Going into the NHRA Arizona Nationals, finishing one race, and then concluding the original was going to be a challenge of logistical proportions. In the end, it was Austin Prock delivering a veteran-style display of domination as a rookie. 

Prock stopped last Arizona Nationals champion Alexis DeJoria for his monumental victory. 

Joining Prock in the winner’s circle was Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon picking up his second win of the season and Pro Stock icon Greg Anderson broke through for his first win of the season, and No. 104 for the season. 

Prock won from the No. 1 qualifying position, running 3.952 seconds at 320.74 mph to get past DeJoria in his second final round this season. He made his way to the final round after beating Buddy Hull, Daniel Wilkerson, and points leader J.R. Todd to reach the finals. 

Prock earned his place in drag racing history by becoming only the 19th to win in both Funny Car and Top Fuel. 

It marked a memorable moment for Prock, especially winning with his father, Jimmy, as the crew chief, and his brother, Thomas, as the car chief.

“This is huge,” Prock said. “All you want to do is make your parents proud. I sure hope they are. My dad and Thomas did a great job. Double up for John Force Racing with two wins. It doesn’t get much better than this. I went to church this morning, great message. The sun was shining down. A packed house. What more can you ask for? We are rolling out of here with some gold.”

DeJoria reached the finals for the first time this season thanks to round wins against Bob Tasca III, Paul Lee and Blake Alexander.

Langdon now has his second Top Fuel win in three races to open the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. He drove past Justin Ashley in the final round on Sunday with a run of 3.760 at 318.69. It’s the first career Top Fuel win at Firebird Motorsports Park for Langdon, who also denied Ashley a double-up victory this weekend in Phoenix. He defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown and No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence to reach the final round and then posted a brilliant .050 reaction time against Ashley to pick up his 19th career victory.

Langdon has now held the points lead for three races, his first time leading the points three races in a row since the 2015 campaign. He was quick to credit first-year crew chief Brian Husen.

“It really was a picture-perfect day,” Langdon said. “The whole Kalitta Air team, from Connie to Chad Head to Brian Husen, he has done such a good job. We made some changes in the crew, and they have given me a flawless race car all year long. 

“First round, had a weird kind of thing… had to do the idle of shame down the race track. The rest of the runs were smoother. Justin and that SCAG team over there with Mike Green and Tommy DeLago are a tough bunch. I knew I just needed to leave with Justin and let Brian do his thing. I hit the gas and knew we had a shot. Two out of three isn’t bad, and we are ready for more.”

Ashley reached his second straight final and 21st overall on the strength of round wins against Tony Schumacher, Doug Kalitta and Tony Stewart, who won his first rounds in Top Fuel on Sunday.

Anderson got on the scoreboard with his first victory of the season in impressive fashion, taking down teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round with a 6.582 at 208.97. It’s his third career win in Phoenix, winning at Firebird Motorsports Park for the first time since 2017. 

Anderson’s road to the final included wins over Eric Latino, Troy Coughlin Jr. and then No. 1 qualifier and longtime rival Jeg Coughlin Jr. to reach the championship round, posting an impressive .022 reaction time to lead wire-to-wire against his KB Titan Racing teammate.

The early-season win is also a breath of fresh air for Anderson, who remains focused on winning a sixth career world championship. He didn’t pick up a victory last year until late in the season but made sure that didn’t happen again on Sunday in Phoenix.

“104 is a nice round number,” Anderson said. “It’s been a while, and it’s been a tough race track all weekend long. My crew did a fantastic job, and we managed the race track. We just flat out-raced them. I can’t thank them enough. 

“I was watching the NASCAR race, and my teammate at Hendrick were 1,2, and 3. I knew if I didn’t win, I would be the weak link in the chain. Lot of pressure but I love the extra pressure. Thank you Mr. H, [Hendrick], great day for you and me.”

Glenn, who won the postponed Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals on Saturday in Phoenix, reached the finals for the 19th time in his career and second time this season thanks to round wins against Mason McGaha, Cristian Cuadra and Aaron Stanfield.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action April 12-14 with the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.