Yahoo Autos Four first-time winners at U.S. Nationals with Prock, Millican, Stanfield and Herrera
Funny Car points leader Austin Prock powered to his first career victory at the U.S. Nationals, defeating back-to-back winner Ron Capps in the final round of the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals on Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. All four drivers won the U.S. Nationals for the first time.
Prock went 3.885s at 327.98 mph in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS in the final round, leaving the starting line first and holding off Capps’ 3.935. It gives Prock his fifth victory this season, as he defeated Chris King, Alexis DeJoria and Blake Alexander to reach the finals, beating Capps to earn his ninth career victory. It continues to be a dream season for Prock, who will enter the Countdown to the Championship playoffs in the points lead and as a championship favorite. This weekend couldn’t have gone better for Prock, who was the No. 1 qualifier and followed it up with his first win at the world’s biggest drag race.
“We got our first U.S. Nationals win, super proud of the team. It was a great effort all weekend long,” Prock said. “Everyone talks about Indy, it’s the biggest race of the year, and it is. But all weekend long I treated it even less than a race, I kind of treated it as a test session and just tried to stay focused and race my own lane. That was good enough to get the job done this weekend. I’m very proud of the team. It still hasn’t hit me that we won the U.S. Nationals.
“So many people dream of winning this race and very few have. I’m very proud to add my name to that list with my dad (crew chief Jimmy), my brother Thomas turning the knobs with Nate Hildahl. It’s a pretty surreal moment. To cap off the regular season the way we did is very comforting. I don’t see us slowing down any time soon. People say when you’re hot, you’re hot and right now we’re hot and have been all year long.”
Capps, who just missed out on becoming the first Funny Car driver to win the U.S. Nationals three straight years, advanced to his 150th career final round and third this season on the strength of victories against J.R. Todd, Buddy Hull and Jack Beckman. He moved to fifth in points, while Prock opens the Countdown to the Championship in the points lead.
In Top Fuel, Clay Millican was also a first-time winner at the prestigious U.S. Nationals, defeating four-time world champion Steve Torrence in the final round with a run of 3.792 at 327.82 in his 11,000-horsepower Arby’s/Parts Plus dragster. Millican struggled in qualifying, entering race day in the No. 13 spot, but made major improvements when it counted, including a 3.695 at 333.74 to defeat Antron Brown in the first round.
He followed with round wins against Josh Hart and Brittany Force to reach the final round, driving past Torrence with his third straight run in the 3.70s to reach Indy glory. It’s Millican’s first victory of the season and the seventh in his career, and the veteran will move to sixth in points to start the Countdown to the Championship. For now, though, Millican is only thinking about his incredible Monday on drag racing’s biggest stage.
“I’ve definitely been the underdog my entire life. I promise you that, but I have a lot of fight in me,” Millican said. “Nothing will ever top [my first win in] Bristol, including the U.S. Nationals, but this is like winning the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the World Series. This is career-defining stuff.
“To win with [team owner] Rick Ware here was cool. I won three times last year and he wasn’t at any of them. He came on Friday, he has two NASCAR teams racing in Darlington, but he was here. It was cool to call him last year and say we won, but there is nothing like being here.”
Torrence advanced to his second final round of the year and 89th in his career on the strength of round wins against Billy Torrence, Ida Zetterstrom and Tony Stewart. Doug Kalitta, who didn’t qualify at the U.S. Nationals, will open the playoffs as the points leader, with Justin Ashley in second.
Aaron Stanfield made history by becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win two events in one weekend at the U.S. Nationals, following up his victory in Holley EFI Factory X on Monday with a win in Pro Stock, knocking off teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the final round with a pass of 6.561 at 209.36 in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Janac Brothers car. It is Stanfield’s fourth Pro Stock victory of 2024 and this will certainly be the highlight after his historic double-up.
To reach the championship round, Stanfield knocked off Matt Hartford, Cory Reed and No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson, holding off Coughlin in the final round to pick up his first Pro Stock victory at the world’s biggest drag race. It’s also the 12th career victory for Stanfield, who enters the Countdown to the Championship second in points and with plenty of momentum as he seeks his first world championship coming off his incredible weekend at The Big Go.
“I’ve been close [to doubling] a couple of times, so I’m okay with the past races not to get it done, because this is the place to do it,” Stanfield said. “There’s so much history at this racetrack, and it’s special to me to not only win Indy Pro Stock and Factory X both in the same day and put my name down on the history books.
“Indy’s always a busy week for me. It’s a roller coaster of emotions the whole entire time, and I knew I had two good hot rods, and I knew I had a good chance to win, but this race has kicked my butt in the past, and it just feels great.”
Coughlin advanced to the finals for the fourth time this season and 119th time in his standout career, defeating Eric Latino, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Erica Enders in the process. Dallas Glenn will take the points leader into the postseason.
Winning the U.S. Nationals was the only thing Gaige Herrera didn’t accomplish last year, but the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champ took care of business on Monday this year, posting a perfect .000 reaction time and then going 6.763 at 198.70 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki to defeat Angie Smith and enter Indy immortality. After not winning the past two races, Herrera, the dominant points leader, captured the biggest victory of the year – his seventh of the 2024 campaign.
To advance to the final round, Herrera, who qualified No. 1, dipped into the 6.70s in three rounds, including a weekend-best 6.722 at 199.35 in the opening round. He followed with a 6.755 against Chase Van Sant and then knocked off teammate Richard Gadson. After a perfect reaction time against Smith, Herrera rolled to the victory, which certainly ranks among the top of his 18 career wins.
“This race is very special for me. Two years ago, I made my debut here. Two years ago, Andrew Hines had COVID sitting on his couch and didn’t even know my name until I made my first pass here,” Herrera said. “This one is very special. For me to be able to get this win, I feel like this was the biggest monkey of all on my back. Last year, I had the simplest part fail, which cost me going past second round. To get the win here, even though I won the championship last year, I feel like this almost surpasses that.
“This ranks at the top, all the stuff that I’ve done as far as creating history or beating Bob Glidden’s record – throughout my years, I’m probably going to remember this over all of that. This is one everyone wants to win. It’s the Super Bowl of drag racing. To get this win, I feel like I’ve kind of accomplished what I wanted in Pro Stock Motorcycle. It’s crazy to say that a year and a half into my Pro Stock Motorcycle career, but I’m not stopping yet.”
Smith reached the final round for the first time this season and the eighth time in her career thanks to round wins against Steve Johnson, Marc Ingwersen and her husband, Matt. Herrera will be the points leader heading into the playoffs, with Smith in second.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Sept. 12-15 with the 39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa. It is the first of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
