J.R. Todd’s Funny Car win over dominator Austin Prock is costly, but help of friends is priceless
Ida Zetterstöm makes stellar Top Fuel debut before fouling out.
Jack Beckman earns points for sidelined John Force.
Some NHRA racers, including debuting Top Fuel import Ida Zetterström, Funny Car’s Countdown-minded Blake Alexander, and Pro Stock next-gen racer Mason McGaha, exceeded expectations during Sunday’s Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
Even more – such as No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence, Funny Car points leader Austin Prock, and key Prock rival J.R. Todd—finished with results they certainly weren’t expecting at all
By the halfway point of the race, eight of the top 10 drivers in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock and seven of the top 10 Funny Car drivers had been eliminated.
Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Blake Alexander (Funny Car), and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) won to move on to Indianapolis with momentum for the U.S. Nationals. There at Indianapolis Raceway Park, fields will be set for the Countdown to the Championship, Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points factored in, and overall points adjusted.
J.R. Todd Gets a Little Help From His Friends
The quarterfinal pairing in Funny Car between J.R. Todd and Austin Prock ended with both drivers disgusted—and none of their dismay related at all to their minor disagreement about staging at the recent Seattle race.
Prock posted an uncharacteristically late (.116-second) reaction time and lost to Todd on a holeshot by six-thousandths of a second.
“I just flat-out looked like an absolute idiot,” Prock said. “It’s embarrassing. I’m pissed off right now at myself. They tell you a good-running race car is the hardest to drive, because all you can do is mess it up. I’ve been doing good not to do that, but I look like a frickin’ idiot right now.”
Todd, who had damaged a body and chassis during qualifying Friday, knocked off Prock, who has dominated competition all year. However, his victory came at a steep cost. At the finish line, the engine in his DHL Toyota Supra blew up and cracked the body. Todd said that result was “about as bad as it gets. That’s two chassis and two bodies, and we don’t have anything else to go. We’re out of cars.” Never mind that he didn’t have the luxury of beating Prock. “Those guys got the best car out here, and there’s nobody’s ass you want to kick more than his,” Todd said. “It sucks to be moving on – but we can’t.”
His Toyota colleagues immediately pitched in to help. Ron Capps loaned Todd a spare NAPA Toyota body and because the Supra chassis aren’t identical, the thrash was intense for crew members from Capps’ team, Del Worsham’s team, and Todd’s Kalitta team. Capps said, “Del said it best: ‘This is like old-school s—. This is Kenny Bernstein and the Blue Max and taping it all together to get back to the [starting line].’ We were just happy to help. When you’re Team Toyota, you do anything it takes. It was so fun to watch – and I felt like a proud owner watching that car go down there.”
Todd, who lost his semifinal match against Matt Hagan, thanked everyone who pitched in to help him make the run. “I thought we were dead after that semifinal,” he said. “I thought, ‘We’re screwed.’ That was awesome to drag it back up there. It’s almost like a victory in itself.
Ida Zetterström’s NHRA Top Fuel Career Starts Strong
Reigning FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström pulled off the upset of Sunday’s opening round of eliminations in her NHRA debut. The Swedish rookie, who claimed the No. 14 and final starting spot, defeated four-time champion and top qualifier Steve Torrence in her first round of competition.
That earned her a second-round bye into the semifinals. Then she had to face Shawn Langdon, who has won series crowns at three different levels of competition (Jr. Dragster, Super Comp, and Top Fuel).
She fouled out to end her day, and said, “Obviously, this is embarrassing. I’ve never red-lit in my life. My foot just went, but my brain didn’t tell it to go. I know I’m better than this. Our team is better than this.”
Jack Beckman Earns Points for sidelined John Force
Making his first start on behalf of injured 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, Jack Beckman – the 2012 Funny Car champion and sportsman-level national titlist himself – picked up a few points for the PEAK Chavy Camaro team.
Beckman won his Round 1 race, ironically, against Bobby Bode to record his first elimination victory since his Oct. 19, 2020, event triumph at Dallas. In 2010, when Bobby Bode was eight years old, his father, Bob Bode earned his lone Funny Car victory at Brainerd—at Beckman’s expense.
