Top Fuel racer Austin Prock said it feels satisfying to join his teammates in the full three days of PRO-sponsored preseason testing this year. Last year, he received full-season funding from Montana Brand and Rocky Mountain Twist literally a few days before the season began. The rig with his new dragster arrived from the Brownsburg, Ind., shop after his John Force Racing team had finished its preseason paces. This year he has the luxury of time and preparation and a sense of calm.

“It's nice. It was nice to have an off-season with an entire crew and just kind of iron everything out,” Prock said. “Get it as well-prepared as we can make it and that should show on the racetrack out here. We should be more consistent and we’re definitely looking to make quicker and faster runs on a more consistent basis. So towards the end of the year we made some nice runs. In Dallas, we set the track mile-an-hour record, and I think I had low E.T. on race day in first round. So just looking for more of that. And I'm really proud of this team and excited to work with them again.

“We definitely set the bar pretty high for us last year,” the 2019 NHRA Rookie of the Year said. “Even right out of the gate in Pomona, winning on that pedalfest and kind of set the [expectation] for the year. So we obviously always want to improve. That's how you win races and championships is constantly improving and I think we're going to make some big strides this year.

“We can definitely be better than we were and maybe get up in that top half of the Countdown and fight for that championship.”