POMONA, Calif. — Funny Car’s Austin Prock claimed his second straight world championship on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
This weekend’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals were canceled on Sunday due to persistent and adverse weather and unsafe track conditions.
For Prock, it’s the culmination of a simply dominant season in Funny Car for the John Force Racing standout, as he followed up his first year in the class with an even more impressive campaign in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS.
Prock, who won eight races a year ago en route to the world title, claimed nine wins in 19 races in 2025, advancing to 12 final rounds and earning seven No. 1 qualifiers. His year was filled with highlights, including a sweep of all three four-wide races, three straight race wins in the summer, capped off by a second straight U.S. Nationals victory and then clutch moments in the playoffs to finish off another spectacular season.
“To win one world championship is one thing, and to win two is another and it puts you in a select group,” Prock said. “I think there’s only seven of us who have ever done it, and to add my name to that list, I wish my entire team could be added to that list. I get all the praise and the glory from the media and from the fans, but it’s not just me. I couldn’t accomplish what I’ve done in the last two years without the people behind me, and I’m really proud of them.”
In the Countdown to the Championship, Prock was pushed by four-time champion Matt Hagan, who pulled close after winning in St. Louis. But Prock, who also won the Charlotte fall race in the playoffs, made a strong statement in Dallas, qualifying No. 1 and winning the race in style to give the reigning champ some breathing room.
Hagan won in Las Vegas over Prock in the final round, but the young standout, who went 45-10 this season, held a sizable cushion heading to Pomona. With the championship, Prock becomes just the seventh Funny Car driver – and just the second in 20-plus years – to win back-to-back titles in the loaded category.
“Everybody on the Cornwell Quality Tools team is doing a phenomenal job, and they’re putting in that 110 percent effort,” Prock said. “We had a dominant race car all year long. Last year, a lot of people told me it’s not going to come as easily next year after the season that you had. We came in there and ended up getting the championship. I think that says a lot about this race team, and says a lot about me as a driver, and I’m looking forward to 2026 already.”
