4. Steve Johnson; 5. Kelly Clontz; 6. Joey Gladstone; 7. Hector Arana Jr; 8. Jerry Savoie; 9. Ron Tornow; 10. Chase Van Sant; 11. Marcus Hylton; 12. Jianna Evaristo; 13. Ryan Oehler; 14. Marc Ingwersen; 15. John Hall; 16. Angie Smith.

Final Round Results

Sunday's final results from the 13th annual Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the fifth of 21 in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Austin Prock, 3.684 seconds, 330.88 mph def. Leah Pruett, 3.708 seconds, 329.99 mph and Josh Hart, 3.756 seconds, 327.82 mph and Steve Torrence, foul;

Funny Car -- Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.888, 328.30 def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Supra, 3.872, 333.41 and Ron Capps, Supra, 3.923, 331.85 and John Force, Camaro, 3.924, 329.26;

Pro Stock -- Deric Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 6.555, 208.88 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.581, 208.81 and Matt Hartford, Camaro, 9.252, 101.74 and Fernando Cuadra Jr., Ford Mustang, foul;