This nitro Funny Car thing is working out quite well for Austin Prock – at least initially.

Prock, substituting for Robert Hight who is on leave to address medical concerns, hit the grounding running.

Fresh off earning $250,000 for winning the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout event at Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park on Feb. 10, Prock hasn’t taken his foot off the throttle.

On Friday, the John Force Racing driver clocked a track-record 3.820-second elapsed time at 334.65 mph to take the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

“It's really exciting. I get to race with my family. My father Jim Prock's tuning it along with my brother Thomas, and Nate Hildahl, and just having a really good time with this Cornwell Tools team,” Austin said. “They're doing an outstanding job, and they've definitely made me push my learning curve, really accelerate it. We didn't make very many good runs during testing and then didn't get any here, and anytime it's gone down the track, it's just flew. These cars are definitely tough to drive and I'm just hanging on for dear life and doing a good enough job to get it down there.”

Austin Prock’s main driving experience in the NHRA ranks has come in Top Fuel. He finished eighth in the Top Fuel points last year for JFR last year, highlighted by a win at the Charlotte (N.C.) spring race last spring.

Prock has four career Top Fuel victories and now he’s in the midst of enjoying his Funny Car ride.

“It's been like my rookie year in 2019 — just a blur. I feel like I've just been thrown to the wolves both times and had to survive,” Prock said. “So, yeah, this Prock rocket is just trucking right now and it sure is fun to drive when you're ripping off ETs like this.”

Prock acknowledged there’s a difference between driving a Funny Car at night compared to a Top Fuel Dragster.

“It's a little bit darker. If you aren't focused, you can get distracted by the orange flames out the window,” he said. “It's pretty sweet. Shouldn't be looking over there, but I definitely was when I raced (Matt) Hagan a couple of weeks ago. So yeah, they're tough to drive. You got to be on your ‘A’ game. I mean, I was telling some of the guys today, even the burnout's difficult in one of these cars. If it drops a cylinder or something, it really steers you. And this is the only race car I've ever driven where you actually sit at the back of the race car. That's very odd for motorsports, and it's definitely a fun experience to learn.”

Prock broke the track record owned by Hight, who had a 3.828-second lap in March 2017.

“We have been off to a good start, but it's a long season,” Prock said. “It just shows you how strong this team really is. They put this car together the exact same way every time and that gives my dad, brother, and Nate confidence to make those calls up on the starting line and really get the most out of the ET. When you're running this quick, you're right on the ragged edge and you got to be perfect, and the driver can't be yanking on the steering wheel in there. You got to be smooth and get it to point A to point B as quick as you possibly can.

“So, yeah, it's definitely a lot to take in, but the way this thing has been running and the confidence I see in my dad and brother and this whole team, I think it's going to be running like this for a while.”

Being in the family racing business can have its ups and downs, but Austin wouldn’t change a thing.

“It can be tough racing with family, but we're all on the same page over there. We all care about and have the same passion for this sport, and I really think it's going to benefit our team, all of us working together rather than be a negative thing,” Austin said. “There's been a lot of smiling over there and a lot of cheering, and it's been a lot of fun so far. So, to be successful is one thing, but to be successful with your family, and for my dad to be racing with his kids, that's got to be pretty cool on his end too. So, really looking forward to this season. We were chomping at the bit here to kick off the NHRA season, and so far, we're doing it in pretty awesome fashion.”

Austin said his dad doesn’t show much emotion; he’s all about winning races.

“I've been around him my whole life (and he’s) like that. He's all business. If you know anything about Jim Prock, he's a man of very few words, but when he does speak, you listen,” Austin said. “And I know when to leave him alone, and I know when to pat him on the butt, and I know when to have a good time with him too. So, it's been really fun and it's really cool to see him and my brother and Nate work together. My dad's breeding these kids to eventually take over one day. So, they're all open ears and they're obviously doing a fantastic job.”

The effort of Austin recently hasn’t gone unnoticed by legendary John Force.

“He was proud, man. I think I've totally impressed him over the last few weeks,” Austin said. “It's been, obviously, an honor to drive this car. … Big shoes to fill, and I'm just trying to do my best for the company and Robert Hight and all our sponsors. And to kick it off like we have, the sponsors are very impressed and hopefully that's obviously always good for John Force Racing, and I'm happy I can do a good job for them.”

When Bob Tasca III knocked Prock from the No. 1 spot it amped him up even more.

“I saw him (Tasca) run a (3).829 and I said, ‘We're going to nick him again.’ And I made sure I flickered the bulb and got as much real estate out of the racetrack as I possibly could,” Prock said. “So, this class is so tough right now, and has been the last few years. I mean, we got low ET the first session by one thousandth of a second, and No. 1 qualifier by nine thousandths of a second. So really bumping that thing in there and getting that bulb to flicker is huge. I was happy I did.

“The speed's cool and all (Tasca’s 337.75), and everybody likes to go fast, but grabbing that number one qualifier definitely is special. So, if we can get ours to mph like Tasca's, they'll really be in trouble.”